Comper 7 Swift G-ACTF, a tiny single-seater aircraft of the 1930s, built for racing, seen flying at Old Warden Airfield
The Comper 7 Swift was a tiny single-seater built for racing. Its first public appearance was on the 17th May, 1930, at the British airfield of Brooklands on the outskirts of London, when it was flown by Sydney St. Barke. The aircraft consisted of a wooden framework covered in fabric, with the rear decking (which formed the locker) made of plywood. Swifts flew in the King’s Cup Air Race from 1930 to 1937, as well as making some amazing long-distance flights for such a small aircraft. For example, in 1932, Butler flew from Lympne, Kent to Darwin, Australia in 9 days, 2 hours and 20 minutes – a new record. Only 41 aircraft of the type being built, but Swifts were exported to Argentina (one flew across the Andes at 18,000 feet), Tanganyika, India, Australia, Egypt, Switzerland, Italy and France. Despite the company having ceased trading in June 1934, Swifts continued to be raced post-war, in the Folkestone Trophy and the Goodyear Trophy Races, for example. The Swift shown here was initially owned by a wealthy Indian tea planter, Alban Ali, and was placed on the Indian Register as VT-ADO, painted bright scarlet, and named ‘Scarlet Angel’. The ‘Angel’ was damaged in Egypt during an India – England flight – and sent to its destination in a crate! The aircraft was placed on the British Register as G-ACTF and survived its wartime storage to be raced in the in the 1950s, when it was powered by a Pobjoy Niagara II of 90 hp. G-ACTF was bought by the Shuttleworth Trust in 1966 (Richard Shuttleworth had been a director of Comper Aircraft, and had owned two Swifts)
Size: 5000px × 3867px
Location: Old Warden Airfield, Bedfordshire, UK
Photo credit: © Niall Ferguson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -actf, ..., 7, aircraft, airfield, airshow, airshows, collection, comper, cup, king, monoplane, plane, planes, race, shuttleworth, swift, warden
