de Havilland DH88 Comet
de Havilland DH 88 Comet G-ACSS 'Grosvenor House'
No 34
Piloted by C.W.A. Scott and T.Campbell Black.
One of only five D.H. 88 Comets built "Grosvenor House" is certainly
the most famous. Originally built to compete in the Melbourne air race
G-ACSS was one of two Comets entered (the other being "Black Magic"
G-ACSP).
Piloted by C.W.A. Scott and T.Campbell Black "Grosvenor House"
left Mildenhall on October 20th 1934 to arrive first at Melbourne 70
hours 54 minutes and 18 seconds later taking the trophy, the £10,000
first prize, and winning both the speed and handicap races. This was
only to be the beginning of a very eventful life for G-ACSS, it was
to be renamed several times and flew in many guises after narrowly avoiding
being scraped in 1936. But its racing career was not over, G-ACSS continued
to win races and set records until 1938.
Possibly the greatest legacy of the D.H. 88 Comet is that it led directly
to the development of the legendary Mosquito which was to become the
most successful multi role aircraft of the Second World War.
Today G-ACSS has been restored to its original Melbourne air race "Grosvenor
House" Scheme and can be seen as part of The Shuttleworth Collection
at Old Warden.
Scale 1:72 Wingspan 7.33" (186.3 mm) Base
size 7.71" (196 mm) square (No. 5)
Weight not including base 7.5 ozs (213 grams)
Price £78.00 plus delivery
