| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Bluebird |
| Builder | Thornycroft,Southampton |
| Launched | 1931 |
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Motor yacht |
| Displacement | 23 tons |
| Length | 52 ft (16 m) |
| Beam | 11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Draught | 4 ft 3 in (1.30 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
Bluebird of Chelsea, formerlyBlue Bird, is a motor yacht originally built forSir Malcolm Campbell.
She was built in 1931 byThornycrofts ofSouthampton, as a twin petrol-engined woodencarvel-builtmotor yacht.[1]
Campbell sold her after three years, as his motor-racing experience made him wary of the fire risks of petrol engines aboard. He was also highly superstitious and believed a gypsy warning that, "his death would come from the water". In hindsight, this may have applied more to his sonDonald.
She had three further owners before being requisitioned by the Admiralty at the outbreak ofWorld War II. She joined the flotilla of "little ships" of theDunkirk evacuation, though not without two false starts, first due to engine trouble and then over-crowding. Her return from Dunkirk was even more fraught: after first refilling the fuel tanks with water, then fouling her screws on debris, she returned under tow.
Her later wartime service was spent in Scotland performing transport work for theRASC, then later on the South coast aroundWeymouth andGosport.
Her history after this is sketchy, although she was renamedBlue Finch and found herself on the Atlantic coast of the South of France.
In 1984 the Chelsea art dealer Martin Summers discovered her in France and decided to restore her. Some initial work in France made her apparently fit for a single-engined Channel crossing, but once again another engine failure meant that she returned from France under tow.
H & T Marine (Hiscock and Titterington) ofPoole performed an extensive restoration. After re-launch in 1986 she now lies alongsideCadogan Pier in Chelsea.[2][3][4]
Two 1/12 scale models ofBluebird of Chelsea were featured in a magazine cover article.[5]
A double-sided 1/24 scale plan feature by David Metcalf was included in aModel Boats magazine series in 1989.