Readying the field for the start of the 1930 Indianapolis 500 Sweepstakes, a Cord L29 roadster is ready to pace them to the green flag:
A gunner fires the two Browning .50 caliber machine guns of his electrically-powered Sperry ball turret.
An interesting shot of U-99, "Mariner Too". If you look closely at this bow shot, you will notice the three sets of Vortech Generators on the upper portion of both sponsons. Because of the rounded shape of the front deck there was a tendancy for the bow to lift out of the water. Because of the aerodynamic shape of the rounded surface, the upper deck acted like the upper surface of an airplane wing. The Vortech Generators "disturbed" the airflow so as to avoid the potential of aero lift at the cruicial front of the boat.
I have spent a lot of time around the Unlimited Hydroplane crowd. The driver wants to keep the boat just "skimming" over the water, barely making contact, but Mira Slovak, driving Bill Boeing's "Miss Wahoo" is experiencing his "moment of truth", as there is nothing under the boat or the prop or the rudder, except air. Water is "uncompressable", and if the air lifts the front end another degree or two. it's going to fly up and over and land with a bang, at which time the wooden boat desintigrates. Or, if the air pushes the nose down a degree or two, same result without the flip. If and when either of those things happen, the result it usually a dead driver. I knew Mira, and asked him specifically about the moment that somone snapped the camera while he was going flat out, and what he was feeling. He just turned white and I thought he was going to faint, just remembering how tight his ass-hole was at that instant. Luck was with him, and the boat settled in this position and he was able to stick his foot on the pedal again (he had to lift because with no load on the prop, the engine went way, way over the red line on the tach). Mira passed away a few years ago. He was a "man's man". For those that might not know about his history, https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-mira-slovak-20140622-story.html
The Jalopy Journal
