Tag Archives: Callingham

4th Of Four – Bentley 4 1/2 Litre #TX3246

Just as May is the month motorsport turns it’s attentions to the Indianapolis 500 and Monaco Grand Prix June is traditionally the sports interest focuses on the Le Mans 24 Hours. This month I have lined up 29 vehicles that either competed in the event, are of a type that competed in the event and or were designed to compete in the event but for one reason or another did not compete on the fastest roundabout in the world.

Humphrey Wyndham Cook is listed on the peerage.com as being born in 1893 to Wyndham Francis Cook and Frederica Evelyn Stillwell Freeland he attending Harrow on the Hill School and Christ Church, Oxford University.

Bentley 4 1/2 Litre, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Described as quiet and enthusiastic Humphrey started racing in 1914 and continued after The Great 1914/18 war racing Vauxhall’s and Bugatti’s mostly at Brooklands.

In 1928 he entered today’s featured car an unsupercharged 4 1/2 litre Bentley, chassis #TX3246 in the 1928 Tourist Trophy at Ards where he finished 7th.

Bentley 4 1/2 Litre, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The car next appears to have been entered by W.O. Bentley in to the Double Twelve at Brooklands, two 12 hour races being run in daylight on the same weekend, so as not to disturb the neighbors at night, in May 1929 where Humphrey and Frank Clement retired with a big end failure.

A month later and with the big end repaired #TX3246 powered by it’s original motor #PM3275 was entered into the Le Mans 24 Hour race by Bentley Motors Ltd for Frank Clement and Jean Chassagne to drive. Carrying the #8 They finished 4th completing a 1st to 4th place sweep for the Marque behind the Woolf Barnato and Henry Birkin driving the #1 Speed Six and the #9 and #10 4 1/2 litre cars driven by Jack Dunfee and Glen Kidston with Dr. Dudley Benjafield and André d’Erlanger in the latter.

Bentley 4 1/2 Litre, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Humphrey Cook and Leslie Callingham drove #TX3246 to a third place finish in the Brooklands 6 hour race at the end of June 1929 where a Bentley 1,2 finish interupted by an ALFA Romeo running in the 2 litre / 122cui class.

Two weeks later in the Irish GP Eireann Cup run at Phoenix Park Humphrey finished 5th before #TX3246 returned to Brooklands where Jack Barclay and Frank Clement drove her to victory lane in the Brooklands 500, the first race ever organised by the British Racing Drivers Club, BRDC, in October 1929.

Bentley 4 1/2 Litre, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Humphrey Cook went on to fund and race Raymond Mays and Peter Berthon’s English Racing Automobiles, ERA, project.

While Jack Barclay is still best known in London for his Rolls Royce and Bentley Dealerships in Mayfair.

Bentley 4 1/2 Litre, Goodwood Festival of Speed

#TX3246 powered by the 4 1/2 litre motor number #PM3275 is seen in these photographs at Goodwood Festival of Speed last year.

Thanks for joining me on this “4th Of Four” edition of “Getting A Little Psycho On Tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Forced Induction Push – Bentley 4 1/2 litre #DS3573

Following the disappointments of it’s Le Mans appearances from 1925 to 1926, after the success with the 3 litre / 183 cui cars in 1924 Bentley employed his maxim ‘there is no substitute for cubic inches’ to his new prototype Le Mans challenger, known as “Old Mother Gun”, for 1927 by fitting it with a 4 1/2 litre / 319.5 cui motor.

Bentley 4 1/2 litre, Brooklands Double 12

During the 1927 running of the endurance classic there was a six car pileup involving five of the leading cars; two Théophile Schneiders, an Ariés two three litre Bentleys and the 4 1/2 litre Old Mother Gun which Leslie Callingham rolled into a ditch having chosen to avoid a head on collision.

Bentley 4 1/2 litre, Brooklands Double 12

With the 4 1/2 litre car out of the running the race was won by the 3 litre Bentley of Dr. Dudley Benjafield and Sammy Davis, the last car to arrive at the scene of the accident, after repairs had been effected that included the judicious use of string to hold one of the front wings and the team used a pocket torch to replace the damaged head light !

Bentley 4 1/2 litre, Brooklands Double 12

“Old Mother Gun” was subsequently repaired and Woolf Barnato driving with Bernard Rubin came out winners of the 1928 Le Mans 24 hours after a race long duel with the more powerful 8 cylinder Stutz DV16 Blackhawk driven by F Éduoard Brisson and Robert Bloch.

Bentley 4 1/2 litre, Brooklands Double 12

By this time Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin” who shared the forth placed 4 1/2 litre Bentley with Jean Chassagne at Le Mans in 1928 was convinced the way forward was to build light cars with super chargers. With the tacit agreement of Bentley’s chairman Woolf Barnato and independent finance from Dorothy Paget. Birkin set about building 55 supercharged four cylinder 4 1/2 litre Bentley’s, commonly referred to as Blower Bentleys, against the wishes of designer W.O. Bentley who simultaneously built a new Speed Six model for 1929 complete with straight six cylinder 6 1/2 litre 396.5 cui motor.

Bentley 4 1/2 litre, Brooklands Double 12

Such was W.O. Bentley’s opposition to the idea of supercharging, which had been tried on a 3 litre Bentley built 1926/7, that he refused to countenance the modification of the Bentley 4 1/2 litre motor in any way that would allow Birkin to mount the supercharger along side the 4 cylinder block with the result that the only place the superchager could be fitted was ahead of the front axle line so that it could be driven from the front of the crankshaft.

Bentley 4 1/2 litre, Brooklands Double 12

This mounting position and it’s attendant weight adversely affect the cars propensity to understeer / push where as the new Speed Six had all the weight of it’s motive power mounted between the axles.

Bentley 4 1/2 litre, Brooklands Double 12

Ironically the Speed Six model was ready before the Blower Bentley and Tim Birkin shared a Speed Six, known as Old Number One, with Woolf Barnato to easily win the 1929 Le Mans 24 hours ahead of three unsupercharged 4 1/2 litre Bentley’s.

Bentley 4 1/2 litre, Brooklands Double 12

The Bentley Blowers were ready for 1930 and three cars were entered by the Hon. Miss Dorothy Paget, including one for Sir Tim co driving with Jean Chassagne in the 1930 Le Mans 24 hours, but none were running at the finish. Woolf Barnato now sharing the Speed Six Old Number One with Glen Kidston meanwhile led home a Speed Six one two finish. Strategically playing the hare for the highly fancied supercharged 7.1 litre / 433 cui Mercedes Benz of Rudolf Caracciola and Christian Werner to catch and forcing the German car to run at a faster pace than would have been ideal, Birkins Bentley Blower contribute to the Mercedes Benz premature retirement and indirectly to Barnato and Kidston’s victory.

Bentley 4 1/2 litre, Brooklands Double 12

At the end of 1930 Dorothy Paget withdrew her support for Birkin’s Blowers and in 1931 despite 4 consecutive Le Mans Wins and 5 wins since 1923 Bentley was forced to sell out to Rolls Royce. This however was not quite the end of the Bentley Blower story as a special single seater Blower Bentley that Birkin has built in 1929, chassis HB3402 was just hitting it’s stride at Brooklands leaving the lap record at 137.96 mph in 1932.

Bentley 4 1/2 litre, Brooklands Double 12

In 1931 Sir Tim returned to Le Mans to co drive Lord Howe’s Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM and together they became the first drivers to win the 24 hour race with a supercharged car comfortably beating the much larger supercharged 7.1 litre Mercedes Benz SSK driven by Boris Ivanowski and Henri Stoffel by seven laps.

Today’s featured car looks and sounds like a Bentley Blower, but was supplied new in 1929 to Sir L.Lyle with a saloon / sedan body by HJ Mulliner with an unsupercharged 4 1/2 litre motor. The car was rebuilt with an open tourer body as seen today in 1973 when #DS3573 competed in the Scottish Weekend Whit Rally with flying colours.

The supercharger appears to have been first seen on chassis #DS3573 in 2005. Just after these photo’s were taken at Brooklands last year, five time Le Mans winner, Derek Bell drove the car at the Le Mans Classic with owner Martin Overington supported by a three man pit crew, comprising three ex service men injured in combat, on behalf of the Misson Motorsport charity.

Thanks for joining me on this “Forced Induction Push” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” which happens to be the 1000th GALPOT posting. My thanks to all those who have contributed and stayed with me on this journey, especially those who have liked and spread the word on their social media pages. I hope you will join me for the first of the next 1000 GALPOT posts again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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