Bluebird Recovery
Published in Diver Magazine, April, 2001, writer unknown

In 1967, Donald Campbell was attempting a new world water-speed record in Bluebird, an innovative speedboat specially designed for the event, which took place on Coniston Water in the Lake District.

On Campbell's second run along the lake, just metres short of the timing post, Bluebird's nose flipped up, the craft performed a somersault and crashed back into the water, killing him instantly.

Slim McDonnell was the diving cameraman with a team of Navy divers from Rosyth led by
Lt Commander John Futcher, sent to locate the wreck.

"The air temperature was 2°C and the edge of the lake frozen ice," Slim tells me. "The wreck was located upright and at around 50m, more or less directly below debris and oil slicks on the surface."

"We recovered Campbell's helmet, shoes and face mask, the nose cone and two sponsons. The safety harness buckles were done up and the harness unbroken - we discussed at the time that the body had disintegrated through the harness. I shot film of the wreck for the ITN News that night."

When the Navy divers left, they removed any trace of the wreck's location. Some 30 years later, Bill Smith, an expert wreck locator and technical diver from Newcastle, began to investigate what had happened to Bluebird.

It was during his research that he made contact with Gina Campbell, Donald's daughter. He kept her informed of progress and, as soon as he found signs of the wreckage, let her know.

With painstaking work, he managed to establish what appeared to be the location of the main body of the wreck. To verify that this was Bluebird, he dived through 50m of black, freezing water, and wiped a thick layer of silt from the blue paintwork. A TV crew which was following his progress for the BBC series The Mission filmed the historic moment when he rediscovered the wreck.

As soon as he was certain of his discovery, Bill took Gina Campbell on his boat to the site of the wreckage and showed her the image on the sonar.

She had never been able to visit the crash location and it was an emotional moment for her.

She decided that she wanted the wreck to be recovered and properly preserved, and Bill and his team were given the task. Members of the Speed Record Club volunteered to help out and act as observers for the family.

Diving such a historically significant wreck required special techniques. Sonar pictures were taken before and after we lifted each fragment of wreckage, so that we knew exactly from which position on the lakebed each piece had come.

The main body of the wreck was carefully lifted after extensive research to identify the strongest points on the structure. A team of air accident investigators was called in to reconstruct Bluebird from the wreckage and assess what had happened when it crashed.

The dive team endured some harsh conditions. During December and January the ground was frozen hard, and even travelling to the site over mountain roads and passes proved hazardous. The lake is filled by run-off from the mountains, so the water temperature rarely exceeds 8°C, and often plummets to 4°C.

The water is tannic, containing a brown-green stain which blocks out the light; below 10m, you're in total darkness.

Diving to 50m in such conditions is a serious undertaking. The Lake District is an altitude dive site, so the risk of decompression sickness is significantly increased.

Add to that a silty layer of organic mulch on the bottom that stirs up and reduces visibility to zero if you fin within half a metre of it - this was certainly some of the scariest diving I've ever done.

Despite considerable efforts to keep the operation low-key, the Sunday Telegraph got hold of the story and managed to track down Donald Campbell's widow, Tonia Bern-Campbell. She has remarried and travels around the USA, which means she is rarely in contact with the rest of the family.

Caught unprepared by a journalist looking for a story of family conflict, her initial reaction to the news of the discovery was that the wreck should be left alone.

This was duly published under the headline Campbells Feud Over Bluebird Wreck, and it looked as if we were in for another round of scare stories about irresponsible divers riding roughshod over the wishes of relatives.

However, once Tonia was able to discuss the matter with members of the family and Bill Smith, she agreed that the best option was to recover and preserve the wreck in a museum.

Without the interest, dedication and co-operation of amateur divers, it is unlikely that Bluebird would ever have been located and recovered. Thanks to the efforts of Bill Smith, working with the BBC documentary team and the Campbell family, a piece of the nation's history can be properly preserved.