Fastest in the World: The Saga of Canada’s Revolutionary Hydrofoils

Like the builders of the Avro Arrow, the pioneers of hydrofoils are celebrated in this book for their world-class accomplishments.

When Alexander Graham Bell was experimenting with flying machines, he developed hydrofoils as a means of getting airborne from water. In 1919, on the Bras d’Or lakes in Cape Breton, Bell and his collaborator Casey Baldwin broke a world speed record when their prototype HD-4 skimmed across the waves at 61.5 knots.

Fifty years later, the Canadian navy set a record for the fastest speed of any warship with their hydrofoil craft, HMCS Bras d’Or .

In Fastest in the World , John Boileau tells the story of the naval architects and engineers, excited by the prospect of developing high-speed submarine chasers, who built this world-class vessel.

This book examines how, just when Canada was on the brink of taking a unique role in anti-submarine warfare, the government withdrew support for the Bras d’Or . The orphaned vessel is now on view at the Maritime Museum of Quebec at l’Islet near Quebec City.

Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part Baddeck

Chapter 1 — Bell & Baldwin

Chapter 2 — “A Boat Which is Not a Boat”

Chapter 3 — End of An Era

Part Bras d’Or

Chapter 4 — The Canadian Hydrofoil Project

Chapter 5 — Remembering Bell & Baldwin

Chapter 6 — The New Bras d’Or

Chapter 7 — Bras d’Or Flies … & Falls

Chapter 8 — Not Made in Canada

Chronology of Hydrofoil Development

Abbreviations & Glossary

Select Bibliography

Photo Credits

Index