What is Bluebird K7?
{{Orphan|date=December 2010}} [[File:Replica of the Campbell Bluebird K7.jpg|thumb|right|A replica of Bluebird K7]] '''Bluebird K7''' was a boat built for [[Donald Campbell]] to break the [[World Water Speed Record]]. Bluebird was a special kind of boat, called a [[hydroplane]], that skims over the top of the water instead of pushing through it like a normal boat. Bluebird was powered by a [[jet engine]]. It set new world water speed records seven times; the fastest was 276 [[mph]] (445 [[km/h]]). Bluebird was destroyed when Campbell tried to set an eighth record by going faster than 300&nbsp;mph (480&nbsp;km/h) on [[Coniston Water]] in 1967. ==Design== [[Image:Bluebird K7 Lloyds badge.svg|thumb|right|[[Lloyd's unlimited rating#K7|Lloyd's]] K7 badge, as worn by Bluebird]] Campbell had been using his father's boat, [[Bluebird K4]], to try and set new records. Bluebird K4 was destroyed when its structure broke. After this, Donald had the idea for a jet powered hydroplane to take the world water speed record from the American [[propeller]] hydroplane [[Slo-mo-shun]]. Ken and Lewis Norris designed and built K7 based on Donald's ideas. K7 was a three-point hydroplane, meaning that when going quickly the boat only touched the water in three places, one point near the back of the boat and one point at the back of the two sponsons (the sponsons are the floats either side of the boat, near its front in the photos). It was built of [[aluminium]] on top of a [[steel]] frame and was at first powered by a small [[turbojet]]. The name K7 came from the rating given to the boat by [[Lloyds of London]] ==Records== Campbell set seven world water speed records in K7 between 1955 and 1964: * 23 July 1955, 202&nbsp;mph (324&nbsp;km/h), set at [[Ullswater]] in [[England]] * 1955, 216&nbsp;mph (348&nbsp;km/h) * 1956, 225&nbsp;mph (362&nbsp;km/h) * 1957, 239&nbsp;mph (385&nbsp;km/h) * 1958, 248&nbsp;mph (399&nbsp;km/h) * 1959, 260&nbsp;mph (420&nbsp;km/h) * 31 December 1964, 276&nbsp;mph (445&nbsp;km/h), set at [[Dumbleyung La