Bluebird hydroplane returns to water after fifty years

The Bluebird has been out of the water for over fifty years, until now. Credit: PA Images

Onlookers cheered as Donald Campbell’s Bluebird launched on Loch Fad after 50 years out of the water.

Volunteers who restored the boat to its former glory successfully tested the hydroplanes engine on the Isle Of Bute of the coast of west Scotland on Sunday.

It’s taken just over fifty years for the Bluebird K7 to return after it flipped into the air and crashed into Coniston Water, killing the pilot Donald Campbell, in 1967.

It took until 2001 to pull Campbell and the Bluebird from the Cumbrian lake.

Repair work has restored the boat to its original state with a brand-new engine.

The test run was a success. Bill Smith, the project manager, said, “It went very well – it worked first time out of the box”.