Curtiss Cox Racer

The Curtiss Cox Racers, also called the Curtiss Model 22, were two specialised racing aircraft built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company in 1920 for the American oil millionaire S. Cox. They were named Texas Wildcat and Cactus Kitten and were built to enter the Gordon Bennett Trophy race in France in September 1920. Each was a high-wing monoplane with a streamlined wooden fuselage, an enclosed cockpit and a 427 horsepower Curtiss C-12 V-12 engine. Texas Wildcat proved unstable at high speed, was refitted with biplane wings and was wrecked in a landing accident before the race. Cactus Kitten was returned unflown, rebuilt as a triplane and flown to second place in the 1921 Pulitzer Trophy Race at an average of 170.3 mph, then sold to the US Navy as a trainer for high-speed racing aircraft.