The model represents a boat called a hydrodrome, invented by Alexander Graham Bell and Casey Baldwin. This example models the HD-4, fourth in the experimental series of the type. Launched in 1918, the HD-4 had hydrofoils, or fins under the boat that lifted it out of the water to go faster. The HD-4 was powered originally by two 250-hp Renault engines, later replaced by two 360-hp Liberty engines. On 9 September 1919, Bell’s HD-4 achieved the world record for the maximum speed of a watercraft at 70.86 mph, or 61.58 knots. Composed of wood with steel fittings, the HD-4 was 60 feet long overall. The model was given to the Smithsonian in 1962.
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