"Thompson Air Races 1933"
By Larry Grossman - RetroVisions

The famed Thompson Trophy Air Race was held in Los Angeles in 1933, and of course attracted the fastest planes of the era. In my depiction of the race, the Granville Brothers' Gee Bee "Model Z" racer (which had won the race in 1931) is warming up in the foreground. It's sister ship, the red and white Gee Bee "Model R-1" is banking overhead. Flown by legendary pilot Jimmy Doolittle, the "R-1" had won the race in 1932. While the Gee Bee's were very fast, they were also very unstable, and many pilots were killed in them. -- L.G.