Displays and Exhibitions 2

Merston Hall - Tangmere Aviation History Museum

“Desert Streak” is a painting commemorating the breaking of the world speed record by Mike Lithgow on 26 September 1953, following a road in the Libyan desert.

Merston Hall - Tangmere Military Aviation Museum

The Painting shown is a depiction of the Supermarine S-6 over Calshot Spit at the mouth of Southampton water. The S-6 was designed by R.J. Mitchell to win the Schneider Trophy, which it did successfully, retiring the trophy for Britain. Mitchell went on to design the Spitfire. The blue aircraft next to the painting is a replica of the prototype Spitfire, K-5054 which was constructed by Supermarine to commemorate the development of the type following the crash of the original.

Desert Streak

On 26 September 1953, flying the Supermarine Swift prototype (WK 198) Mike Lithgow broke the World Air Speed Record following a road in the Libyan desert near Tripoli. The speed reached 737.7 Mph and exceeded that of Neville Duke just a few days earlier. For this feat, he was awarded the Gold Medal by the Royal Aero Club.

The fuselage of the aircraft is the sole remaining artefact of this record breaking event and is on display at the Brooklands Museum in Surrey, UK.l