History of aviation – October 4, 1924. On this October 4, 1924, the air show “The National Air Races” ends and it is on this date that Lieutenant Harry Mills will succeed in distinguishing himself in the sky by being the winner of a race carried out in a closed circuit pitting aviators against each other, namely the Pulitzer Cup.
This speed test, which began in 1920, at the initiative of the press publisher, Ralph Pulitzer, takes place every year. Its endowment includes a work by the sculptor Josef Korbel Mario, an Art Deco style cup.
The race took place above the city of Dayton: the latter consisted of completing four laps of the track as quickly as possible. An exercise carried out brilliantly by Harry Mills, installed at the controls of a Verville-Sperry R-3 aircraft. It thus evolved at no less than 347 kilometers per hour on average. Note that the winner of the previous Pulitzer Cup, Lieutenant Williams, had to go much faster to win with his Curtiss R2C, his average speed then being 392 kilometers per hour.
