In the late 1950s, British engineering was alive with ambition, experimentation and confidence. It was during this period that the Dowty Group, based in Cheltenham and best known for its work in aerospace and advanced engineering, joined forces with one of Britain’s most famous innovators and adventurers, Sir Donald Campbell.
Together, they created the Dowty Turbocraft — a bold and unconventional project that explored new ideas in marine propulsion and lightweight construction. First unveiled to the public at the 1959 Earls Court Boat Show, the Turbocraft represented the spirit of its age: technically adventurous, visually striking, and unafraid to challenge convention.
As part of his involvement in the project, Sir Donald Campbell was allocated a 1962 Jaguar Mk2 3.8, finished in a pale blue shade, which he used during the period when the Turbocraft was being developed and tested. It was a fitting choice. At the time, the Mk2 was widely regarded as one of Britain’s finest sporting saloons — fast, refined, and engineered with the same confidence that characterised Campbell’s own approach to innovation and speed.
The Turbocraft itself was trialled on the South Cerney lakes near Cirencester, a location closely associated with Dowty’s engineering work. More than six decades later, plans are now in place to return a surviving Dowty Turbocraft to those same waters in spring 2026, allowing it to sail once again in the setting for which it was originally developed.
To complete this moment — and to tell the story properly — we hope to reunite the boat with a period-correct Jaguar Mk2, ideally a 1962 3.8-litre example of the type Sir Donald Campbell drove. While finding a car in the original pale blue colour may be optimistic, any correct Mk2 of the right specification would be of enormous historical value to the occasion.
This would not be a static pairing for display alone, but a meaningful reunion of two strands of British engineering history: Dowty’s industrial innovation, Campbell’s restless pursuit of progress, and Jaguar’s role in defining performance motoring in the early 1960s.
If you own, or know of, a suitable Jaguar Mk2 and would be willing to help bring this story to life, we would be very grateful to hear from you. Your car would play a small but important part in commemorating a largely forgotten chapter of British technical achievement.
Further details, including the exact date, will be confirmed in due course.
Martin Robins
Email: martinrobins@btinternet.com
Chairman, Sir George Dowty Memorial Committee
One Response
I doubt that my car would be suitable; all would depend on your respective technical specification and originality priorities.
I have now owned my 1960 3.8 Auto Carmen Red Mk2 (OVG 142) for over 60 years, during which time I have striven to retain its authenticity. This story appeared in the June, July and August 2010 and February 2021 editions of the Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine. Jaguar World covered the same ground in its February 2021 Edition. I will not trouble you further with any of this stuff here.