HISTORY

Walter Brock was an American who learned to fly in England in 1912. He quickly moved on to becoming a flight instructor and became the first pilot to deliberately take off in winds of gale strength.
Brock achieved fame as a racing pilot, scoring victories all over Europe until the beginning of World War I. The most famous and prestigious race he won was on July 11, 1914, from London to Paris. The aircraft he flew was a Morane-Saulnier H-type Monoplane, powered by an 80 hp Gnome Rotary engine. However his European racing days came to an abrupt end when war broke out and all British civilian aircraft were ordered to be turned over to the military.
In 1916, using “parts” he brought back with him from Europe, Brock built this aircraft using a smaller 50 hp Gnome engine. How much of the racer he brought back is a matter of speculation. This aircraft has almost the same lines as the 1914 racing aircraft but is about 3 feet shorter. Was the fuselage cut down to ship home because of a size issue? Who knows? By renaming it the Brock Monoplane, he may very well have been covering for his friends back in England who had helped him get the aircraft out of the country.
Why was the engine not shipped? Would it have been too obvious? Or did he feel that he could save on shipping and get one easily in the States (which he did)? How much of the original aircraft is in this airplane is anybody’s guess. We may one day learn more when the aircraft is restored back to flying condition.