In 1920 Texas oil millionaire S. E. J. Cox contracted Curtiss to build two racers for the James Gordon Bennett to be held in France. The first one was the Texas Wildcat It was test flow with a thicker airfoil. With time running short, both were packed up and shipped to France. One test flight in France shower the Texas Wildcat with the racing wings were unstable at high speeds. A new set of biplane wings were designed by Curtiss to be built at the Morane-Saulnier factory. The new wings were completed one day before the race. A short hop was made at the factory. On the departure from the factory of a flight to the race site, a wheel was damaged. On landing at the race site, the wheel failed and the racer flipped over and totaled.
The second racer, the Cactus Kitten which was never uncrated in France, was shipped back to the US. It was prepared for the 1921 Pulitzer Race as a triplane. The wings were a shorten version of the design used on the Curtiss Model 18T. The Cactus Kitten took 2nd place in the race at 170.3 mph. Cox sold the Cactus Kitten to the Navy for one dollar to be used as a trainer for the 1923 racing team.
427 hp Curtiss C-12
Curtiss photo from the Hudek Aeronautical collection
US Air Force photo
