The Type R "Mystery Ships" were a series of wire-braced, low-wing racing airplanes built by the Travel Air company in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

[2] Under construction during 1928, the aircraft was kept under cover prior to the 1929 Cleveland Air Races, with the builders even going so far as painting the windows on the factory to keep the curious press from getting a look at it.

The local Wichita paper picked up on the secret program, with one reporter even going so far as to scale a ladder to try to peek into the vents in the factory roof.

[2] During an era when biplanes were still common, the use of a monoplane planform, a NACA engine cowl, and large wheel pants significantly reduced aerodynamic drag, creating a streamlined design.

The sleek, polished fuselage continued the shape and width of the cowl throughout, with the cockpit featuring a small windshield, set nearly flush with the skin.

The six-cylinder air-cooled, inverted inline engine developed 165 hp at 2,175 rpm, and powered NR613K to a win in the Experimental class at the 1929 National Air Races.

[4] A fifth Type R, 11717/MM185, was built at the request of the Italian government several years after the rest, after Hawks toured the European continent.

After factory construction and testing, it was subsequently disassembled, shipped by boat to Italy and served as the basis for the Breda Ba.27 fighter.

The Model R series set numerous speed records for both pylon racing and cross-country flying, and were the most advanced aircraft of the day, by far outpacing anything that even the military could offer.