ARCHIVE FEATURE
June 1959 – hovercraft
The rise of the
hovercraft
The Engineer of 1959 was excited by the arrival of a
For three decades the hovercraft was the fastest and
most thrilling way to cross the English Channel.
And back in 1959 The Engineer was present at
the birth of a vehicle so new and hard to categorise
that it was described simply as a ‘ground-eff ect
aircraft’.
The culmination of six years of work, during which
its inventor, Christopher Cockerell, was forced to sell
his personal possessions to fund the project, the SR-N1
hovercraft research vehicle was built by Saunders-Roe
on the Isle of Wight and ‘fl ew’ for the fi rst time on the 11
June 1959.
Privileged to witness this landmark event in maritime
history, The Engineer wrote: ‘The principle of operation
is closely related to that of the jet fl ap, a pressure
diff erence being sustained by the change in momentum
of the jet sheet: the product of “cushion” pressure and
hovering height has proved to be, as simple theory
predicts, the change of momentum in defl ecting the jet
sheet into the horizontal plane.’
The article went on to explain that one distinctive
feature of the design was that the initial direction of the
jet was not vertical but inwardly inclined to increase the
pressure developed. “To minimise the energy demand for
a given momentum change, low pressures are optimal,
and the manned research vehicle supports 10 lb per
square foot within the “ curtain “ at its periphery and
171b per square foot within a second curtain 3ft further
inboard,” our reporter wrote.
In the picture, Cockerell is shown pushing the
machine while it fl oats on its cushion of air.
The article continued: “In the foreground can be
seen one of the four propelling nozzles with the control
JMuanrec 2h0 22002/0w/ ww.wth.teheenegningieneere.cro.c.uok.uk 3586
vanes that allow a transverse or vertical component of
thrust to be developed. The Yaw vanes at the rear nozzles
are extended upward to give directional stability and
improved yaw when fl ying forward.”
A couple of months later, on 25 July, the prototype
craft, which could carry four men at a speed of 28mph
(45km/h), made a successful crossing of the channel.
In an earlier article on the topic, published on May 1st
1959, The Engineer outlined proposals from Saunders-
Roe for the construction of a succession of manned
vehicles, “the next step would be a 30-ton craft to carry
100 passengers over sheltered waters, powered by a
Rolls-Royce “ Dart,” and the subsequent, and probably
near optimum, model would be a 400-ton ferry for up to
1200 passengers and eighty cars, which, with seven Rolls-
Royce “ Tyne “ engines, would a ain heights of 6ft and be
able to operate regularly over the English Channel.”
Commenting on the potential market for the
technology the article continued: “Applications foreseen
for these machines are in the smaller sizes, ferrying
where high speed is important, as between the Great
Lakes cities in North America or to off shore oil rigs, and,
for large machines, short sea journeys where traffi c is
heavy….as in the English Channel.”
“It is predicted that the high cruising speeds
will result not only in a popular vehicle, but also in
specifi c costs somewhat lower than those of existing
displacement and planing craft,” concluded the article
In the UK, commercial cross-channel hovercraft
operations ceased in 2000, although a service still
operates across the Solent from Southsea to Ryde on the
Isle of Wight. The vehicles are also widely used by the
military.
June 1959
new mode of sea travel
written by Jon excell
/ww.wth.teheenegningieneere.cro.c.uok.uk