196
Tire Last Resource
solution Was a long exible shirt which formed a soft extension
from the base of the craft and trapped a cushion of air several feet
thick. The SRN—I, for example, was operated successfully with a
skirt 4 feet deep. Commercial vehicles now became feasible, and
within ten years of Cockerell’s initial demonstration, ferry services
were operating with the SRN—5 and the SRN—6. (The SRN—5, a
:l-‘j
small 7—ton craft, carries 18 passengers and the S RN—6, a larger
Î
ro+ton version, can seat 38 passen—gers.) In the summer of 1968, a
165—ton SRM—4, wearing British Rail livery, began a ferry service
between D0ver and Boulogne. A giant compared with the previous
machines, this Mountbatten Class hovercraft, christened the
‘;…Ï
Princess Margaret, carries 250 passengers and 30 cars. In spite of
her size—128 feet long, 75 feet wide and nearly 37 feet high—the
Princess Margaret can travel between England and France in a little
,
*
over a third of the time taken by the conventional car ferries and
'
takes waves over 6 feet high in
,
…
€
The SRN—4, the SRN—5 and the SRN—6 are all built-by the
British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC) Which was formed in
?
concentrate the British hovercraftindustry’s major interests“under
a singlemanagement. BHC combines the hoVercraft interestsdf
Wesdand.Aircr‘aft (which
the'heavy
'
engineering company Vickers.
third partner in the corporati0n
…
is the state—owned
Development Corporation
(NRDC) which .‘lïOldS Cockertæll’s original patents and
.
‘
_
through its
H0vercraft -DeveloprentxLiriæd (HDL),
'
grants licences gto overseas companies suèhàs Bell Aer03ystems in
the United States and the Mitsubishi Company in—Japan aswell as
other British companies.— Because the Moüntbàtt“en
craft are direct descendants of plansvmade“by Saunders—Roc,— but
shelved in favour of the smaller -'SRNs-5 and: 6, the large
,
Craft have retained their Original number. All thelaær designs %have‘
the BH preX.
'
f'
È
;
The same week that «the
under
ppWer doivn the Coives slipwày:(—built
PrinceSsymg
and uncomfortably
gdeliVered‘? to the ;B‘r—it—ishiïRä‘il
service. Builtӣ by Hovermartne Of S
HM*z…has= rigid side—Weills ‘WhichèiË'iñ}Ëthefwater矑sd that the only
Cli‘1estôthe supporting iàircushi0n areîîthejexible'E“Sk'irts»foire and aftr
,
Manufacturers' of side—wall. hoVercraft
%traded thewani‘phibibuë
Tire Last Resource
solution Was a long exible shirt which formed a soft extension
from the base of the craft and trapped a cushion of air several feet
thick. The SRN—I, for example, was operated successfully with a
skirt 4 feet deep. Commercial vehicles now became feasible, and
within ten years of Cockerell’s initial demonstration, ferry services
were operating with the SRN—5 and the SRN—6. (The SRN—5, a
:l-‘j
small 7—ton craft, carries 18 passengers and the S RN—6, a larger
Î
ro+ton version, can seat 38 passen—gers.) In the summer of 1968, a
165—ton SRM—4, wearing British Rail livery, began a ferry service
between D0ver and Boulogne. A giant compared with the previous
machines, this Mountbatten Class hovercraft, christened the
‘;…Ï
Princess Margaret, carries 250 passengers and 30 cars. In spite of
her size—128 feet long, 75 feet wide and nearly 37 feet high—the
Princess Margaret can travel between England and France in a little
,
*
over a third of the time taken by the conventional car ferries and
'
takes waves over 6 feet high in
,
…
€
The SRN—4, the SRN—5 and the SRN—6 are all built-by the
British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC) Which was formed in
?
concentrate the British hovercraftindustry’s major interests“under
a singlemanagement. BHC combines the hoVercraft interestsdf
Wesdand.Aircr‘aft (which
the'heavy
'
engineering company Vickers.
third partner in the corporati0n
…
is the state—owned
Development Corporation
(NRDC) which .‘lïOldS Cockertæll’s original patents and
.
‘
_
through its
H0vercraft -DeveloprentxLiriæd (HDL),
'
grants licences gto overseas companies suèhàs Bell Aer03ystems in
the United States and the Mitsubishi Company in—Japan aswell as
other British companies.— Because the Moüntbàtt“en
craft are direct descendants of plansvmade“by Saunders—Roc,— but
shelved in favour of the smaller -'SRNs-5 and: 6, the large
,
Craft have retained their Original number. All thelaær designs %have‘
the BH preX.
'
f'
È
;
The same week that «the
under
ppWer doivn the Coives slipwày:(—built
PrinceSsymg
and uncomfortably
gdeliVered‘? to the ;B‘r—it—ishiïRä‘il
service. Builtӣ by Hovermartne Of S
HM*z…has= rigid side—Weills ‘WhichèiË'iñ}Ëthefwater矑sd that the only
Cli‘1estôthe supporting iàircushi0n areîîthejexible'E“Sk'irts»foire and aftr
,
Manufacturers' of side—wall. hoVercraft
%traded thewani‘phibibuë