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CHRISTOPHER COCKERELL
British inventor Christopher Cockerell carried out experiments during the early 1950s with a device that later became known as the hovercraft.
The basic principle is that a vehicle can rest on a cushion of air and propellers can provide forward motion. He built a prototype in 1955, but the air force claimed it was a ship and the navy claimed it was a plane.
The British Government provided funding and in 1959 a prototype hovercraft was unveiled. A month later the prototype crossed the English Channel, which showed the technical durability of early hovercrafts.
The SRN4 was the largest passenger hovercraft in the world, capable of carrying over 380 passengers and 40 cars. It was 91 feet wide and 185 feet in length and weighed 300 tons. The propellers were 20 feet in diameter and with its power it could cruise at 70 mph. It was the fastest ferry in the world.
EARLY MODEL / WORKING PROTOTYPE OF A HOVERCRAFT
