SR-N1
Encyclopedia
Saunders-Roe
Saunders-Roe Limited was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works East Cowes, Isle of Wight.-History:The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliot Verdon Roe and John Lord took a controlling interest in the boat-builders S.E. Saunders...
SR.N1 ("Saunders-Roe Nautical 1") was the first practical hovercraft
Hovercraft
A hovercraft is a craft capable of traveling over surfaces while supported by a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air which is ejected against the surface below and contained within a "skirt." Although supported by air, a hovercraft is not considered an aircraft.Hovercraft are used throughout...
.
Design
It was designed by Christopher CockerellChristopher Cockerell
Sir Christopher Sydney Cockerell CBE FRS was an English engineer, inventor of the hovercraft.-Life:Cockerell was born in Cambridge, where his father, Sir Sydney Cockerell, was curator of the Fitzwilliam Museum, having previously been the secretary of William Morris. Christopher Cockerell was...
and built by Saunders-Roe
Saunders-Roe
Saunders-Roe Limited was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works East Cowes, Isle of Wight.-History:The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliot Verdon Roe and John Lord took a controlling interest in the boat-builders S.E. Saunders...
on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
under the auspices of the National Research and Development Corporation (NRDC). Powered by an Alvis Leonides
Alvis Leonides
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
radial piston engine
Radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel...
that drove a lift fan, and using ducted air from the fan for propulsion, it first flew on 11 June 1959 in front of the assembled press showing its capability to cross both land and water.
Service
On 25 July 1959, the 50th anniversary of Louis BlériotLouis Blériot
Louis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor and engineer. In 1909 he completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he crossed the English Channel. For this achievement, he received a prize of £1,000...
's cross-channel flight, the SR.N1 crossed the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
from Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
to Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
in just over two hours. The crew were Captain Peter Lamb (pilot), John Chaplin (navigator) and Christopher Cockerell
Christopher Cockerell
Sir Christopher Sydney Cockerell CBE FRS was an English engineer, inventor of the hovercraft.-Life:Cockerell was born in Cambridge, where his father, Sir Sydney Cockerell, was curator of the Fitzwilliam Museum, having previously been the secretary of William Morris. Christopher Cockerell was...
, the inventor of the momentum curtain
Momentum curtain
Discovered by British engineer Christopher Cockerell, the momentum curtain is a unique and efficient way to reduce friction between a vehicle and its surface of travel, be it water or land, by levitating the vehicle above this surface via a cushion of air...
as applied to the hovercraft principle.
The SR.N1 later had a flexible skirt added in 1961 which greatly improved the effective depth of the air cushion. The following year an aft-facing Bristol-Siddeley Viper III jet engine, mounted on the rear of the decking behind the lift fan housing, supplemented the ducted-air propulsion produced by the piston engine, increasing the craft's maximum speed from 35 to 50 knots. The Viper installation followed an earlier installation of a Blackburn/Turbomeca Marboré
Turbomeca Marboré
|-See also:-References:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9-External links:* *...
of approximately half the Viper's thrust.
Models of the SR.N1 were available in both die-cast
Die-cast toy
The term die-cast toy here refers to any toy or collectible model produced by using the die casting method. The toys are made of metal, with plastic, rubber or glass details. Wholly plastic toys are made by a similar process of injection moulding, but the two are rarely confused...
metal form in the Corgi Toys
Mettoy-Corgi
Corgi Toys is the name of a range of die-cast toy vehicles produced by Mettoy Playcraft Ltd. in the United Kingdom. The Mettoy company was founded in 1933 by German émigré Philip Ullmann in Northampton, England, where he was later joined by South African-born German Arthur Katz who had previously...
range, and as a 1:72 scale
1:72 scale
1:72 scale is a scale used for scale models, most commonly model aircraft, corresponding to one sixth of an inch representing one foot . In other words, 72 of a given model placed end to end would represent the length of the real thing. In this scale, a man who is six feet tall would be exactly...
plastic construction kit from Airfix
Airfix
Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer....
.
The SR.N1 is held by the Science Museum
Science Museum Swindon
The Science Museum at Wroughton, near Swindon, England, is the large-object store of the Science Museum . It is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry.-Overview:...
at Wroughton
Wroughton
Wroughton is a large village in Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and is south of Swindon.-History:The earliest evidence of human presence in the area is from the Mesolithic period, although this is fairly limited...
.