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Saunders Roe SRN1 (Saunders Roe Nautical One)

• Construction and First Flight
• First cross-channel flight to Dover

The SRN1 was the first full-sized proof-of-concept hovercraft, built in 1959 by Sauders Roe (Aviation) under commission from the British National Research and Development Corporation (NRDC). The craft was designed by the inventor of the hovercraft, Sir Christopher Cockerell (Wikipedia page). The craft astounded all on its first flights from its production factory at East Cowes, Isle of Wight, both on land and on the waters of the Solent.

Later that year on the 25th July, 1959, Cockerell, navigator John Chaplin and chief test pilot Capt. Peter Lamb were the full crew of the craft on its most famous flight, that being the first flight of a hovercraft across the English Channel from Calais to Dover. With Cockerell providing inventive dynamic ballast by careful positioning of himself around the structure, the crossing was made in a time of 2 hours 3 minutes, overcoming the obstacles of non-favourable winds and moderate swell on the water. This flight proved the hovercraft's capabilities, though also showed the limitations of the initial design, that being, a skirtless one providing little in the way of obstacle clearance. It wasn't until Cecil Latimer-Needham invented the flexible skirt (and subsequently sold the patent to Westland, the parent company of Saunders Roe) that air cushion technology really 'took off' [Hovercraft Museum, 2007; Hayden, 1969; McLeavy, 1976]. The SRN1 prototype continued to be developed by Westland, Saunders Roe and the NRDC and even received a skirt and an additional engine in the form of a Rolls-Royce Viper jet to increase its thrust output.

The SRN1 is now at home at RAF Wroughton, Swindon, England, an extension of The Science Museum. Photos of her in her current state and more can be found at The Hovercraft Museum.

Table: Performance specifications for the original SRN1 hovercraft (Sources: Barton, 2004; Hovercraft Museum, 2007).

GENERAL ARRANGEMENT (Sources: Barton, 2004; Croome, 1964)

Construction and First Flight

	Construction The shell of the SRN1 during construction. The engine mount and main intake is clearly visible as is the inner shell of the plenum chamber. The top criss-cross of beams is the start of the outer layer of the plenum which, when reaching the edges of the craft, deflected the air downwards creating the famous air cushion effect by Momentum Curtain (Source: Peter Insole).
	Construction Here is shown a later stage in the SRN1's build, including the cockpit (right), engine, and support for the propeller. Also can be seen one of the two air ducts (lower middle) used to bleed air from the main lift fan to provide thrust in the form of two directional air jets (Source: Peter Insole).
	First Flight The first flight of the SRN1 on the concrete slipway at East Cowes. The astonished crowd of photographers and journalists would have seen nearly a foot of air beneath the craft during its hover. Note the ground wheels attached to the four corners of the craft (Source: Peter Insole).

First Cross-Channel flight to Dover

	Famous Shot The SRN1 was the first hovercraft to cross the English Channel. It crossed the channel in 2 hours on 25th July 1959 with Cockerell and Chaplin on board, piloted by Capt. Peter Lamb. This flight was exactly 50 years to the day to when Louis Bleriot successfully flew the first plane across the channel (Source: Croome, 1984)
	SRN1 Arrives at Dover From the beach, SRN1 arrives with Cockerell, Chaplin and Lamb on board. Alec Morecraft who took this and the next photo was lucky enough to have happened to be on Dover Seafront at the time of this historic arrival (Photo: Alec Morecraft).
	Rear of the craft You can see the two fuel tanks behind the main air intake, as well as the port rudder and main thrust duct (Photo: Alec Morecraft)

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