A series of flights over the weekend of 1st October 2000 saw the end of the cross channel hovercraft. The events leading up to the final flight were watched by hundreds of onlookers, and each flight was fully booked on the last weekend. This showed the interest and amazement of people who came from all over the world at the unique invention and its Dover to Calais heritage. Unfortunately, SRN4s in their ageing became too expensive to run and maintain, with most parts having to be manufactured on-site at Dover following the closure of BHC many years previously. Rolls-Royce had agreed to support the Proteus engines beyond 2000, but the rest of the craft's systems were primarily Hoverspeed's responsibility.
This page is a photo gallery taken by myself and by Thomas Loomes on the last days from both Calais and Dover hoverports. The photos are self explanatory so no captions are given, however you can view corresponding videos of these events in the SRN4 Last Days videos pages.
SRN4 Dover and Calais operations |
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Monday, May 9, 2011">Monday, May 9, 2011
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SRN4 Dover operationsPhotos: Thomas Loomes |
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SRN4 Calais operations |
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Page updated: 15 August, 2012
