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Seaspeed was a British
hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...
operator which ran services in the Solent and English Channel between 1965 and 1981, when it merged with a rival to form Hoverspeed. Seaspeed was a jointly owned subsidiary of railway companies
British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
(under British Rail Hovercraft Limited) and France's
SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...
, and was established in 1965. Seaspeed operated several services; its first route, running between
Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...
and
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, was launched on 6 July 1966. Initially operating a fleet of SR.N6s for these short-distance services, it opted to procure larger SR.N4s for its cross- Channel ferry service; the first of these hoverferries was introduced in 1968. On this route, Seaspeed competed against traditional ferries and rival SR.N4 operator Hoverlloyd. In 1976, after concluding that it could not attain suitable profitability from its smaller SR.N6 services, Seaspeed sold these to rival hovercraft company Hovertravel. Focusing upon its cross-Channel service, it opted to repeatedly upgrade the SR.N4 fleet. During the late 1970s, Seaspeed introduced the stretched SR.N4 Mk.III, greatly increasing its capacity; it also introduced a single French-built SEDAM N500 hovercraft, although the latter's performance was found lacking and it was returned to SNCF after a few years. In 1981, in response to intensifying competition and rising costs, Seaspeed merged with its historic rival Hoverlloyd to create the combined Hoverspeed. This new entity continued to operate the SR.N4 fleet until finally withdrawing hovercraft services in 2000.


Background and formation

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, British inventor Sir Christopher Cockerell had, in cooperation with British aerospace manufacturer
Saunders-Roe Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aerospace and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. History The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took ...
, developed a pioneering new form of transportation, embodied in the form of the experimental SR.N1 vehicle, which became widely known as the
hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...
.Paine and Syms 2012, p. 82. British manufacturer Saunders-Roe proceeded with work on various hovercraft designs, successfully developing multiple commercially-viable vehicles in the mid-1960s. These included the SR.N4, a large cross- Channel
ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...
capable of seating up to 418 passengers along with 60 cars, and the SR.N5, the first commercially-active hovercraft.Paine and Syms 2012, pp. 238, 595. Various operators became interested in operating hovercraft across various routes, including the highly-trafficked ones across the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
between the UK and France. Nationalised railway operator
British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
, which already had its
Sealink Sealink was a ferry company based in Great Britain from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight and Ireland. Ports served by the company included: Dover, F ...
ferry company as a subsidiary, was one such company; its interest was likely to have been heavily influenced by a political decision by the
Ministry of Technology The Ministry of Technology was a department of the government of the United Kingdom, sometimes abbreviated as "MinTech". The Ministry of Technology was established by the incoming government of Harold Wilson in October 1964 as part of Wilson's am ...
to establish a publicly owned hovercraft operator, in addition to strong interest from other commercial operators.Paine and Syms 2012, pp. 200-203. During 1965, it entered into discussions with potential partners, including the
British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the United Kingdom, British state-owned national airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II ...
and British European Airways.Paine and Syms 2012, pp. 203-205. Having approached French railway operator
SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...
, the two train companies decided to jointly establish a new venture to enter the market with. Accordingly, in 1965, British Rail Hovercraft Limited was established; although it would be another three years before it launched its cross-Channel service. One of the first decisions taken by Seaspeed's management, announced in November 1965, was its commitment for the Saunders-Roe SR.N4. The company agreed to acquire the first example, which was essentially a prototype, and thus would serve as the type's launch customer.Paine and Syms 2012, p. 202. According to authors Robin Paine and Roger Syms, the selection of the SR.N4 had been a foregone conclusion and the predominant reason for the company's formation was to operate such a vehicle.Paine and Syms 2012, p. 205.


Cross-Channel services


Dover to Boulogne and Calais routes

Seaspeed investigated various options for its intended services, intensifying its evaluation efforts in 1967.
Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
,
Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...
and
Pegwell Bay Pegwell Bay is a shallow inlet in the English Channel coast astride the estuary of the River Stour north of Sandwich Bay, between Ramsgate and Sandwich in Kent. Part of the bay is a nature reserve, with seashore habitats including mudflats an ...
were considered as well as
Lydd-on-Sea Lydd is a town and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Kent, England, lying on Romney Marsh. It is one of the larger settlements on the marsh, and the most southerly town in Kent. Lydd reached the height of it ...
,
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
,
Le Touquet Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (, Picard language, Picard: ''Ech Toutchet-Paris-Plache''), commonly referred to as Le Touquet (), is a Communes of France, commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, northern France. ...
and the
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
. However, management was keen to align with existing
Sealink Sealink was a ferry company based in Great Britain from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight and Ireland. Ports served by the company included: Dover, F ...
services (also owned by British Rail) so that, in the event of a vessel's failure (or bad weather conditions), it could be more readily substituted for.Paine and Syms 2012, pp. 229-231. Thus, either Dover or Folkestone on the English side and
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
or
Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
on the French side became the preferred options. Folkestone was eliminated due to its small harbour, unable to cater for large hovercraft, and high exposure to southerly winds.Paine and Syms 2012, pp. 230-232. SNCF, being keen to support the initiative, offered to build a railway line and station adjacent to the proposed Boulogne hoverport at its own expense.Paine and Syms 2012, p. 234. In August 1968, Seaspeed commenced its cross-Channel services from the Eastern Docks at Dover, England to Boulogne-sur-Mer, France using its first SR.N4 ''The Princess Margaret.'' In 1970, Dover to Calais was added with ''The Princess Anne'' respectively.Paine and Syms 2012, pp. 307-309. Seaspeed also operated a single French-built SEDAM N500 hovercraft, designated ''N500-02'', ''Ingénieur Jean Bertin'', from summer 1977. In concept, it looked to be a capable vehicle, possessing advantages over the SR.N4 such as storing cars over two decks rather than one. Despite this, the N500 was beset by design and operational problems that would never be successfully resolved; following a somewhat sporadic service on the cross-Channel route, the N500 was permanently withdrawn during 1983 and later scrapped.


Competition with Hoverlloyd

Seaspeed was not the only hovercraft operator that decided to move on the cross-Channel market at the time; a rival company, Hoverlloyd, was also established in the 1960s and launched its own competing route between Calais and
Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...
. The two firms would compete with one another, as well as incumbent ferry operators, for market share throughout Seaspeed's existence. Despite this rivalry, considerations were made towards mutually beneficial cooperation; at an early stage, Seaspeed's management considered conducting SR.N5 services out of Hoverlloyd's hoverport at Ramsgate.Paine and Syms 2012, pp. 232-233.


Increased reliability but poor profitability

The cancellation rate for engineering reasons fell from almost 30% in 1968 to less than 5% in 1973. However, unlike Hoverlloyd, except in 1973 and 1976 when Seaspeed returned a profit of £100,000 and £5,000 respectively, the company made a loss before interest in every year since 1968. These drastically increased towards the end of the decade with British Rail continuing to guarantee operations. Seaspeed recorded a pre-tax loss of -£599,000 in 1977 and -£2,234,000 in 1978, then -£2,900,000 in 1980 and -£1,423,000 in 1981 when the company ceased trading and merged with Hoverlloyd. According to a parliamentary paper, over the period 1973 to 1980, Seaspeed incurred a net operating loss of £7 million. If interest had been charged at commercial rates on the balance outstanding to British Rail, there would have been not only a loss over the period, but, moreover, in each individual year, and the company would have been insolvent without the guarantee from British Rail.


Coach services

Similar to Hoverlloyd's provision, Seaspeed operated a coach link between Calais and Brussels which, in 1980, conveyed 20,000 passengers.


SR.N4 modifications

In early 1976, the British Rail board approved a plan to drastically upgrade the two SR.N4s by lengthening them, achieved via the insertion of an almost 17.1 metre (56.1 ft) long section.Paine and Syms 2012, pp. 555-556. This change increased the passenger capacity of the craft from 254 to 418, while also raising the car capacity to 60. According to Paine and Syms, rival operator Hoverlloyd was interested in the modification, but did not have such work done to their own SR.N4 fleet, reportedly due to a lack of available finances.


Isle of Wight services

Seaspeed also operated passenger-only services across the
Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit whi ...
using a pair of smaller SR.N6 hovercraft, named ''Sea Hawk'' and ''Sea Eagle''. This service, running between
Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...
and
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, commenced on 6 July 1966.Paine and Syms 2012, p. 226. This initial route was later joined by
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 24,096 according to the 2021 Census. Its growth as a seaside resort came after the villages of Upper Ryde and ...
and Portsmouth–Cowes services starting from Portsmouth Harbour railway station.Paine and Syms 2012, p. 227. By mid-1967, Seaspeed's Solent services had carried 67,600 passengers, the Southampton-Cowes route proved to be the most trafficked of the three services.Paine and Syms 2012, pp. 226-227. The Southampton terminal was on the west side of the river Itchen just upstream of the floating bridge terminal. A bus link connected the service to Southampton Central station. Seaspeed made various alterations to their smaller services over time. Between 1968 and 1972, trials of the 67-seater Hovermarine HM2 craft were conducted, but the company concluded it to be unsuited to its routes.Paine and Syms 2012, pp. 227-229. By 1972, Seaspeed's SR.N6s had been stretched and furnished with uprated engines to increase their capacities. However, the company eventually concluded that the SR.N6s were too expensive to run to achieve a sufficient return on investment on any of the three Solent routes. During 1976, the Solent routes were transferred to rival hovercraft operator Hovertravel, which already operated its own services in the area. During 1980, Hovertravel decided to entirely discontinue the Cowes-Southampton service; this move was attributed both to rising costs and increased competition on the route from watercraft such as
hydrofoil A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains sp ...
s and
catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...
s, opting instead to concentrate its resources on its
Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 24,096 according to the 2021 Census. Its growth as a seaside resort came after the villages of Upper Ryde and ...
-
Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a f ...
service, which was viewed as more commercially viable.


Economics of large hovercraft operation

Each SR.N4 was powered by an arrangement of four
Bristol Proteus The Bristol Proteus was the Bristol Engine Company's first mass-produced gas turbine engine design, a turboprop that delivered just over 4,000 hp (3,000 kW). The Proteus was a reverse-flow gas turbine. Because the second turbine drov ...
gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...
engines; while these were marinised and proved to be one of the hovercraft's more reliable systems, they were relatively fuel-hungry, consuming significant amounts of aviation-grade
kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...
.Paine and Syms 2012, pp. 525-527, 547. As the worldwide oil crisis of the 1970s caused fuel prices to rise sharply, the operation of the SR.N4 became increasingly uneconomic, especially in comparison to slower, diesel-powered ferries. Unlike ferry operators, Seaspeed was wholly reliant on non-freight business (cars and foot passengers), and, outside the summer season, unable to offset this declining source of income with other forms of business activities. Staffing requirements brought on by the implementation of new legislation and actions by
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
s also contributed to the craft's increasing operating costs. The closure of the
British Hovercraft Corporation British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC) was a British hovercraft manufacturer that designed and produced multiple types of vehicles for both commercial and civil purposes. Created with the intention of producing viable commercial hovercraft in March ...
restricted support options, meaning that maintenance of the craft became more costly over time, and that neither like-for-like replacements or improved successor hovercraft were likely to be developed. Consequently, ''Sure'' was taken out of service in 1983 and cannibalised for parts to keep the rest of the fleet operating. These combined factors gradually worsened Seaspeed's balance sheet as time progressed and demanded economies of scale, and consolidation of operations.


Merger and rationalisation

By 1980, it was clear that cross-Channel hovercraft operation could only continue economically if the two operating companies merged, with consequent rationalisation. Therefore, in 1981, Seaspeed and Hoverlloyd merged to create the combined Hoverspeed following the granting of permission by the UK's
Monopolies and Mergers Commission The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under UK competition law, competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competiti ...
. The former Hoverlloyd services from Ramsgate were withdrawn after the 1982 season and the four ex-Hoverlloyd craft were thereafter based at Dover but gradually withdrawn from service between 1983 and 1993, to be used for spare parts for Hoverspeed's remaining SR.N4 fleet. In 1991, it was announced that the SR.N4 service would be eventually phased out entirely in favour of
catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...
s. Hoverspeed continued cross-Channel hovercraft operation until October 2000, when the last two SR.N4s were withdrawn and the era of 'hovering across the Channel' came to an end.Paine and Syms 2012, pp. 616-626.


Dover hoverports

Seaspeed began operating from Dover's Eastern Docks. British Rail built a new hoverport at the Western Docks, which opened for service in July 1978 (costing some £14 million compared to the original estimate of £8 million). The aim was twofold. One, to cater for the increase in the fleet capacity to four, with the prospect of two new French hovercraft entering the fleet, as well as to handle additional passenger volumes via the extended SR.N4s. Seaspeed would thus be able to compete with Hoverlloyd's operations in Pegwell Bay. Two, to provide a direct rail link to London and attract business class professionals, a rail connection was envisaged, similar to that at Boulogne Le Portel which had been developed in 1968. In the event, only one of the French vessels was deemed fit for purpose and it retired early in 1983, plagued by malfunctions and limitations. Moreover, the direct rail link via
Dover Priory The Priory of St. Mary the Virgin and Martin of Tours, St. Martin of the New Work, or Newark, commonly called Dover Priory, was a priory at Dover in southeast England. It was variously independent in rule, then occupied by canons regular of t ...
never materialised and a bus service ran to and from the station instead. The terminal was officially opened by the Duke of Kent in September 1981.


Fleet

* 01 – GH-2006 ''Princess Margaret'' 1968, Seaspeed – originally the prototype SRN4, converted to Mk.III specification in 1979. Scrapped at Lee-on-Solent in March 2018 * 02 – GH-2005 ''Princess Anne'', Seaspeed – SRN4,converted to Mk.III specification in 1978 * 03 ''–'' N500-02 ', Seaspeed – from 1977. One ex-Seaspeed SR.N4 craft, GH-2005 ''The Princess Anne'', remains intact and is stored at the Hovercraft Museum, Lee-on-Solent.


In popular culture

The SR.N4 GH-2006 ''Princess Margaret'' featured in scenes from the 1971 James Bond film '' Diamonds Are Forever'' starring
Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...
. The same craft also appears in '' Someone Behind the Door'' starring
Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in ...
, Jill Ireland and Anthony Perkins, released in the same year.


See also

*
British Hovercraft Corporation British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC) was a British hovercraft manufacturer that designed and produced multiple types of vehicles for both commercial and civil purposes. Created with the intention of producing viable commercial hovercraft in March ...


References


Citations


Bibliography

* Paine, Robin and Roger Syms
"On a Cushion of Air."
''Robin Paine'', 2012. . {{refend


External links



Antony Barton Hovercraft British Rail ferry operations Defunct shipping companies of the United Kingdom