7/1/2023 0 Comments Hover craftIn April 1965 Gosport Borough Council noted in its minutes the proposed hovercraft service at No.2 Battery to Ryde that summer. Car parking was to be provided for 140 to 150 cars, maximum. The use of this site, the Council noted, might require the re-siting of sixteen day huts, or compensation to the owners whilst the hovercraft was operating. The company only required this site so that they could gain practical experience running a hovercraft service whilst negotiations proceeded for a permanent site. In March 1965 Gosport Council considered an application for the use of a section of beach south of No.2 Battery Stokes Bay, by Hovertravel to operate a cross Solent Hovercraft passenger service, for a temporary period not exceeding twelve months exipring, until a permanent site could be negotiated, preferably on MoD land at Browndown. The very first two Hovercraft passenger routes were from Stokes Bay to Ryde and Southsea to Ryde using two SRN6 Hovercraft. Following the success of the flight, hovercraft development continued, at Stokes Bay. On 11th June 1959, Christopher Cockerill’s prototype hovercraft SR-N1 made its maiden flight in the Solent from HMS Daedalus. Cockerell was the Technical Director and the company controlled the patents which it used to license several private sector firms to manufacture craft under the registered trademark of Hovercraft. ![]() In January 1959, the NRDC formed a subsidiary called Hovercraft Development Ltd. ![]() This prototype craft was designated the SR-N1 (Saunders-Roe – Nautical One) and was manufactured under licence from the NRDC. In the autumn of 1958, the National Research Development Council placed an order with Saunders-Roe for the first full-scale hovercraft. Its inventor Sir Christopher Cockerel worked on the first hovercraft from 1955. Stokes Bay has played an important part in the development of the Hovercraft.
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