SRN4 Hovercraft Arrival Lee-On-Solent 2000

Archive footage, taken in December 2000, showing the redundant Cross Channel Hoverspeed SRN4 Hovercraft "The Princess Anne" and "The Princess Margaret" being delivered to the Hovercraft Museum at Lee-On-Solent in Hampshire. Uploaded with kind permission from the Hovercraft Museum Trust, the short video shows the craft under their own power, having travelled from Dover in Kent, and then entering the museum's site via the slipway and crossing the seafront road. The craft are still preserved on the site to this day and can be viewed on museum open days. For further information on these craft and the museum, please visit the following; hovercraft-muse...

[@basherdrummer]

Every so often I watch this - their last ever journey and it chokes me up a bit, all those years of service from those great iconic ladies of the sea.

[@stephenperry4774]

Just been to this museum. It was fab and the volunteers were excellent. We wondered how the Princess Anne got there and now we know.

[@UKWMO]

Thank you for the update. Saw them a couple of weeks back and you're right they are corroding badly! Such a shame. If only the Hovercraft Museum Trust had the money to build two large hangers to keep them in, this would obviously resolve the problem. Or how about this - a state of the art building at Lee on Solent, containing all their craft under one roof! Well I can dream can't I.

[@number1genoa]

The Fire/rescue service at Auckland International Airport had an SRN6 in the 1970's and Air NZ had the maintenance contract. During a major refit we had to restore the buoyancy tanks as they were badly corroded due IMO to being made from aircraft grade Aluminium which is alloyed with copper amongst other things. Salt water, copper and aluminium sure made for a lot of corrosion ! The other aspect was the Rolls Royce Gnome turboshaft engine which probably wasn't designed to breathe corrosive salt spray needless to say the time between overhauls was short.

[@number1genoa]

I traveled form Calais to Ramsgate on a Hoverlloyd SRN4 in 1980 , it was a very rough beam sea and the spray blotted out any view. The corkscrew motion quickly made some passengers violently seasick particularly those seated in the outer corners of the cabin. Amazingly The crew still managed to serve refreshments, I think on a tray ! As we disembarked I glanced rearward and saw a handful of sick passengers propped up against the rear bulkhead by crew, they were hyperventilating and literally their skin was green tinged, fun times.

[@safeguy9691]

😂😅

[@jocularpaddy]

The ferries get a little rough too LOL. Couple of very queasy rides in the 60s and 70’s. The ships were a little more fun though….like a little sea cruise. Thank God for Eurostar.

[@johnto]

After watching these marvellous machines arrive under their own power in this video it's really sad to see how bad they look nowadays. Precision parking too !

[@georgeholland2934]

Terrific manouvering captured as these noisy beasts of the Channel were finally laid to rest. Too bad The Princess Margaret had to be dismantled subsequently. We can only hope the Hovercraft Museum will be able to preserve The Princess Anne, the sole surviving example of the technological marvel that was the SRN4 hovercraft.

[@manston94]

Amazing

[@Sterlingjob]

@UKWMO No that is old! They were being maintained up until around 2004 as i knew a guy who was working on them. Some guy who owns a gas turbine boat bought them for the engines and since then has done nothing with them and last time i was there Anne was corroding quite badly. A guy in canada was interested in buying and using them on lake Ontario but haven't heard anything since! A shocking waste of a real beast of a craft. If i win euromillions watch this space!

[@MrPants1970]

Wish the music was not on this video! So good, but get rid of the music I want to hear the machine...

[@UKWMO]

@fatality583 - Powerplant: 4 x 3,800 shp Rolls-Royce Proteus Gas turbines (Mk.III)

[@WaterWorld1]

Modern hovercraft sound like buses!

[@coffindodgers]

What a shame they are just left to rot away, we seem to be good at destroying or letting the elements destroy our wonderful engineering. There should be some money from government to preserve these wonderful machines. But I guess they will go the way of the flying boats and other pieces of our aviation history. So So Sad as Sterlingjob says if I win the euromillions who knows !!

[@scopex2749]

APPLY FOR A LOTTERY GRANT FOR 2 HANGARS! i JUST HEARD MARGARET WAS BROEN UP????? It was a HUGE step backwards losing the hovercraft. But good old UK we throw away EVERY bit of technology we invent to USA! THEY now have Military hover craft, we scrapped Harrier so they took that too and improved it.....Concorde......GONE. We INVENTED railways and yet the UK systems is the WORST in Europe - says a lot doesnt it? well done UK. This was twice a fast as the poxy chunnel and you got a decent view instead of an hours BLACKNESS! very sad how our country has slipped back into the past.............throwing away our industries! Makes me ashamed to be British at times the way we have let our once Great country go to the dogs and get covered in weeds......

[@UKWMO]

The Hovercraft Museum state the following; "The SR.N4 craft remain in storage at the former HMS Daedalus - for sale, and their future uncertain. They are constantly maintained to an excellent standard by Hoverspeed's own engineers, so could be made ready for use again within a reasonable timescale." So yes it would seem as though they probably are still seaworthy.

[@jocularpaddy]

Of course it's nostalgic but in real life the ear splitting roar these things generated was probably 90% of the reason they didn't last.

[@iana6713]

Those impressive beasts got through a lot of fuel - I'd imagine that was one major reason for their demise. That and the opening of the Channel Tunnel.

[@koppadasao]

I wonder, are they still seaworthy?

[@UKWMO]

The engines have been removed so no.

[@koppadasao]

@@UKWMO Pity

[@FEDERALSIGNALTECH]

That rust you see is normal ware and tare what else do u expect from a hard life on channel.

[@koppadasao]

@UKWMO Nice... If one only had the cash for it...

[@scopex2749]

The museum should apply for lottery funding! Other much more useless so called 'causes' get given millions! First they need to BUY that land off the money grabbing council then put a custom hangar on there for the craft!

[@tecnosam6]

Only 1 thing went wrong 1 hit a wall

[@boeingkp2]

Scrap time 😥😥😥

[@Sterlingjob]

@UKWMO Had a look around them last monday and they are looking really shit. I give it 5 years before they are cut up and scrapped

[@tidierpenny]

Sterlingjob it's been 5 years and at least one of them has been saved.

[@fatality583]

HOW CAN A FAN DO THAT MASSIVE POWER? DOES IT HAVE "NUCLEAR ENGINE"?

[@UKWMO]

Gas turbine engines

[@number1genoa]

From memory they had 6 x Bristol Proteus Gas turbine engines , approx 4000 shaft HP each

[@GeorgeMCMLIX]

@@number1genoa- Only 4 Proteus gas turbines 👍🏻