1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: show that glides its way through history one day at 4 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:18,280 Speaker 1: a time. I'm Gabe Lucier, and today we're looking at 5 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,439 Speaker 1: the birth of a whimsical new form of transportation that 6 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:25,599 Speaker 1: allowed passengers to float across land or water on a 7 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:36,320 Speaker 1: cushion of air. The day was June eleventh, nineteen fifty nine, 8 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,199 Speaker 1: the world's first hovercraft set off on its maiden voyage 9 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: from the Isle of Wight. The experimental Sci Fi vessel 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: that launched that day was designed by British engineer and 11 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: inventor Christopher Cockrell. But it's worth noting that the idea 12 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: for an air cushioned vehicle has been considered as far 13 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: back as the eighteenth century. In fact, Sir John Thornycroft 14 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 1: even secured a patent for his early design in the 15 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 1: eighteen seventies, but he was never able to produce a 16 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: working model, as there were no engines at the time 17 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: that could sustain the needed horse power. By the mid 18 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 1: twentieth century, though, power constraints were no longer an issue 19 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: and the path was clear for someone to finally make 20 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: the idea a reality. Christopher Cockerell's experimentation with the hovercraft 21 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: began in his boat yard in nineteen fifty three. He 22 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: knew that a boat's speed was hindered by the friction 23 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,840 Speaker 1: it makes as it moves through the water, so he 24 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,120 Speaker 1: started imagining a vehicle that could float on a cushion 25 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,040 Speaker 1: of air and move over the surface of the water 26 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: rather than through it. The approach would greatly reduce the 27 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: amount of friction between the vehicle and the water, but 28 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:54,320 Speaker 1: would it actually work. To find out, Cockerrell conducted an 29 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: experiment using two empty cans, a hair dryer, and a 30 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: pair of kitchen scales. First, he blew air into one 31 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 1: of the cans and measured the amount of thrust it produced. 32 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:09,239 Speaker 1: Then he placed the smaller catfood can inside of the 33 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 1: larger coffee can and blue air into both of them. 34 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:16,119 Speaker 1: Just as he had hoped, the amount of frust produced 35 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 1: was greater when one can was inside the other, because 36 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 1: the layer of air between them resulted in less friction. 37 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,800 Speaker 1: Satisfied that his theory was sound, Cockerell set to work 38 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: designing a full scale hovercraft and securing the funding to 39 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: build it. It took several years for the project to 40 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: find the right backer, but in nineteen fifty eight the 41 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: National Research Development Council contributed one hundred and fifty thousand 42 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: pounds to help build a prototype. By that point, Cockerel 43 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: had already formed a working relationship with Saunder's Row, a 44 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: British aerospace and marine engineering company based on the Isle 45 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:59,360 Speaker 1: of Wight, just off the south coast of England. The 46 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,920 Speaker 1: ship builder was awarded the contract to bring Cockerell's design 47 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: to life, and development began in earnest that fall. There 48 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: were several hiccups along the way, but in less than 49 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 1: nine months a team under the direction of chief designer 50 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 1: Dick Stanton Jones, managed to build the first fully functional hovercraft, 51 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 1: known as the SR N one or Saunder's Row Nautical one. 52 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 1: The prototype measured twenty nine feet long, twenty four feet 53 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: wide and weighed approximately six thousand, six hundred pounds. It 54 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 1: was shaped a lot like a flying saucer, as the 55 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: press was quick to note, with the straight line stern 56 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: being the only thing to break up the sweeping curve 57 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: of the hull. The craft itself consisted of a large 58 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: aluminum buoyancy tank, onto which a lightweight deck had been fastened. 59 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: At the center of the deck was a raised cylindrical chimney, 60 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: which contained the craft's single engine and a horizontally mounted 61 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: fan at the the a ship's bow. Just ahead of 62 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: the chimney was a small open air cabin for the 63 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: captain and crew. Build As a cross between an aircraft, 64 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: a boat, and a land vehicle, the SR and one 65 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: was a hybrid in the truest sense, capable of operating 66 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: on both land and water, or operating above them to 67 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:25,600 Speaker 1: be precise. The craft's radial piston engine delivered four hundred 68 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,360 Speaker 1: and thirty five horsepower to the vertical lift fan, allowing 69 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: it to hover fifteen inches above the surface and move 70 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: at a top speed of forty knots or just over 71 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: forty six miles per hour. The air generated by the 72 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,039 Speaker 1: fan could be blown out of ducks mounted on either 73 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 1: side of the vehicle to provide forward and backward propulsion, 74 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,480 Speaker 1: and with the aid of rudders, the air could also 75 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: be diverted in different directions to allow the pilot to 76 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: turn left or right. Once all the required system checks 77 00:04:56,960 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: had been completed successfully, the SR and one on's first 78 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: flight was scheduled for June eleventh, nineteen fifty nine. The 79 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:08,159 Speaker 1: event took place at the saunders Row facility on the 80 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: Isle of Wight and was held before an audience of 81 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: invited members of the press. The day's demonstration was only 82 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:18,840 Speaker 1: intended to show the craft's capability to move over land, 83 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 1: but because the journalists and attendants responded so enthusiastically, the 84 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: company decided to go ahead with the first water based 85 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 1: flight as well. After a successful demonstration over concrete, the 86 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: hovercraft was towed out into the solent A strait between 87 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: the Isle of Wight and the British Mainland. Saunders Row 88 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: chief test pilot Peter Lamb flew both demonstrations that day, 89 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:46,600 Speaker 1: which were documented on film as part of the Look 90 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: at Life series of theatrical documentary shorts. Following the initial 91 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: test flight and its positive coverage in the press, Saunder's 92 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 1: Row announced that it would move forward with an even larger, 93 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: more powerful prototype. The company's hope was that at some 94 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,040 Speaker 1: point in the near future a hovercraft would be able 95 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 1: to cross the English Channel in as little as twenty minutes. 96 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: The National Research Development Council was hoping for that outcome 97 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:17,760 Speaker 1: as well. In fact, the whole reason they invested in 98 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: the hovercraft in the first place, was with the aim 99 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:25,240 Speaker 1: of establishing cross channel services using larger vehicles. It was 100 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: believed that trips aboard a hovercraft would not only be 101 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:32,679 Speaker 1: faster than traditional ferryboats, but more cost effective as well. 102 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:37,159 Speaker 1: It would take some time to build the larger scale prototype, though, 103 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 1: so in the meantime, Saunders Road decided to stage the 104 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: first channel crossing using a modified version of the SR 105 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: and one and so. On July twenty fifth, nineteen fifty nine, 106 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: just over a month after the hovercraft's first flight, the 107 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 1: same vessel crossed the English Channel from Calais to Dover 108 00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:00,479 Speaker 1: in two hours and three minutes. The crew that day 109 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:05,600 Speaker 1: was returning pilot Peter Lamb, navigator John Chaplin, and Christopher 110 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: Cockerell himself, acting in his own words, as movable ballast. 111 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 1: Since that initial voyage, more than eighty million people and 112 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: twelve million cars have crossed the English Channel by hovercraft. 113 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: The service ran for the better part of four decades, 114 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:27,000 Speaker 1: but it was never as fast or as inexpensive as 115 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: was initially hoped. Finally, in the year two thousand, the 116 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 1: hovercraft service was discontinued due to competition from ferries and 117 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: the Channel Tunnel. That said, a private hovercraft service still 118 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: operates today, shuttling passengers between the Isle of Wight and 119 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: South Sea. You'll also find plenty of other hovercrafts still 120 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,840 Speaker 1: in use by various militaries and search and rescue teams 121 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,119 Speaker 1: all over the world, especially in areas where the land 122 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: surface is uneven, where the sea levels are low, and 123 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:03,160 Speaker 1: of course they also make pretty fun recreational vehicles if 124 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: you can afford it. For his role in the development 125 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: of the hovercraft and for his other contributions to British engineering, 126 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:15,280 Speaker 1: Christopher Cockerel was knighted in nineteen sixty nine. He then 127 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: lived in additional thirty years as Sir Cockerel, and passed 128 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 1: away on June first, nineteen ninety nine, at the age 129 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: of eighty nine. As for his creation, the SRN one, 130 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: it was retired from operation in nineteen sixty three and 131 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,440 Speaker 1: has since been preserved and placed on public display at 132 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: the Science Museum at Rawton, oh And if you do 133 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 1: make the trip to see it, keep an eye out 134 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:43,720 Speaker 1: for the Royal Dent. That's the name for the ding 135 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: that Prince Philip put in the hovercraft's bow when he 136 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:49,439 Speaker 1: took it for a joy ride in December of nineteen 137 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: fifty nine, the Philip's Eternal Shame. The damage was never repaired. 138 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,560 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe blues Gay and hopefully you now know a 139 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,840 Speaker 1: little more about history today than you did yesterday. If 140 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 1: you'd like to keep up with the show, you can 141 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:12,880 Speaker 1: follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, 142 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: and if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free 143 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 1: to send them my way by writing to This Day 144 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:23,560 Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to kazb Bias for producing 145 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll see 146 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:38,840 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in History class.