Sir
Christopher Sydney Cockerell
C.B.E., R.D.I., F.R.S.
4th June 1910 - 1st June 1999
Sir Christopher Cockerell passed away peacefully on the morning of 1st June 1999, three days before his 89th Birthday, while in a nursing home after a short spell in hospital. Ironically this occurred at the close of the Museum's Hovershow '99, to which Sir Christopher sent his best wishes, and on the 40th anniversary of the first hover of the SR.N1, the first experimental hovercraft, at Cowes on the Isle of Wight.
A memorial to Sir Christopher in the form of a sculpture depicting the inventor and his work has been erected in Hythe on the former site of his company, Hovercraft Development Ltd
1. A diagram which shows the basic principle behind Christopher Cockerell's original experiment |
2. The original equipment put together to demonstrate the principle |
3. A more recent picture of Sir Christopher demonstrating the principle behind his experiment using a simplified replica of the equipment |
4. The gap between the two tin cans though which air was blown on to a pair of scales |
5. Christopher Cockerell with his first model designed to test the hovercraft principle |
6. The model is prepared for a tethered flight on land |
7. Preparing to test the model |
8. And now on water, the model is prepared for another run |
9. And later with a different tail design, the model is flown over water |
10. The model as it is today in the collection of the Hovercraft Museum |
11. A closer view of the front of the original radio controlled model in its display case |
12. The SR.N1 - the first full-sized hovercraft - on it's journey across the English Channel from Calais to Dover on 25th July 1959. Cockerell can be seen on the bow of the craft acting as moveable ballast |
13. Another view of the SR.N1 on it's historic flight across the English Channel. Crew aboard besides Cockerell were Commander Peter Lamb (Pilot) and Mr John Chaplin |
14. The early morning arrival on Dover's beach inside the harbour |
15. Sir Christopher Cockerell with some models of hovercraft concepts - many of which were never built as full-size craft |
16. Looking in to other inventions with his company - Hovercraft Development Ltd |
17. Cockerell standing in front of the Vickers VA.3 Hovercraft |
18. And in the doorway entrance of an SR.N5 craft with Lord Mountbatten |
19. Showing the propeller of an SR.N6 Hovercraft to Lord Mountbatten |
20. Discussions with Lord Louis Mountbatten - an avid supporter of the hovercraft |
21. With Mountbatten standing on the side deck of a Hovertravel SR.N6 which provided the service from Southsea to the Isle of Wight |
22. Sir Christopher Cockerell at a presentation |
23. An article from a Hoverspeed magazine contained this picture of the craft's inventor |
24. Sir Christopher takes the controls of a hovercraft for himself - surprisingly for the first time ever - on the way to the October 1994 Hovercraft Museum event held especially for him |
25. Sir Christopher in the cockpit of a Griffon hovercraft, not long after trying out the controls himself in the previous picture |
26. Unveiling a plaque on the SR.N4 Swift to commemorate his visit to the Hovercraft Museum in October 1994 |
27. The original SR.N1 concept model - newly restored by the Museum - is demonstrated to Sir Christopher my Museum Trustee Warwick Jacobs |
28. Sir Christopher talks to a Royal Marine Hovercraft Pilot and Museum Trustee Warwick Jacobs at the event |
29. Having a conversation with the designer of the car-carrying SR.N4 - Raymond Wheeler in front of a Royal Marines Griffon 2000TDX Hovercraft |
30. |
31. |
Click on thumbnails above for larger images
Sir Christopher
Sydney Cockerell
C.B.E., R.D.I., F.R.S.
The theory behind one of the most successful inventions of the 20th century, the Hovercraft, was originally tested in 1955 using an empty cat food tin inside a coffee tin, an industrial air blower and a pair of kitchen scales.
Christopher Cockerell was initially testing out the idea that it was possible to produce a cushion of air between the bottom of the tins and the surface of the scales. Once he had established that this was possible he decided to experiment with more sophisticated models. Although his first tests were carried out on dry land his main aim was to prove that drag or friction between boats and water could be substantially reduced if the ‘craft’ floated on an air cushion. And so the ‘hovercraft’ came in to being. Indeed Cockerell came up with the word too, which was recently chosen to represent 1959 in the 100 words, which encapsulate the 20th century for the millennium edition of the Collins English Dictionary.
Christopher Sydney Cockerell was born in 1910 in a house called 'Wayside' in Cavendish Avenue, Cambridge, the son of Sir Sydney Carlyle Cockerell, sometime private secretary to Sir William Morris and from 1908 to 1937 Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. The Cockerells were a talented family. The sons of Sydney John Cockerell, a London coal merchant, and Alice neé Bennett, the daughter of a City Watchmaker, Sir Sydney’s elder brother, Theodore, was a biologist, his younger brother, Douglas, and eminent bookbinder; while Douglas’s son Sydney Maurice (‘Sandy’), two years Christopher’s senior and also a bookbinder, was a celebrated and innovative designer of marbled papers.
Despite an interest in the arts, Christopher read Engineering at Peterhouse, Cambridge. After Cambridge he worked for the Radio Research Company until 1935 and then for the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company from 1935 until 1951.
He had an enormous capacity for invention and his father, despite reservations (he once described his son as ‘no better than a garage hand’), put up the money for his early patents. (When Sir Sydney died in 1962, aged 94, some obituaries of this great museum director and manuscript collector, friend of Bernard Shaw and T.E. Lawrence, literary executor of Thomas hardy, called him simply ‘grandfather of the hovercraft’).
During the war years Cockerell worked with an elite team at Marconi to develop radar, a development which Churchill believed had a significant effect on the outcome of the Second World War, and Cockerell believed to be one of his greatest achievements. Whilst at Marconi Cockerell patented 36 of his ideas.
Cockerell left Marconi in 1950, and with a legacy left by his beloved wife Margaret’s father, he and Margaret were able to purchase a small boatyard in Norfolk. This never seemed to make money and Cockerell’s mind turned back to earlier ideas.
He decided to use larger models on water. Initial experiments convinced Cockerell that boats could be made to float on a cushion of air, thus reducing the effect of the water drag. After many trials he successfully designed a craft which proved his ideas were correct. He was not surprised. The modified punt he used had a special pump to blow high-pressure air down under and around the rim of the craft. A strong rubber curtain retained most of the air, hence creating lift.
Cockerell had set up a company, Ripplecraft, to develop his ideas further and in 1955 he eventually convinced the Ministry of Supply to back his project. He had a hard time trying to convince the military: the Admiralty said it was a plane not a boat; the RAF said it was a boat not a plane; and the Army were ‘plain not interested’. The irony is that it has been the Marines who have taken the hovercraft most seriously, with over 100 giant craft now in use in America and 250 in the Soviet Union, many used in recent conflicts.
In these early days Cockerell’s idea was patented and immediately put on the secret list. Nothing happened and Cockerell became increasingly agitated. Eventually, in 1958, after declassification, the National Research Development Council (NRDC) funded the design and construction of SR.N1 – the world’s first man-carrying amphibious hovercraft.
Saunders Roe, the flying boat firm at Cowes on the Isle of Wight, were given the contract, and the firm, under Cockerell’s guidance, worked avidly on the 20ft craft dubbed the ‘flying saucer’.
Ahead of schedule on 31st May 1959, the seven-ton craft flew, only eight months after the commencement of design work. But it was not until 11th June that she made her first public appearance in front of the world’s press. Such was the interest in this new form of transport that the press refused to leave until she was demonstrated in the water.
Within weeks, on 25th July she made a crossing of the English Channel, from Calais to Dover, with Cockerell aboard as human ballast, on the 50th anniversary of the first aeroplane crossing of the Channel. Cockerell’s dream had become a reality. Since then hovercraft carried over 80 million people and 12 million cars across the Channel and were in continuous service for over 30 years before their retirement in October 2000.
Besides hovercraft he is attributed with the invention of wave power in the late 1970s, hovertrains and sidewall hovercraft (catamarans). Although Cockerell disagreed with the way the NRDC proceeded with hovercraft production, and in 1966 resigned from the board of Hovercraft Development, today hovercraft are enjoying a renaissance. Cheaper, quieter diesel engines, new construction materials and advanced skirt design mean that a hovercraft today is the same price as one 30 years ago. With developing countries having the greatest need for hovercraft, with shallows, coral reefs, mud flats, no ports and unprepared beaches, hovercraft are coming in to their own
On the last weekend in May 1999 the hovercraft industry launched Hovershow ’99 – the biggest show since 1966. Visitors were impressed by how the hovercraft has become a viable and versatile workboat and export sales in the year 1998-9 reached £20m. Recent sales have been to Canada for coastguards, to Lithuania as crew boats, to Hong Kong for fishery patrols, to Nigeria for oil crew boats, to Finland for coastguards to be used on ice and to Sri Lanka for military purposes. As Cockerell said, ‘Hovercraft will always be around – you can’t un-invent something!’
During the course of the weekend the 40th anniversary of the first flight of the hovercraft was celebrated, and Cockerell sent his best wishes but was too frail to attend. On the Monday a flypast was staged in his honour. He died the following day, with more patents to his name than he had years.
Warwick Jacobs
Trustee - The Hovercraft Museum
Information from entry in 'Who's Who'
Cockerell, Sir Christopher (Sydney), Knighted
1969; CBE 1966; MA; FRS 1967
Chairman, Wavepower Ltd, 1974-82 (former Joint Managing Director);
Born: 4th June 1910 in Cavendish Avenue, Cambridge of the late Sir Sydney
Cockerell;
Died: 1st June 1999 in Sutton Scotney, Hampshire after a short illness - passed
away peacefully in his sleep
Married: 1937, Margaret Elinor Belsham; two d.
Education: Gresham's Peterhouse, Cambridge, 1933-35;
Airborne & navigational equipment research & development, Marconi Wireless
Telegraph Co. Ltd, 1935-50, Inventor of and engaged on hovercraft since 1953;
Consultant (hovercraft), Ministry of Supply, 1957-58,
Consultant, Hovercraft Development Ltd, 1958-70 (Director, 1959-66);
British Hovercraft Corporation, 1973-79;
Chairman, Ripplecraft Co. Ltd, 1950-79;
Founding President, International Air Cushion Engineering Society, 1969-71 (Vice President
1971- );
President, U.K. Hovercraft Society, 1971- ;
Member, Ministry of Technology Adv Committee for Hovercraft, 1968-70;
Trustee, National Portrait Gallery, 1967-79;
Honorary Fellow, Swedish Society of Aeronautics, 1963;
Society of Engineers, 1966;
Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, 1967;
Downing College, Cambridge, 1969;
Honorary Member, Southampton Chamber of Commerce, 1967;
Honorary DSc Leicester, 1967;
Heriott-Watt, 1971;
London, 1975;
Honorary Dr. RCA, 1968;
Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Ramsgate, 1971;
Viva Shield, Worshipful Company of Carmen, 1961;
RAC Diamond Jubilee Trophy, 1962;
Thulin Medal, Swedish Society of Aeronautics. 1963;
Howard N. Potts Medal, Franklin Institute, 1965;
Albert Medal, RSA, 1966;
Churchill Medal, Society of Engineers, 1966;
Royal Medal, Royal Society, 1966;
Mitchell Memorial Medal, Stoke-on-Trent Association of Engineers, 1967;
Columbus Prize, Genoa, 1968;
John Scott Award, City of Philadelphia, 1968;
Elmer A. Sperry Award, 1968;
Gold medal, Calais Chamber of Commerce, 1969;
Bluebird Trophy, 1969;
James Alfred Ewing Medal, ICE, 1977;
James Watt International Gold Medal, Institute of Mechanical Engineers, 1983;
Recreations: the visual arts, gardening & fishing.
Home: Hythe, Hampshire
Patents Registered
Dec.
1935
467996 Improvements in or relating to carrier wave modulator
arrangements.
Aug.
1937
500359 Improvements in or relating to navigation aiding radio systems.
Aug.
1937
500481 Improvements in or relating to direction finding radio receiving
installations.
Sept.
1937
502972 Improvements in directional aerial systems.
Oct.
1937
504744 Improvements in or relating to navigation aiding radio
transmitters.
Jan.
1938
509842 Improvements in or relating to indicator correcting arrangements
for use in radio direction finding and other apparatus.
July
1938
517580 Improvements in or relating to radio direction finding receivers.
Jan.
1939
524361 Improvements in or relating to radiogoniometers.
Feb.
1939
526412 Improvements in or relating to radio direction finding receivers.
Mar.
1939
527495 Improvements in or relating to radio direction finders.
Aug.
1939
532417 Improvements in or relating to aircraft radio installations.
Aug.
1939
532418 Improvements in or relating to inductance coil and switch devices.
Aug.
1939
532547 Improvements in or relating to radio direction finders.
Oct.
1939
534945 Improvements in aerial systems for aircraft.
Mar.
1939
536485 Improvements in or relating to radio direction finders.
Feb.
1940
536500 Improvements in or relating to short wave electrical oscillators.
Feb.
1940
539034 Improvements in or relating to electric plug couplings and like
connectors or jack plugs.
Mar.
1940
540764 Improvements in radio transmitters.
Feb.
1940
541956 Improvements in electrostatic screens for radio-transformers and
like apparatus.
May
1940
542223 Improved inductance and capacity trimmer units.
Feb.
1940
542485 Improvements in coupling circuit arrangements in radio receivers.
Aug.
1940
543104 Improvements in remotely controlled selecting devices suitable for
spot-wave selection in radio systems.
Jun.
1941
549980 Improvements in rotary electric switches.
Jun.
1941
550619 Improvements in radio bearing indicators and control means.
Aug.
1941
551320 Improvements in graduated scale indicators such as may be used for
tuning scales for radio receivers.
Feb.
1940
552497 Improvements in directional radio receiver systems.
Feb.
1940
555968 Improvements in radio directional receivers.
July
1942
558450 A cathode-ray tube suitable for use as an indicator.
Nov.
1942
562032 Holder for piezo-electric crystal.
Dec.
1941
568123 Improvements in radio receivers.
Jan.
1950
683687 Improvements in or relating to navigation aiding radio systems.
Jan.
1949
683688 Improvements in or relating to navigation aiding radio systems.
Jan.
1950
683689 Improvements to navigation aiding radio beacons.
Mar.
1950
683710 Improvements in or relating to radio navigation aids for aircraft.
Mar.
1950
684500 Improvements in or relating to radio communication systems.
Nov. 1950 711273 Improvements in or relating to radar systems.
Dec.
1955
854211 Basic air curtain case.
May
1957
893715 Air cushion platform.
May
1957
894644 Landing air cushion for aircraft.
May
1957
895341 Air cushioned aircraft carriers.
Jun.
1958
944501 Side wall vehicle-curtain end seal.
Sept.
1958
935823 Injectors applied to vortices.
Sept.
1958
935824 Pressure induced outboard recovery.
Apr.
1959
919350 Inboard recovery of curtain air.
May
1963
935824 Outboard recovery-to form a second curtain.
May
1963
935826 Outboard recovery-to form a second curtain.
Sept.
1958
935825 Flexible skirt/curtain cushion seal.
Apr.
1959
924496 (With R. Stanton Jones) Recirculation using injectors.
Mar.
1959
944502 Stability and trim control by compartmentation.
Oct.
1959
965748 Variable incidence surfaces for aerofoils.
Aug.
1963
944503 Stability cushions distributed around primary cushion.
Aug.
1963
944504 C.P. Shift.
Jun.
1959
959025 Steering and propulsion.
Mar.
1959
946917 Stabilization of airflow and prevention of negative lift.
Oct.
1959
959825 Cushion (heave) control for travelling over waves.
Oct.
1959
966135 Recirculation by Coanda effect.
Jan.
1960
968194 Vortices generated by rotating pads.
Mar.
1960
968381 Side-wall vehicle with paddle wheel/air pump.
Apr.
1960
973072 Propulsion by blowing into a cushion.
Apr.
1961
975558 (With D. Hardy) Recirculation-tapering duct arrangement.
Apr.
1960
977060 Recirculation-induced recovery system.
Apr.
1960
975241 Reinforcement of rear curtain by ram air.
May
1960
972068 Hovercraft with inflated side parts.
Apr.
1960
975242 Flexible rod skirt.
Apr.
1960
977061 Positive displacement pump at periphery.
May
1961
983446 Recovery of front curtain air to form a rear cushion.
Aug.
1960
995127 Rail car.
May
1961
997943 Protective air cushion for aerial body.
Jun.
1960
983142 Air bearing.
Oct.
1960
989222 Air pump-fluid brakes.
Jun.
1961
989534 Water separation from recovered air.
Jan.
1962
990745 Inflatable load lifting devices.
Jun.
1961
1002572 Sponge support members.
Jan.
1962
1000771 Controlling flow of fluid by a fluid curtain.
Oct.
1961
1029960 Travelling waves on sidewalls for propulsion.
Dec.
1962
1056070 (With L.A. Hopkins) Flexible wall, inflated parallelograms.
Nov.
1962
1064221 Flexible skirt with coandering fluid curtain.
Dec.
1965
1064222 Inflated skirt, perforated wall, forming skirt deflecting
cushion.
Jun.
1963
1073731 Controlled vertical movement of wall to correct roll and pitch.
Jun.
1963
1087734 Flexible wall actuated by fluid flow.
Oct.
1966
1072732 Inflated bag/segment wall.
Nov.1963
1103191 Guiding means for docking (vertical).
Apr.
1964
1095756 Propulsion by surface effect W (free belts).
Apr.
1964
1110212 Propulsion by surface effect 'B' (discs).
Apr.
1964
1095775 Propulsion, radial members (flails).
Jan.
1965
1092816 Propulsion by modified paddle.
May
1964
1075662 Spray prevention.
Apr.
1965
1135768 (With Messrs Grace & Boutland). 'Boiling water' cushion.
Apr.
1965
1138532 Air-feed flexible duct within cushion space.
July
1967
1236571 Trim control-tapered roller.
Feb.
1967
1216475 Hovertrain-ram air deflectors.
Jul.
1967
1239745 (With D.S. Bliss). Anti-ditch shift of cushion C.P.
Feb.
1967
1219285 A.C.V with wave-top slicer.
May
1967
1228588 Hovertrain-{;one or belt current pick-up.
Oct.1981 1584154 Cushion seal for A.C.V.
Mar.
1976
1448204 Device for extraction of energy from sea waves.
Jan.
1978
1507916 Energy from sea waves using floats.
Apr.
1980
1571283 Energy recovery equipment from vertical and horizontal water
movement using floats.
Back to the Hovercraft Museum Home Page
