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(Yard No. 006)
The World's First Production Hovercraft
and the last of it's type
(More pictures coming soon)

1.
The SR.N5 in the Museum's crowded barn at Portchester		 2.
The craft has been stripped down to it's basics and was in this condition when obtained by the Museum		 3.
All parts are present, including new glass for the windows, as well as instruments etc		 4.
The side decks stacked in the barn beside the main body of the craft
5.
The rear of the cabin where the engine is usually mounted		 6.
The lift fan intake structure at the rear of the craft		 7.
Various other structural elements stacked ready for rebuilding in to a complete craft

Click on thumbnails above for larger images

Manufacturer: Westland Aircraft - Saunders Roe division, later BHC
Built: 1964
Makers number: SR.N5 006

Dimensions & Performance

Length: 36 ft 9 in
Width: 23 ft
Weight: 6.7 tons
Hover height: 3 ft 6 in
Cabin: 12 ft x 7 ft 6 in

Propulsion / Lift: A single Rolls Royce Marine Gnome shaft turbine

Commercial Payload: 16 passengers or 2 tons of freight.
Military Payload: 15 fully-equipped troops plus davit hoist & stretcher mountings.

Fully-amphibious
Max. speed: 60 knots
Endurance: 3.6 hours

History

This was the first batch production hovercraft of which, together with the stretched version known as the SR.N6, some 68 craft were built and distributed around the world. (Makers numbers were given 1 to 63 in order of construction whether built as SR.N5 or SR.N6)

14 SR.N5 craft were built, 7 of which were for Westland licensee Bell, USA and were then designated SK.5. A small number of a local variants to these was built in the USA. The Interservice Hovercraft Trials Unit at Lee-on-Solent operated 4 SR.N5 craft including 006, for trials and active service duties in the UK, Malaysia (Singapore and Borneo), Thailand, Aden, Libya and Belgium. One went to the Canadian Coastguard, the Sultan of Brunei had one for patrol duties and Saunders Roe kept 001 for training, demonstrations and trials.

006 was first used by the Japanese licensee, Mitsubishi Kobe, before return to BHC where it was used for training purposes. It then operated with the Interservice Hovercraft Trials Unit at Lee on Solent and completed it's working life with Hoverwork of Ryde, Isle of Wight, where it was used for charter work and training before it was donated to the Museum.

The SR.N6 evolved directly as a stretched version of the SR.N5 which is therefore very important in the evolution of the whole series of 68 various marks of SR.N5 / SR.N6 which established the British name of Hovercraft world wide.

Special Features

1. Built in three sections, the main cabin and the two side decks, so that the whole craft can be transported overland on two low loaders or by air.

2. The type were designed for use in:

Fire Fighting

Crash Rescue

Coastguard Work

Off Shore Patrol

Commercial Transport

Military Transport

3. 006 was fitted with dual controls for training.

Heritage Value

This is believed to be the last surviving SR.N5 in the world.

It is the only remaining example of the first batch produced hovercraft

Whilst it was largely superseded by the stretched version, known as the SR.N6, it was a very successful craft in it's own right; the type operated by the Canadian Coastguard was in use for rescue and survey work for 20 years until it was replaced by an SR.N6.

This particular craft had the misfortune to break down whilst carrying HRH The Queen at Osborne, Isle of Wight. A second craft was mobilised, and the only way to transfer HRH from one craft to the other was by fireman's lift. Needless to say, no photographs of the event now exist.

Approach To Conservation

The craft is currently still in the stripped down state that it was in when it was given to the museum. It is stored at Wicor farm in the museum's barn. The main cabin is currently used to store parts and other exhibition material. There is insufficient room around the craft for any major restoration work to be carried out at present. The craft structure is not deteriorating at the moment and so no work is currently being carried out.

It is mostly complete but there is an ongoing task of keeping a look out for spares so that it may eventually be restored for static display.

Since this is the sole survivor of it's kind there is no plan to restore it to working order although there are enough parts to make the external view and the cabin complete.

Since the craft was designed to be broken down into three pieces it may be preferable to display half of it as a 'complete craft' which would allow the public to view the inside workings of the exposed side.

Ideal Standard of Care

This craft is the last remaining example of it's type and it represents a major development in the production of hovercraft. These craft were built for a number of purposes and there is no standard design which the conservation particularly needs to adhere to. Depending on it's final resting place it should either be restored to it's original commercial condition or it's original military condition. It should be stored where it can be conserved and renovated as a static hovercraft and made available to the public.

Present Condition

The SR.N5 has been stored under cover since she was acquired by the museum in 1988 and original spares have been acquired whenever possible.

Most of the engineering parts were originally missing but the Trust has acquired time-expired parts for display purposes. It would likely be too costly to restore the craft to full working condition (£25,000 has been quoted).

Area Required for Adequate Conservation Storage

225 m² (15 m x 15 m)
Internal storage: 8.8 m² (2.2 m x 4 m)

The cabin is only suitable for storing small items as floor loading limits must not be exceeded and access is restricted to the bow door.

 

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