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('Sea Hawk' Yard No. 009)
First ever & most used SR.N6 Hovercraft

1.
The SR.N6 at BHC's Falcon Yard, East Cowes, before BHC stripped it down, repainted the side decks green etc.
 2.
The craft, shown here at Ocean Village, was in reasonable condition when acquired by the museum...		 3.
...although she was in a stripped down state with the side decks detached		 4.
Carefully lifting the craft...
5.
...making sure she doesn't swing...		 6.
...ready to place on the back of a truck...		 7.
...for the journey to...		 8.
...the Museum's barn at Portchester where she is stored today
9.
Reversing the truck to the barn entrance		 10.
Craning the SR.N6 in to the barn		 11.
A view through the open doors of the barn showing how she just fits		 12.
Taken in late August 1998, the SR.N6 stored in the barn
13.
There is very little room around the stripped down craft to perform any renovation works		 14.
Tools and parts lay on the bow of the SR.N6		 15.
The pilot's seat, still in remarkable condition considering the age of the craft		 16.
The cockpit area of the craft
17.
The simple control panel which still has all it's gauges		 18.
Museum Trustee Warwick Jacobs sits in the pilot's seat dreaming of one day getting the craft running		 19.
A look down the passenger cabin shortly after some renovation work to tidy the craft		 20.
The passenger cabin today showing how the craft is used to store small parts
21.
Looking forward along the passenger cabin from the rear. The seats will one day be renovated for public display		 22.
One of the two side deck structures carefully stacked alongside the main part of the craft		 23.
One of the 'puff-port' doors in the side structure with its actuator still attached		 24.
The propeller mounted at the rear. Amazingly it still turns freely through the gearboxes etc also linked to the lift fan
25.
A close up of the propeller hub showing the variable pitch blades		 26.
The lift fan air intake at the rear of the cabin		 27.
The rudder / elevator assembly is still mounted at the rear of the craft

Click on thumbnails above for larger images

SR.N6 Mk1S Winchester Class
Designer / Manufacturer: Westland Aircraft - Saunders Roe division (later BHC)
Built: 1965 (Yard no 009)
Converted to Mk 1S craft: 1972
Flew over 22,000 hours in a 20 year operational lifespan

(See SR.N6 Page for technical details)

History

Following commercial trials with earlier craft which were still owned by the manufacturer, this was the first hovercraft built and sold to provide a commercial service.

The build numbers of SR.N5 and SR.N6 were in consecutive order of construction from 001 to 068 irrespective of type. 009 was the first SR.N6 built (See the Hovercraft Production List page for details).

009 was built in 1965 as an SR.N6 Mk 1. It is the same width as an SR.N5 and it is basically a stretched version of that model, providing over double the seating capacity. The SR.N2 and SR.N5s operated commercial services as trials craft, but this was the first production craft to enter commercial service. After initial trials it was operated by Scandinavian Hovercraft Promotions of Oslo, trading under the name of 'Scanhover'. It entered service in June 1965 and it was joined by 011 operating on a 120 mile route, with six stopping points, in the Aalesund area. It later operated between Aarhus and Kalundborg in Denmark and in February and March 1966 the craft also successfully underwent cold weather trials in Sweden, in the Gulf of Bothnia.

In the spring of 1966 both craft were acquired by British Rail Hovercraft Limited, then trading as 'Seaspeed' and the Southampton to Cowes passenger service commenced on 1st July 1966. These craft were also used on the Portsmouth Harbour Railway Station to Ryde route between 1967 and 1969, in addition to operating the Southampton to Cowes route. In 1972 the craft were taken out of service in order to be stretched by a further 10 feet and they were then designated SR.N6 Mk 1S. 009 went back in to service on the Cowes route on 19th March 1972 and continued in service with Seaspeed until 2nd May 1976 when it was taken over by Hovertravel, of Ryde, who continued the Cowes route service until 24th December 1980.

The Seaspeed Cowes to Southampton service, whilst operating in its own right, had the primary purpose of evaluation, training and preparation for the launch of Seaspeed SR.N4 cross-Channel services in 1968.

009 was refurbished by BHC as an apprentice exercise before being donated to Southampton Museums. It was originally intended to display it at the Hall of Aviation in Southampton, but due to lack of space, the Hovercraft Museum has been loaned the craft on a long term basis.

Special Features

1) By increasing the length to accommodate 38 passengers instead of the 18 carried by the SR.N5, and subsequently extending it to accommodate a further 20 passengers, the SR.N6 made commercial operation a much more viable proposition.

2) In increasing the length of the craft BHC demonstrated the efficiencies achieved through increased size and continuous development of skirt technology.

Although double the weight and with three times the payload, the engine was only increased by 100shp from 900shp to 1,000shp.

The hover height was very little reduced from that of the SR.N5.

The width remained the same so the increased area of the cushion was not increased by the same proportion as the length.

The air loss is proportional to the periphery of the skirt, whereas the lift is proportional to the area of the cushion so, by increasing the periphery slightly, the supported area could be increased by a greater amount.

Since the craft is hovering on water, the drag incurred by a larger craft is very little more than a smaller one and the propulsion required for the same performance is only slightly more.

3) By Increasing the capacity to 58 seats in the Mk 1S an important matching to a typical coach load of people was achieved.

4) The SR.N6 provided the role model for many larger craft built around the world.

Heritage Value

This is the first SR.N6 and the first hovercraft used for full commercial operation.

009 is the only remaining SR.N6 Mk 1S

It was a hugely successful craft and has been used extensively all around the world.

Approach to Conservation

009 was sympathetically renovated by BHC before being donated as a museum exhibit. It was stored in the open within Southampton Docks prior to acquisition by the Hovercraft Museum. It is currently stored in a barn at Portchester where it has been cleaned and externally repainted.

It is not practical to fly the craft again although spare engines have been acquired by the Museum and could be fitted for display purposes. It has it's own original engine, although this is inhibited.

Ideal Standard of Care

The craft is the prototype for many and deserves to be displayed in a clean, dry environment. It should be restored to its former condition but as a static display. This is the most likely of the Museum's craft to be run if sufficient funding ever materialises.

Present Condition

Thanks to the work carried out by BHC the craft is in reasonably good condition although it did suffer some deterioration when it was stored in Southampton Docks. Being a large craft it needs a large space in order for work to be carried out adequately. It is mostly complete and could be renovated to display standard quickly.

Area Required for Adequate Conservation Storage as a Complete Craft

242 m² (22 m x 11 m)

Internal: The cabin is filled with seats and therefore provides little storage potential for other items.

 

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