An official statement regarding the SRN4 Hovercraft at Lee-on-the-Solent:
“As many of you are aware by now ex-cross Channel Hovercraft, SRN4 “The Princess Margaret”, is currently being dismantled for recycling and cleared from the Daedalus Site in Lee-on-the-Solent.
The Hovercraft Museum has never owned or leased the craft despite her being on our doorstep since arriving in December 2000, nearly 18 years ago now!
In late 2016 we were able to work very closely with new owners of the craft, the Homes and Communities Agency (now Homes England) to secure the lease of the identical sister craft, “The Princess Anne” and formally bring her into the collection, preserving her as fully accessible static exhibit for the Nation.
It is still expected for us to take formal ownership at the end of this lease period, as agreed.
Again, working closely with Homes England and their contractors, we have been able to save many components and artefacts from the “Margaret” and fully document the dismantling process.
These components are vital in helping to secure the long term future of the “Anne” and we are very grateful for their and everyone else’s support over the past couple of years.
Although we are sad to see “The Princess Margaret” go, we now move forward and plan to accelerate our restoration work on “The Princess Anne”, the largest commercial Hovercraft ever built and holder of two Guiness World records, over the coming months.
If you would like to get involved in our project, or any other aspects of the Museum (we have over 55 other Hovercraft in the collection as well!) please get in contact with us, we would love to hear from you.
Also, standby for exciting news regarding some of the surplus components recovered that you will be interested to hear about over the coming weeks”
The Hovercraft Museum Trust