One of Hoverlloyd's four SR-N4 hovercraft (Sir Christopher) at the Ramsgate Pegwell Bay Hoverport in the 1970's

Hoverlloyd operated a cross-Channel hovercraft service between Ramsgate, England to Calais, France. It operated four SR-N4 type hovercraft and was a rival to Seaspeed (owned by British Rail). A Hovercraft, or Air-Cushion Vehicle (ACV), is an amphibious vehicle or craft, designed to travel over any sufficiently smooth surface - land or water - supported by a cushion of slowly moving, low-pressure air, ejected downwards against the surface close below it. ... See also Ramsgate (disambiguation) for other places with this name. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Calais (Kales in Dutch) is a town in northern France, located at 50°57N 1°52E. It is in the département of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ... Mark 3 SR-N4 Hovercraft arriving in Dover on its last commercial flight - 1 October 2000 The Mountbatten class hovercraft or SR-N4 was built by the British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC). ... Seaspeed was the hovercraft division of British Rail. ... This article is about the defunct entity British Railways, which later traded as British Rail. The History of rail transport in Great Britain is covered in its own article. ...

Company ownership

The origins of Hoverlloyd date back to 1964, when the Swedish Lloyd shipping company investigated the possibility of operating a hovercraft service. Together with Svenska Amerika Linien (owned by Brostroms Rederi AB), the Cross-Channel Hover Services Ltd was registered as a British company in 1965. The name was changed to Hoverlloyd Ltd in 1966. In 1976 Brostroms Rederi AB purchased the entire operation.

Early operations

Hoverlloyd commenced operations from Ramsgate Harbour to Calais Harbour on 6 April 1966 using small, passenger only SR-N6 hovercraft. When the much larger SR-N4 craft, capable of carrying 30 vehicles and 254 passengers, were delivered in 1969, Hoverlloyd moved operations to a purpose built ‘hoverport’ in Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate. A similar facility was provided north of Calais harbour and was shared with Seaspeed (who operated into Dover on the UK side of the English Channel). Calais (Kales in Dutch) is a town in northern France, located at 50°57N 1°52E. It is in the département of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ... SR.N4 Hovercraft arriving in Dover on its last commercial flight - 1st October 2000 The Mountbatten class hovercraft or SR-N4 was built by BHC, the British Hovercraft Corporation. ... Pegwell Bay is a shallow inlet in the Channel coast being the outlet of the estuary of the River Stour between Ramsgate and Sandwich, Kent. ... Seaspeed was the hovercraft division of British Rail. ... , Dover is a major channel port in the English county of Kent. ... Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel (French: , the sleeve) is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. ...

The craft

Between 1969 and 1977, Hoverlloyd took delivery and operated a total of four SR-N4 hovercraft on the Ramsgate-Calais link. These were named ‘’Sure’’, ‘’Swift’’, ‘’Sir Christopher’’ and ‘’The Prince of Wales’’.

Main operations

Hoverlloyd concentrated on the Ramsgate to Calais link throughout the life of the company. Tentative plans to operate to Ostend in Belgium were never progressed. However, the company did operate a successful express coach/hovercraft/coach service from London to a number of near European cities with fares which were considerably cheaper than the air fares available at the time. The esplanade with the Thermae Palace, the former Royal Residence and the casino For other uses, see Ostend (disambiguation). ...

Economics of large hovercraft operation

The SR-N4 craft were powered by four Bristol Proteus gas turbine engines which consumed significant amounts of aviation kerosene. As the world wide oil crisis of the 1970’s caused fuel prices to rise sharply, the operation of the SR-N4 became increasingly uneconomic. Furthermore, the closure of the British Hovercraft Corporation meant that maintenance of the craft was also costly and no new design or build was likely. Indeed, ‘’Sure’’ was taken out of service in 1983 and cannibalised for parts to keep the rest of the fleet operating. Seaspeed (and later Hoverspeed) operated a single French built SEDAM N500 craft from 1977 but it was beset by design and operational problems and was withdrawn from somewhat sporadic service in 1983 and later scrapped. Bristol Proteus engine The Proteus was the Bristol Aeroplane Companys first successful gas-turbine engine design, a turboprop that delivered just over 4,000 hp (3,000 kW). ... British Hovercraft Corporation is the corporate entity created when Saunders Roe and Vickers Supermarine combined with the intention of creating viable commercial hovercraft. ... Seaspeed was the hovercraft division of British Rail. ... // Hoverspeed, formed in 1981 by the merger of Seaspeed and Hoverlloyd, was a ferry company that operated on the English Channel from 1981 until 2005. ... The N500 Naviplane was a French hovercraft built by SEDAM (Société dEtude et de Développement des Aéroglisseurs Marins) in Pauillac, Gironde. ...

Rationalisation and merger

By 1980, it was obvious that cross Channel hovercraft operation could only continue economically if the two operating companies merged, with consequent rationalisation. Therefore, Hoverlloyd and Seaspeed merged in 1981, to create Hoverspeed. The former Hoverlloyd services from Ramsgate were subsequently withdrawn after the 1982 season and the four ex-Hoverlloyd craft were thereafter based at Dover until their withdrawal from service between 1983 and 1993. // Hoverspeed, formed in 1981 by the merger of Seaspeed and Hoverlloyd, was a ferry company that operated on the English Channel from 1981 until 2005. ...

The end

All four ex-Hoverlloyd craft were eventually broken up and none remain extant (although the two ex-Seaspeed SR-N4 craft are stored at the Hovercraft Museum, albeit in private ownership). The hoverport at Pegwell Bay was used as an engineering and administrative base by Hoverspeed for a few years after passenger services ceased but the site was eventually closed and all buildings completely demolished. Nonetheless, the hovercraft pad, car marshalling area and approach road are all still clearly identifiable. Hoverspeed continued cross Channel hovercraft operation until October 2000, when the last two craft were retired and the era of ‘hovering across the Channel’ came to an end. The Hovercraft Museum, located in Hampshire, England, is dedicated to hovercraft. ... Pegwell Bay is a shallow inlet in the Channel coast being the outlet of the estuary of the River Stour between Ramsgate and Sandwich, Kent. ... // Hoverspeed, formed in 1981 by the merger of Seaspeed and Hoverlloyd, was a ferry company that operated on the English Channel from 1981 until 2005. ...

External link

• Hoverlloyd: Monopolies and Mergers Commission report, 1981