Auckland International Airport Emergency Services Hovercraft - Flickr - 111 Emergency

The Griffon 2000 series is a light-weight

hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull, or air cushion, ...

built in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Griffon Hoverwork Griffon Hoverwork Ltd (GHL) is a British hovercraft designer and manufacturer. It was originally founded as Griffon Hovercraft Ltd in 1976, based in Southampton. The firm set about the development of its own product range, launching its first ...

and used principally by military and rescue organisations.

Background

Griffon Hoverwork (GHL) of Hythe,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

has designed, manufactured and operated hovercraft for over 40 years. GHL was the first manufacturer to use turbo-diesel engines on hovercraft, which increases durability compared to conventional petrol engines when exposed to

salt water Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...

conditions. The company produces an extensive range of hovercraft, with payloads between 0.38 and 12 tonnes.

Configuration

The 2000 series was introduced in the early 1990s. The 2000TD series is slightly smaller than the older

SR.N6 The Saunders-Roe (later British Hovercraft Corporation) SR.N6 hovercraft (also known as the ''Winchester'' class) was essentially a larger version of the earlier SR.N5 series. It incorporated several features that resulted in the type becoming ...

popular with commercial and military services during the 1970s, and has largely replaced the older SR.N6 series in most of these roles. Because it is constructed almost entirely out of aluminium the 2000TDX is less than half the weight of the older SR.N6 hovercraft. The 2400TD was designed in 2008 due to the popularity of the 2000 series. It has greater obstacle clearance, is capable of carrying a higher payload, and can reach higher speeds than the previous craft.

Commercial use

For eight years GHL operated a passenger service up and down the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

in London, and hovercraft were the only vehicles allowed to operate at high speed along the river, as they produce very little wash or wake.

Hovertravel Hovertravel is a ferry company operating from Southsea, Portsmouth to Ryde, Isle of Wight, UK. It is the only passenger hovercraft company currently operating in Britain since Hoverspeed stopped using its craft in favour of catamarans and su ...

currently uses a Griffon Hoverwork designed BHT craft to provide a passenger route between

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

and

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came a ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. Société des Traversiers du Québec in

Québec, Canada Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

was provided in 2012 with a 2000TD to operate a passenger service between Pakuashipi and Saint-Augustin during the periods the ice bridge linking the two communities is not open.

Military use

Royal Marine Hovercraft on Patrol in Iraq MOD 45142903

Griffon Hoverwork hovercraft have been purchased by several armies, navies and paramilitary organisations throughout the World, and several remain on order. The hovercraft can be configured to carry troops or cargo, with optional extras such as armoured glass and ballistic protection. *

Belgian Army The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard ...

: 1 craft. Acquired in 1995. Exposed cargo deck only. Used for drone recovery and artillery range patrol. No weapons. Radical Decca, I-band radar. ** Barbara A 999 *

Colombian Naval Infantry The Colombian Naval Infantry, also referred to as Colombian Marines ( es, Infantería de Marina Colombiana), is the marine force of the Colombian National Armada. The 53,123-member Colombian Marine Infantry is organized into a single division w ...

: 8 craft. ** ARC 331 ** ARC 332 ** ARC 333 ** ARC 334 ** ARC 335 ** ARC 336 ** ARC 337 ** ARC 338 *

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

n Border Guard: 1 craft. Acquired in 1999. Capable of transporting 16 troops or 2 tons of equipment. ** PVH 1 *

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

: Border Guard: 7 craft. First craft acquired on 1 December 1994. Third craft acquired June 1995. Can be embarked in an LCU. Similar configuration to Estonian craft. * Lithuanian Border Police: 1 craft. Acquired in 2000. Similar configuration to Estonian craft. Furuno 1000C, I-band radar. ** Christina *

Pakistan Marines ur, اور اللہ کی رسی مضبوط تھام لو سب مل کر اور آپس میں پھٹ نہ جانا (فرقوں میں نہ بٹ جانا) "And hold fast to the rope of Allah, all of you together, and do not be divided;" (''Qur'an ...

: 4 craft *

Peruvian Navy The Peruvian Navy ( es, link=no, Marina de Guerra del Perú, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Addit ...

: 7 craft *

Polish Border Guard The Polish Border Guard ( pl, Straż Graniczna, also abbreviated as SG) is a state security agency tasked with patrolling the Polish border. It existed in the Second Republic era from 1928 to 1939 and was reestablished in the modern-day Thir ...

** SG-411 ** SG-412 *

Swedish Coast Guard The Swedish Coast Guard ( sv, Kustbevakningen) is a Swedish civilian government agency tasked with: * maritime surveillance and other control and inspection tasks as well as environmental cleanup after oil spills at sea. * co-ordinate the civili ...

: First military version of the 2000TD series to be constructed. 2 crafts in operation delivered in 1993 (KVB 592) and 2011 (KVB 590). Similar configuration to Estonian craft. Furuno 7010D, I-band radar. ** KBV 590, based in Luleå ** KBV 592, based in

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, U ...

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels ...

: 3 craft ** 302 ** 303 ** 304 *

: British

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

: 4 craft

LCAC(L) The Landing Craft Air Cushion (Light), or LCAC(L), is a small amphibious hovercraft able to transverse both land and water. Like all amphibious landing craft in the Royal Navy, they are operated by the Royal Marines to transport troops or equipme ...

. ** C 21 ** C 22 ** C 23 ** C 24

Specifications

* Designer / Manufacturer: Griffon Hovercraft Ltd. * Crew 3 * Dimensions ** Length 11.7 metres ** Width 5.9 metres ** full load displacement 3.5 tons * Propulsion ** Motor:

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

** Power: 1

Deutz Deutz may refer to: People * Emmanuel Deutz (1763–1842), German-born French rabbi * Rupert of Deutz, (–), Benedictine theologian and writer * Simon Deutz (1802–1852), German-born French courtier Places * Deutz, Cologne, a former town, si ...

diesel engine 350 horsepower for lift and propulsion ** Propellers: 1 three-bladed variable-pitch propeller * Performance ** Speed 35 knots (at

sea state In oceanography, sea state is the general condition of the free surface on a large body of water—with respect to wind waves and swell—at a certain location and moment. A sea state is characterized by statistics, including the wave height ...

3) ** Range 450 miles at 35 knots ** Military Lift: * Weapons ** 1 7.62mm

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifl ...

(not on Belgian craft) *

Radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

** Navigation: Various; I-band

References

;General * Saunders, Stephen (RN) ''Jane's Fighting Ships 2003-2004''

External links

2000TD product page at Griffon Hoverwork

2400TD product page at Griffon Hoverwork
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffon 2000td Hovercraft Hovercraft Landing craft Military hovercraft Articles containing video clips