Auckland International Airport Emergency Services Hovercraft - Flickr - 111 Emergency

The Griffon 2000 series is a light-weight

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

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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 wate ...

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

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 The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

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 largest passenger hovercraft company currently operating in the world since the demise of Hoverspeed. Hovertravel is now the world's old ...

currently uses a Griffon Hoverwork designed 12000TD craft to provide a passenger route between

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a f ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

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 24,096 according to the 2021 Census. Its growth as a seaside resort came after the villages of Upper Ryde and ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

. Société des Traversiers du Québec in

Québec, Canada Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

was provided in 2012 with a 2000TD to operate a passenger service between

Pakuashipi Pakuashipi (Pakua Shipi, or Pakua Shipu in Innu-aimun and St-Augustin Indian Settlement) is an Innu community in the Canadian province of Quebec, located on the north shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in the Côte-Nord region. It is on the west ...

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 (, ), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (, ), is the Land warfare, 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 ...

: 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 (), is the Marines, marine force of the Colombian National Armada. The 53,123-member Colombian Marine Infantry is organized into a single division with four brigades (one amphibi ...

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

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

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

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

: 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. *

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n Border Police: 1 craft. Acquired in 2000. Similar configuration to Estonian craft. Furuno 1000C, I-band radar. ** Christina *

Pakistan Marines The Pakistan Marines (Urdu: ) or simply as Pak Marines, is an expeditionary and amphibious warfare uniform service branch within the Pakistan Navy, consisting of the naval officers and other personnel to perform their duties within the Marine ...

: 4 craft *

Peruvian Navy The Peruvian Navy (, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Additional missions include ...

: 7 craft *

Polish Border Guard The Polish Border Guard (Polish language, Polish: ''Straż Graniczna'', also abbreviated as SG) is a National security, state security agency tasked with patrolling the Polish border. It existed in the Second Polish Republic, Second Republic er ...

** SG-411 ** SG-412 *

Swedish Coast Guard The Swedish Coast Guard () is a Sweden, Swedish civilian Government agencies in Sweden, government agency tasked with: * maritime surveillance and other control and inspection tasks as well as environmental cleanup after oil spills at sea. * co-o ...

: 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 Luleå ( , , locally ; ; ) is a Cities in Sweden, city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban ...

** KBV 592, based in

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; ; ; ; ) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Umeå is the largest Urban areas in Sweden, locality in Norrland and the t ...

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

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

: British

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

: 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 were operated by the Royal Marines to transport troops or equipm ...

. ** 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 the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

** Power: 1 Deutz diesel engine 350 horsepower for lift and propulsion ** Propellers: 1 three-bladed variable-pitch propeller * Performance ** Speed 35 knots (at sea state 3) ** Range 450 miles at 35 knots ** Military Lift: * Weapons ** 1

M2HB The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered ...

machine gun (not on Belgian craft) *

Radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

** 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