The SR.N4 (Saunders-Roe Nautical 4) hovercraft (also known as the ''Mountbatten'' class hovercraft) was a combined passenger and vehicle-carrying class of
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 ...
. The type has the distinction of being the largest civil hovercraft to have ever been put into service.
Work on the SR.N4 was initiated in 1965 by
Saunders-Roe
Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aerospace and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight.
History
The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took ...
. By the time that the vehicle's first trials took place in early 1968, Saunders-Roe had merged with
Vickers
Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...
' hovercraft division to form the
British Hovercraft Corporation
British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC) was a British hovercraft manufacturer that designed and produced multiple types of vehicles for both commercial and civil purposes.
Created with the intention of producing viable commercial hovercraft in March ...
, who continued development. Power was provided by four
Rolls-Royce Proteus
The Bristol Proteus was the Bristol Engine Company's first mass-produced gas turbine engine design, a turboprop that delivered just over 4,000 hp (3,000 kW). The Proteus was a reverse-flow gas turbine. Because the second turbine dro ...
marine turboshaft engines each driving its own lift fan and pylon-mounted steerable propulsion propeller. The SR.N4 was the largest hovercraft then built, designed to carry 254 passengers in two cabins besides a four-lane automobile bay which held up to 30 cars. Cars were driven from a bow ramp just forward of the wheelhouse. The first design was long, weighed , was capable of and could cruise at over .
The SR.N4s operated regular services across the
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
between 1968 and 2000. In response to operator demands, stretched versions of the SR.N4 were developed, culminating in the Mk.III variant, which had almost double the capacity for carrying both cars and passengers as the Mk.I. While interest was expressed in military applications for the type, no vehicles were ultimately used for such purposes. Following the fleet's withdrawal from cross-channel services, a single remaining Mk.III example, GH-2007 ''Princess Anne'', remains on static display at the
Hovercraft Museum at
Lee-on-Solent as of August 2021.
Development
Origins
In August 1962, the original concept for the SR.N4, which had been conceived at the same time as the
SR.N2 was being designed, was abandoned. This original concept had effectively been a pair of elongated SR.N2 fixed together in a side-by-side placement and would have been powered by an arrangement of four pairs of
Blackburn A.129 turboshaft
A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine that is optimized to produce shaft horsepower rather than jet thrust. In concept, turboshaft engines are very similar to turbojets, with additional turbine expansion to extract heat energy from the ex ...
engines. In its place, a new proposed hovercraft, which was referred to as the SR.N4 as well, was considerably larger and heavier, and powered by three pairs of
Rolls-Royce Proteus
The Bristol Proteus was the Bristol Engine Company's first mass-produced gas turbine engine design, a turboprop that delivered just over 4,000 hp (3,000 kW). The Proteus was a reverse-flow gas turbine. Because the second turbine dro ...
marinised gas turbine
A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...
engine. However, during early 1963, work on the SR.N4 was put on hold due to a greater priority having been placed on the completion of the
SR.N5 instead. In late 1964, it was decided to recommence design work on the proposed SR.N4.
By the end of 1964, it had been concluded that, due to the improved projected performance of the craft's flexible skirt having lowered the power requirements involved, only two pairs of Proteus engines would be required instead of three. At this stage, the proposed design for the SR.N4 had a displacement of 165 tons and a payload of up to 33 cars and 116 passengers; this would not substantially differ from the final design adopted for the type.
Experience gained from the SR.N5 and
SR.N6 would contribute to the design of aspects of the larger SR.N4, which would be four times the size of any preceding hovercraft. This approach is credited with having been less expensive and having resulted in a more commercially viable hovercraft than would have been if it had been constructed as per the earlier incarnation of the SR.N4 and then required to perform modifications to improve the capabilities of aspects such as the skirt, which had been considerably advanced by development of the SR.N5 and SR.N6. Specific improvements included the adoption of triangular rubber 'finger'-like attachments to the curtain which provided for a better seal between the hovercraft and the water's surface as well as being cheaper and easier to maintain than previous configurations.
During the mid-1960s, some management figures within
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
had become interested in the potential for operating a fleet of hovercraft for scheduled services that would link up to Britain's national rail system. In November 1965,
Frank Cousins Frank Cousins may refer to:
* Frank Cousins (British politician) (1904–1986), British trade union leader and Labour politician
* Frank Cousins (American politician) (born 1958), American politician who served as the Essex County, Massachusetts ...
, the
Minister of Technology
The Ministry of Technology was a department of the government of the United Kingdom, sometimes abbreviated as "MinTech". The Ministry of Technology was established by the incoming government of Harold Wilson in October 1964 as part of Wilson's am ...
, announced that British Rail would participate in the development of the SR.N4 and would be a customer for the type. While orders had already been placed for the SR.N4 by this point, the
British Railways Board
The British Railways Board (BRB) was a State ownership, nationalised industry in the United Kingdom that operated from 1963 to 2001. Until 1997, it was responsible for most railway services in History of rail transport in Great Britain 1995 to d ...
had decided to commit to taking delivery of the first craft to be produced; this was particularly convenient as the two orders which had been placed by Swedish operator
Cross-Channel Hover Services specifically excluded accepting delivery of the first example. By the end of 1965, having acquired three firm orders, it was now plausible for production of the SR.N4 to proceed.
Prototype and testing
Having realised that the market for large hovercraft was not yet large enough to sustain a number of competing companies at that time, in 1966, the hovercraft divisions of both
Saunders-Roe
Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aerospace and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight.
History
The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took ...
and
Vickers Supermarine merged to form a new united entity, known as the
British Hovercraft Corporation
British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC) was a British hovercraft manufacturer that designed and produced multiple types of vehicles for both commercial and civil purposes.
Created with the intention of producing viable commercial hovercraft in March ...
(BHC), which was headquartered on the
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 ...
. In autumn 1966, production work commenced on the structure of the first SR.N4, which was internally designated ''001''. The vehicle was assembled in the same hangar in which the three
Saunders-Roe Princess flying boat
A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy.
Though ...
s had been constructed 15 years before. During 1967, as 001 was taking shape, it was announced that the SR.N4 had been named the ''Mountbatten-class''. Throughout the development and production of 001, both Hoverlloyd and
Seaspeed
Seaspeed was a British hovercraft operator which ran services in the Solent and English Channel between 1965 and 1981, when it merged with a rival to form Hoverspeed.
Seaspeed was a jointly owned subsidiary of railway companies British Rail ...
carefully monitored progress on the project.
In October 1967, the completed 001 was officially presented to gathered members of the press and to various representatives and dignitaries. On 20 November 1967, the first engine run was performed, after which 11 weeks of intense test runs on land were performed and the exposed faults were addressed. On 4 February 1968, 001 was launched onto water for the first time. The launch, while successful, had involved some risk due to the lack of space to manoeuvre with an untested control system. Later that same day, 001 conducted its
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...
.
As experience with the prototype accumulated, the control arrangement proved to be quite effective even within confined spaces; incidents involving a loss of control did occur during the test programme, but these were mainly due to error on the part of the operator. Ray Wheeler, BHC's chief engineer, was reportedly very pleased with the progress made during the initial trials. At the same time, 001 required substantial refinement and alteration in order to become a commercially viable craft. The air intakes had to be substantially modified in order to minimise
salt
In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
ingestion, and a revised skirt system was also developed.
Design

The SR.N4 was the biggest hovercraft to have been completed upon its introduction. Its primary structure comprised a large
modular buoyancy tank, the internal structure of which was divided into 24 watertight compartments. It had an identical platform shape to the smaller
SR.N5, being rectangular with a semi-circular bow and a beam-to-length ratio of 1:1.66. The SR.N4 had a dual radar system for navigation, allowing the craft to operate in zero visibility - Type Racal Decca Bridgemaster. A GPS navigation system was fitted.
The SR.N4 was powered by four
Rolls-Royce Proteus
The Bristol Proteus was the Bristol Engine Company's first mass-produced gas turbine engine design, a turboprop that delivered just over 4,000 hp (3,000 kW). The Proteus was a reverse-flow gas turbine. Because the second turbine dro ...
turboprop
A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller.
A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...
engines. The Proteus engines each drove a set of diameter steerable
Dowty Rotol
Dowty Propellers is a British engineering company based in Brockworth, Gloucestershire that specialises in the manufacture, repair and overhaul of propellers and propeller components for customers around the world. It is owned by GE Aerospace ...
propellers, arranged in two pairs on pylons positioned on top of the craft's roof; upon the SR.N4's introduction to service, these were the largest propellers in the world. Six independent
electrohydraulic
An actuator is a component of a machine that produces force, torque, or displacement, when an electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic input is supplied to it in a system (called an actuating system). The effect is usually produced in a controlled way. ...
systems, each driven from the main
gearboxes
A transmission (also called a gearbox) is a mechanical device invented by Louis Renault (who founded Renault) which uses a gear set—two or more gears working together—to change the speed, direction of rotation, or torque multiplication/r ...
, powered the movement of the
fin
A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...
s and pylons, while a further four units were used to actuate the
variable-pitch propellers.

The control cabin of the SR.N4 resembled the flight deck of an aircraft, being relatively cramped in comparison with the
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
of a typical vessel. It housed a crew of three, comprising a captain, first officer/flight engineer, and a second officer/navigator; the main role of the second officer was to avoid collisions, primarily using a
Decca 629 radar to do so. The flying controls appeared broadly similar to a typical aircraft, using an assortment of
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...
pedals,
joystick
A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Also known as the control column, it is the principal control devic ...
s,
yoke
A yoke is a wooden beam used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, used in dif ...
s, separate propeller pitch levels, and engine speed controls; however, their functionality often differed substantially, such as the ability for the yoke to command the pitch of all four propellers.
The SR.N4 is fitted with a 12-ton skirt which runs under the perimeter of the whole craft and employs a complex structure. On the underside of the buoyancy tanks, five 21-inch platforms (known as 'elephant feet') were positioned so that the craft could stably rest on three of them.
Fuel was contained within flexible bags located at all four corners; the craft could be trimmed by redistributing fuel between the fore and aft tanks to better match the load and prevailing weather conditions. The craft would consume 1,000 gallons per hour at a cruise of 50 knots before refuelling with an approximate range of . Maximum fuel capacity was ; about 29 tons.
The stern of the craft featured a sizeable set of doors for the loading and unloading of vehicles onto the car deck as well as all four of the exhausts for the Proteus engines. Another set of loading doors was located at the bow.
The SR.N4 could operate up to
gale
A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface wind moving at a speed between . force 8 wind on the
beaufort scale
The Beaufort scale ( ) is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale. It was devised in 1805 by Francis Beaufort a hydrographer in the Royal Navy. It ...
and 3.5m swell seas.
Operational service

Upon completion of the prototype SR.N4, Charles Anthony Brindle, the Managing Director of British Rail Hovercraft, was responsible for establishing the first cross-Channel route for scheduled services by the type. In October 1966, Brindle and several engineers surveyed several potential sites on both the British and French sides of the English Channel using an
SR.N6 to determine their suitability for the hovercraft service, which had been given the name
Seaspeed
Seaspeed was a British hovercraft operator which ran services in the Solent and English Channel between 1965 and 1981, when it merged with a rival to form Hoverspeed.
Seaspeed was a jointly owned subsidiary of railway companies British Rail ...
. Amongst the most suitable candidates had been
Dover
Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
or
Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...
on the English side and
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
or
Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
on the French side.
It was soon determined that Dover and Boulogne would be the preferable option for the maiden route, a decision that had been motivated in part by the local
Chamber of Commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...
having agreed to build a suitable hoverport to readily facilitate such operations. As there was no funding available for pre-service passenger trials, the opening season of active operations effectively served as a continuation of the trials activities as well. Brindle was aware that BHC would not be paid until the SR.N4 was in service, and thus there was a considerable emphasis placed on getting the craft ready for commercial use right at the point of delivery.
In August 1968, the first SR.N4 entered commercial service with the GH-2006 ''Princess Margaret'' being initially operated by Seaspeed between Dover and Boulogne. Rival operator
Hoverlloyd built the world's first purpose-built hoverport at
Ramsgate Hoverport, specifically designed for the SR.N4, to also serve the Calais route.
The journey time from Dover to Boulogne was roughly 35 minutes, with six trips per day being conducted at peak times. The fastest ever crossing of the English Channel by a commercial car-carrying hovercraft was 22 minutes, achieved on 14 September 1995 by the SR.N4 Mk.III GH-2007 ''Princess Anne'' on its 10:00 a.m. service.

In 1972, the first SR.N4s were temporarily withdrawn for conversion to Mk.II specification which would provide for seven further car spaces and 28 more passengers. The first of the enlarged craft, the ''Swift'', entered service at the beginning of February 1973.
The capacity increase was achieved by removing an inner passenger cabin in order to accommodate the extra cars and widening the outer passenger cabin: this was achieved without changing the overall footprint of the craft.
[ New aircraft-style forward-facing seats created an atmosphere of enhanced sophistication, and a redesigned skirt was intended to reduce window spray, enhancing the view out for passengers, and to give a smoother ride in rough seas: contemporary reports nevertheless commented on the "unsprung" nature of the ride.][
After 1976, a pair of SR.N4s were refitted with new deep skirts and stretched by almost , increasing capacity to 418 passengers and 60 cars at the cost of a weight increase to roughly . To maintain speed, the engines were upgraded to four models, which were fitted with four diameter steerable ]Dowty Rotol
Dowty Propellers is a British engineering company based in Brockworth, Gloucestershire that specialises in the manufacture, repair and overhaul of propellers and propeller components for customers around the world. It is owned by GE Aerospace ...
propeller
A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...
s. The work cost around £5 million for each craft, and they were designated Mark IIIs; the improvements allowed them to operate in seas up to high and with winds.
The two main commercial operators (Hoverlloyd and Seaspeed) merged in 1981 to form Hoverspeed, which operated six SR.N4 of all marks. The last of the craft was withdrawn from service in October 2000 and Hoverspeed itself ceased operations in November 2005.
Accidents
Most incidents were benign and resulted in little more than the vehicles towed back to shore. In 1978, the GH-2007 ''Princess Anne'' lost much of her air-cushion skirt in heavy seas 7 miles off Dover, resulting in a MAIB investigation. However, in March 1985, 4 passengers lost their lives when GH-2006 ''Princess Margaret'' crashed into a pier at the entrance of Dover Harbour from Calais in force 6 to 7 heavy seas.
Military interest
The Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
considered a mine sweeping version of the SR.N4, hovercraft being almost invulnerable to mines. A minesweeping version of the SR.N4 was thought to be capable of carrying the same equipment as a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel, while being cheaper to purchase, although more expensive to operate. The use of hovercraft for minesweeping never got further than the concept stage, although an SR.N3
The British Hovercraft Corporation SR.N3 was a 37.5 ton hovercraft originally designed by Saunders-Roe.
Launched in 1963, it was primarily aimed at military deployment. It was a military version of the SR.N2
Propulsion and lift was provided by ...
was used by the Inter-Service Hovercraft Unit for trials.
Surviving examples
The two remaining Mk.III examples of the craft (GH-2006 ''Princess Margaret'' and GH-2007 ''Princess Anne'') were bought by Wensley Haydon-Baillie for £500,000 and were stored at Lee-on-Solent, next to the Hovercraft Museum. Haydon-Baillie is the owner of the super yacht ''Brave Challenger'' which uses the same Rolls-Royce Proteus Marine engines as the SR.N4s. The purchase included seven years worth of spares including engines.
As of winter 2015 all engines and APUs had been removed from the craft. The SR.N4s were put up for sale and Hover Transit Services of Bolton, Ontario
Bolton ( 2021 population 26,795) is an unincorporated town and is the most populous community in the town of Caledon, Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is located beside the Humber River, approximately 50 kilometres nor ...
, proposed putting the hovercraft back in operation (following a purchase and refurbishment) on Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...
with service between Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
, and Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. The plan did not come to fruition, with government officials concluding that the organisation lacked the experience necessary to be viable.
The land on which the Hovercraft Museum stands is owned by the Homes and Communities Agency
Homes England is the non-departmental public body that funds new affordable housing in England. It was founded on 1 January 2018 to replace the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
HCA in turn was established by the Housing and Regeneration Act ...
. The proposed redevelopment of the site has led to the two craft being threatened with scrapping, but a petition was launched with the aim of preserving one of the craft, which led into a 3-year lease of the hovercraft to the museum in August 2016 with the intention of subsequently permanently handing over the hovercraft to the museum, The ''Princess Anne'' was the craft chosen to be kept and will be restored in a former Seaspeed livery.
In March 2018, GH-2006 ''Princess Margaret'' was broken up at Lee-on-Solent by her last owners, Homes England. GH-2007 The ''Princess Anne'' remains on site leased to the Hovercraft Museum.
Production
Built as Mk.I unless specified otherwise.
*01 – GH-2006 ''Princess Margaret'' 1968, Seaspeed – originally the prototype, converted to Mk.III specification in 1979. Scrapped at Lee-on-Solent in March 2018
*02 – GH-2004 ''Swift'', Hoverlloyd – converted to Mk.II specification for February 1973, broken up in 2004 at the Hovercraft Museum
*03 – GH-2005 ''Sure'' 1968, Hoverlloyd – converted to Mk.II specification in 1972, broken up in 1983 for spares
*04 – GH-2007 ''Princess Anne'', Seaspeed – converted to Mk.III specification in 1978, on display at the Hovercraft Museum
*05 – GH-2008 ''Sir Christopher'' 1972, Hoverlloyd – converted to Mk.II specification in 1974, broken up 1998 for spares
*06 – GH-2054 ''The Prince of Wales'', Hoverlloyd – built as Mk.II, scrapped in 1993 following an electrical fire
Specification
Dimensions
Performance
*Max speed: Mark 1 – 65 knots (calm water, zero wind, at gross laden weight)
Mk.II –
*Normal operating speeds: 40 –
*Endurance: 4 hours (maximum power, 2,800 Imperial gallons of fuel)
*Gradient: 1 in 11
In popular culture
Model kits
The plastic construction kit company Airfix
Airfix is a British brand and former manufacturing company which produced Injection moulding, injection-moulded plastic model, plastic scale model kits. In the UK, the name 'Airfix' has become practically synonymous with plastic models of this typ ...
produced a 1:144 scale model of the SR.N4 in the early 1970s, with a clear plastic top decking to show the detailed interior.
Film industry
The SR.N4 GH-2006 ''Princess Margaret'' featured in scenes from the 1971 James Bond film '' Diamonds Are Forever'' starring Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...
. The SR.N4 GH-2005 ''Sure'' starred in '' La Gifle'' with Isabelle Adjani
Isabelle Yasmine Adjani (born 27 June 1955) is a French actress and singer of Algerian and German descent. She has received various accolades, including five César Awards and a Lumière Award, along with nominations for two Academy Awards. ...
and in '' The Black Windmill,'' starring Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...
, both released in 1974. The SR.N4 is also featured in the 1980 film ''Hopscotch
Hopscotch is a playground game in which players toss a small object, called a lagger, into numbered triangles or a pattern of rectangles outlined on the ground and then hop or jump through the spaces and retrieve the object. It is a children's ...
'' starring Walter Matthau
Walter John Matthau ( Matthow; ; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, known for his "hangdog face" and for playing world-weary characters. He starred in 10 films alongside his real-life friend Jack Lemmon, including '' The Od ...
and Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson (9 May 1936 – 15 June 2023) was an English actress and politician. Over the course of her distinguished career she received List of awards and nominations received by Glenda Jackson, numerous accolades including two Academy ...
.
See also
*N500 Naviplane
The N500 Naviplane was a French hovercraft built by ''Société d'Etude et de Développement des Aéroglisseurs Marins'' (SEDAM) in Pauillac, Gironde for the cross English Channel route. Intended to have a large passenger and crew capacity, as pr ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
Hovercraft Museum: SR.N4 Mk.I
Brave Challenger
{{DEFAULTSORT:SR.N4
Hovercraft
Saunders-Roe
Ferries of the United Kingdom