![]() Only when in motion could the craft trap air under the front, increasing lift. Shaped like a section of a large aerofoil (this creates a low-pressure area above the wing much like an aircraft), the craft was propelled by four aero engines driving two submerged marine propellers, with a fifth engine that blew air under the front of the craft to increase the air pressure under it. In 1915, the Austrian Dagobert Müller von Thomamühl (1880–1956) built the world's first "air cushion" boat ( Luftkissengleitboot). ![]() The shipbuilder John Isaac Thornycroft patented an early design for an air cushion ship / hovercraft in the 1870s, but suitable, powerful, engines were not available until the 20th century. ![]() The first mention, in the historical record of the concepts behind surface-effect vehicles, to use the term hovering was by Swedish scientist Emanuel Swedenborg in 1716. Hovercraft are unique in that they can lift themselves while still, differing from ground effect vehicles and hydrofoils that require forward motion to create lift. There have been many attempts to understand the principles of high air pressure below hulls and wings. The standard plural of hovercraft is hovercraft (in the same manner that aircraft is both singular and plural). Īlthough now a generic term for the type of craft, the name Hovercraft itself was a trademark owned by Saunders-Roe (later British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC), then Westland), hence other manufacturers' use of alternative names to describe the vehicles. Decline in public demand meant that as of 2021, the only public hovercraft service in the world still in operation serves between the Isle of Wight and Southsea in the UK. Very large versions have been used to transport hundreds of people and vehicles across the English Channel, whilst others have military applications used to transport tanks, soldiers and large equipment in hostile environments and terrain. They are now used throughout the world as specialised transports in disaster relief, coastguard, military and survey applications, as well as for sport or passenger service. The first practical design for hovercraft was derived from a British invention in the 1950s. A Lithuanian Coast Guard Griffon Hoverwork 2000TD hovercraft with engine off and skirt deflated (first image), and with engine on and skirt inflated
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