Who invented the hovercraft?

Sir Christopher Sydney Cockerell (June 4, 1910 – June 1, 1999) was an English engineer, best known for inventing the hovercraft.

He was interested in the idea of making ships faster by reducing friction. He took a couple of tin cans (one with the top and bottom removed, and one slightly smaller with the closed side up) and attached them to an inverted vacuum, so that instead of sucking in air, it expelled it.

Using a scale, he measured the pressure of the air going down the space between the sides of the cans and found that it was three times higher than without the cans.

The idea is to dodge obstacles by floating above them on pressurized air. The air streams are directed downwards and trapped with a curtain or skirt, which, tapering inwards, blocks most of the air.

In 1956 he demonstrated a model to the Patent Office and the Admiralty, who despite their interest insisted that the invention be classified as secret.

It was declassified in 1958, and Cockerell was introduced to the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), who placed an order with Saunders-Roe for the first large-scale hovercraft. This prototype is known as SR-N1. On June 11, 1959, it was first shown to the public. On July 25, he successfully crossed the English Channel between Calais and Dover in two hours.

In later life, Cockerell developed many other improvements to the hovercraft, and invented various other applications for the air cushion principle, such as the hovertrain.