GH-2004 'Swift' (Yard No. 002)
Now sadly broken up due to extensive corrosion & the promise of a Super 4 craft from Hoverspeed

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History

Swift was built in 1968 as the second Mk I SR.N4, with a capacity for 254 passengers and 30 vehicles, and commenced trials at Pegwell Bay on 17th January 1969. It began service on 2nd April with Hoverlloyd Ltd on the Pegwell Bay (Ramsgate) to Calais route. The car deck occupies the large central area with large stern doors and a bow ramp to provide a drive-on, drive-off facility. The passenger cabins are situated along either side and have separate side doors for embarkation and disembarkation. The control cabin is sited centrally and forward on top of the superstructure with access for the three man crew via a ladder from the vehicle deck.

Swift reached speeds of up to 100 knots on trials, but the operating maximum was limited to 70 knots. Swift gained the record for crossing the English Channel, which it managed to do in 24 minutes and this record was retained for many years until Mk III craft The Princess Anne snatched the record with an incredible 22 minutes on 14th September 1995. During it's working life, Swift made over 30,000 separate Channel crossings.

In September 1972 Hoverlloyd began sending their three Mk I craft back to the British Hovercraft Corporation at East Cowes for conversion to Mk II standard. The two inner cabins on the car deck level were removed to provide an additional 7 car spaces and the passenger cabins were extended out to the periphery to make up for the lost space and to provide an additional 28 seats. The additional weight only made a marginal difference to the performance. A tapered skirt was fitted retrospectively to all SR.N4 craft as this was found to give a much better all round performance, particularly in rough weather, and it also improved visibility for passengers.

Swift was chartered to Seaspeed in early 1981 to cover one of their own craft off service, and in October she was included in the merger of Seaspeed and Hoverlloyd, subsequently operating under the name of Hoverspeed on the Dover / Boulogne and Dover / Calais routes. By the end of 1989 the craft had logged a total of 22,419 operating hours.

Following her last service on 29th September, on 11th October 1991 Swift was laid up by Hoverspeed pending sale. The sale never materialised, and on 25th June 1994 she was donated to the Hovercraft Museum and towed from Dover to HMS Daedalus near Gosport. She was the last remaining Mk II craft, the others having been broken up for spares.

Sadly, due to deterioration of the structure and the promise of a Super 4 craft from Hoverspeed, Swift was broken up on 2004 and now only the cockpit and some major components remain. However there are still two Super 4 craft stored on the site and it is hoped to secure one of these for the Museum at a future date.

Swift being towed up the Lee-on-Solent slipway to her final resting place

Present Condition

Swift had mostly been laid up for several years before she was donated to the Museum in June 1994. It had it's propulsion system disconnected and was hovered on two engines (plus APUs) and towed from Dover to Gosport by an ocean-going tug. On arrival in the Solent a smaller tug assisted it to the slipway where it was hauled to its current resting place on the concrete apron at the top of the slipway. Hundreds of people turned out to witness this event, which, due to the necessary road closure, caused a 7 mile traffic jam ! Hoverspeed, who donated the craft, then removed the remaining two engines, which were required as spares for their other craft, then still in operation. Some items have been secured by the museum from the Sir Christopher, now scrapped by Hoverspeed, and time-expired spares will probably be made available now the two Mk III craft have come out of service, but Swift would never hover under her own power again. Sadly she was broken up in 2004 due to corrosion in the roof and floor areas.

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