11 June 1959: the hovercraft makes its debut on the Solent

The first trials of the hovercraft, developed by Saunders-Roe Ltd and called the SR-N1, took place on the Solent, on this day in 1959.

SR-N1 hovercraft on its maiden voyage
The SR-N1 hovercraft on its maiden voyage
(Image credit: © Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

"Is it an aircraft, or is it a ship?", asked The Times correspondent who'd been given the enviable task of wandering down to the shores of the Solent on a summer's day in 1959 to report on the initial trials of the hovercraft.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

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