Hoverspeed hovercraft set to be destroyed

[Triton]

"Hoverspeed hovercraft set to be destroyed"

30 January 2016 Last updated at 11:13 GMT

Source:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-35445419

Two famous hovercraft are set to be destroyed in Hampshire.

The Princess Margaret and Princess Anne Hoverspeed vessels carried passengers between Dover and France for 30 years.

They were taken out of service in 2000 and have since been stored at Lee-on-Solent.

Contractors aiming to develop the land to create new homes now plan to demolish them.

The nearby Hovercraft Museum hopes to save one of them for the nation.

BBC South Today's Lewis Coombes reports.

https://youtu.be/YxiR0fipmiM

 

[Nigelhg]

So sad that our engineering heritage isn't valued.

 

[Grey Havoc]

 

[Michel Van]

For crying it out lout: PUT THEM IN A MUSEUM !

 

[Tony Williams]

For crying it out lout: PUT THEM IN A MUSEUM !

Well, one of them anyway. They are rather big beasts that require a lot of space!

 

[Schneiderman]

Well, one of them anyway. They are rather big beasts that require a lot of space!

Perhaps put the museum inside it, its just a big metal box after all.

 

[Kiltonge]

Perhaps put the museum inside it, its just a big metal box after all.

A big metal box that is unfortunately riddled with holes.

The Hovercraft Museum isn't blameless here; although the craft were privately-owned, the Museum had them on 'soft loan' from the owner and included them as part of their collection and often gave tours of the interior. However for the past decade the craft have been gradually deteriorating and no action was taken.

Apparently the owner declined to sell them to the Museum and it was only the intervention of the land-owner that has caused a change in circumstances. Pity they hadn't done so five years ago when the craft were in better condition...

So ironically it is the 'big bad developer' that might actually cause one of these craft to be saved for the long-term. Otherwise they'd just have rusted to pieces where they stood.