Cross-Channel
Seaspeed started cross-Channel services from Dover, England to Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer, France using SR-N4 hovercraft in August 1968. The two hovercraft were named The Princess Margaret and The Princess Anne; the former featured in the James Bond film "Diamonds Are Forever". In 1976, work started to considerably lengthen both craft by inserting an almost 17.1 metre (56.1 ft) long section. This increased the passenger capacity of the craft from 254 passengers to 418. This also increased the car capacity to a total of 60.
Following the closure of the service in 2000, both craft are now preserved at the Hovercraft Museum.
A French-built N500 Naviplane (number N500-02, Ingénieur Jean Bertin) was constructed in 1977 for SNCF for use on Seaspeed services. This craft proved less successful than the SR-N4 models and was withdrawn in the early 1980s.
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