The sidewall hovercraft has narrow catamaran hulls joined by flexible skirts across the bow and stern. Its marine propellers and rudders make it quieter and more manoeuvrable than its amphibious cousin, but it cannot leave the water.
Early prototypes were trialled at the start of the 20th century, with the first working hovercraft built by an Austrian Naval Officer, Dagobert Müller von Thomamühl, during World War I. He borrowed five aero engines for his ‘air-cushion-fast-torpedo-boat’, which achieved more than 30 knots during tests on the Adriatic in 1916. However, the navy lost interest when the war ended and the air force took their engines back.
In the 1950s Christopher Cockerell experimented with sidewall hovercraft at his Suffolk boatyard before moving on to fully hovering models.
