Jane’s Surface Skimmers: Hovercraft and Hydrofoils 1970-71
Roy McLeavy (ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970, 332 pp. Illus. $24.50.
Reviewed by Richard F. Cross, III
(Mr. Cross is a 1944 graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. He has been connected with advanced seaplane design, nuclear seaplane studies, avionics and surface weapon systems, integrated combat system, and with the Navy's DX program. He was formerly Manager, Advanced Ship Systems, Pomona Division, of the General Dynamics Corporation, and is now a consultant on naval architectural matters.)
The fourth edition of this excellent biannual work summarizes the rapid growth in hovercraft and hydrofoils—it is 50% larger than the third edition and also four times the size of the first. With a size, color, and general format consonant with the rest of the Jane’s family of books, this edition covers air cushion vehicles (ACV)—both manufacturers and operators—assisted load carriers, landing systems, and tracked vehicles. The hydrofoil section reviews vehicles by manufacturer and operator. Power plants for both general vehicle types are summarized in the final section, which is followed by a much improved glossary of terms. Written material, covering the general state of the art, history of the various companies involved, and selected papers on ACVs and hydrofoils is informative and reasonably concise. The editor is particularly impressed with the potential of the wing-in-ground-effect vehicle.
For anyone not intimately familiar with either of these fast-growing transportation technologies, the worldwide growth this book reports is an eye-opener. Many of the founding personalities such as Baron von Schertel (hydrofoils), Sir Christopher Cockerell, and Jean Bertin (both ACVs) along with the established companies such as Supramar, Rodriquez, and British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC) are finally realizing the sweet taste of solid success.
Despite the claims of the enthusiast, however, neither the ACV nor the hydrofoil has completely arrived as a major, dependable form of mass transportation, although the hydrofoil comes close in Russia. ACVs, which have seen the most remarkable expansion over the past few years, have now grown in size to 180 tons and 45 knots in the BHC SRN-4s operating regularly in the English Channel. These carry 30 cars and 270 passengers. The British lead in ACV technology, primarily through the efforts of BHC. It has exported its smaller SRN-5 and SRN-4 worldwide. Impressive ACVs have been built by Vosper Thornycroft (VT-1, 83 tons, 40 knots, 1970) and Hovermarine (HM-2 series, 22 tons, 35 knots, 1970), the former with beaching skegs and the latter with rigid sidewalls, both driven by water propellers.
France, through SEDAM, its major company for both marine and land applications, is developing a series comparable to BHC, including the N500 of 180 tons, designed to travel at 80 knots. It will be operational in 1973. Using ACV technology developed by Bertin, the French believe they have a system which will permit higher speeds in rougher water. They are interested, however, in combining French and British developmental efforts (really SEDAM and BHC) so that one nonduplicating series can be built.
In the United States, ACVs have developed much more slowly. Bell has been the company most involved in their development, based in part on BHC concepts, and the Army and Navy both tested the resulting 10-ton, 60-knot SK-5 in Vietnam. The Joint Surface Effect Ships Project Office (JSESPO), a combined Navy-Maritime Administration program office, has contracted for two competing 100-ton, 80-knot vehicles (Bell and Aerojet General), which will be completed sometime this year. These look toward multi-thousand-ton, commercially attractive ships of the future. At the beginning of 1971, however, there was nothing larger than ten tons operating in the United States.
Russia, though starting late, has gone into ACVs in a big way in the past five years. Most of these designs are for river use; some are waterjet-propelled and none is larger at present than 15 tons, although larger amphibious craft are under development for the Soviet Navy.
Air cushion craft appear ideal for use in restricted waters or over bogs or ice. There is great promise for them in the rapidly developing Arctic regions, where they can serve to move men, supplies, and heavy equipment over areas which are otherwise impenetrable. In open water, most of the current designs are subject to sea state limitations, similar to conventional surface craft.
While hydrofoil craft have been under sporadic development for at least 50 years, improved technology offers great promise in the second generation vehicles now going operational. The major improvement is the fully-submerged foil with its sophisticated controls, which has replaced the surface-piercing foil, thus permitting better performance in higher seas. In contrast to the ACV, the United States has taken the lead in hydrofoil technology, if not in commercial sales. The Navy, with the USS Flagstaff (PGH-1), and particularly, the USS Tucumcari (PGH-2), both 65-ton, 50-knot vehicles, has finally developed high-performance craft which show great promise. Boeing, as a partial result, has replaced Grumman as the major hydrofoil advocate in the United States. Jane’s includes views of Boeing’s 540- and 4,400-ton proposed designs, both capable of supporting helicopters. In addition, Italy will build a modified Tucumcari, mounting the new OTO Malera 3-inch automatic gun.
Supramar of Switzerland and Rodriquez Shipyard of Messina remain the big names in European hydrofoils, the latter building over 85 hydrofoil craft in the past 15 years, all surface-piercing, 40-knot craft used in restricted waters and ranging to 165 tons. Japan, in particular, has built licensed versions of these designs but with only fair success because of their limited performance in the poor Japanese weather during the winter months. The advent of Supramar’s new air-stabilized foil, as well as the new, fully-submerged foil should hurdle this barrier. England, with conditions much like Japan, has shown little interest in hydrofoils, primarily for the same reasons.
Russia has made a major commitment to hydrofoils with most of their commercial craft, the 30- to 40-knot Kometas, Raketas, and Meteors, designed for rivers and inland waterways. All employ surface-piercing, shallow-water foil systems. Many are now being exported worldwide and one gets the impression that the latest in technology, both Free World and the Communist World, can be found in the Caribbean, where a variety of operators have a little of something everyone has to offer.
Both the Russians and the Chinese have put several small naval hydrofoil patrol craft designs into series production. Similar craft, mostly Supramar derivatives, can also be found in the navies of the Philippines, France, Japan, and Poland, to name a few. The Russians have built more hydrofoil craft—currently they operate some 1,000 commercially—than any other country and these craft now provide a substantial means of 35-knot transportation on the waterways within the Soviet Union.
Jane’s covers tracked ACVs—really the monorail trains of the future—where France is doing work of great promise. The use of air cushion devices, both large and small, is expanding rapidly, spurred in the latter case by the difficult transportation problems of the far north.
Jane’s does a good job of summarizing all of this, and the editor, Roy McLeary, is to be congratulated for a difficult job well done. There are ample drawings of most important craft, including the Russians, as well as detailed descriptions. Photographic coverage is generally good. The result is that one cannot help but sense the excitement that these two growing technologies inspire as he peruses the 330 pages of the fourth edition of Jane’s Surface Skimmers.
Professional Reading
Compiled by Robert A. Lambert, Associate Editor
The Air Marshals
Allen Andrews. New York: Morrow, 1970. 299 pp. Illus. $6.95.
While this assessment of Arnold, Dowding, Harris, Portal, Tedder, and Goering often misses the mark, it is, nonetheless, an interesting study of these men and air power.
The American Enlisted Man
Charles C. Moskos, Jr. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1970. 274 pp. $7.95.
This is a well-written, comprehensive sociological study that traces the changes which have occurred within the rank and file structure since World War II and the equally significant changes that have occurred in the portrayals of enlisted men in movies, plays, and novels.
Barrage: The Guns in Action
Ian V. Hogg. New York: Ballantine, 1970. 160 pp. Illus. $1.00 (paper).
The battles of 1939 through 1945 are seen from an artilleryman’s viewpoint.
Battle of the Reichswald
Peter Elstob. New York: Ballantine, 1970. 160 pp. Illus. $1.00 (paper).
The last great British offensive of World War II, that saw the northern end of Germany’s West Wall outflanked, is analyzed and described.
The Constellation Question
Howard I. Chapelle and Leon D. Pollard. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1970. 152 pp. Illus. $3.75.
Is the Constellation, preserved in Baltimore harbor, older than the Constitution in Boston, or is she, as Chapelle contends, a much younger and different ship of the same name? Pollard, for the Constellation Restoration Committee, argues for the first interpretation. The opposing views involve complicated points of history and highly technical details of 18th and 19th century ship construction and repair. The discussion can be described as scholarly invective; the argument is close, but the firmer ground and the slight edge has to go to Chapelle.
The Deadeye
John M. Kochiss. Mystic, Conn.: The Marine Historical Association, 1970. 43 pp. Illus. $3.95 (paper).
The making of deadeye rigging blocks as it is still practiced in one shop in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, is completely described and combined with a brief tracing of the dead-eye’s long history as an important part of a sailing ship’s rigging.
Defeat in Malaya: The Fall of Singapore
Arthur Swinson. New York: Ballantine, 1970. 160 pp. Illus. $1.00 (paper).
This is a fascinating account of the Japanese campaign that destroyed the British colonial facade on the land and, at sea, sank two of her capital ships, the Prince of Wales and the Repulse.
Elizabeth’s Admiral
Robert W. Kenny. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1970. 354 pp. $11.00
Lord Admiral for 30 years and commander of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada, Charles Howard was much less well known than his captains—Hawkins, Drake, and Frobisher. This biography reveals his personality and illuminates much concerning the navy, court politics, and society in the late Tudor, and early Stuart reigns.
History of the British Army
Peter Young and J P. Lawford (eds.). New York: Putnam, 1970. 304 pp. Illus. $15.00.
More than a dozen noted authors have contributed 32 articles tracing the history of the British Army from the early 17th century to the present. Naturally, a volume of this type must stress only the most notable campaigns, battles, personalities, victories and defeats, and much must be left out. The illustrations are good, many in color, and the editorial work has eased the transition from one chapter to the next. While quite similar in format and style to its recent companion publication, The History of the Royal Navy, better editing gives this history of Britain’s Army a slight edge over the one for her Navy.
Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft 1945-46
Leonard Bridgman (ed.). New York: Arco [1946], 1970. 724 pp. Illus. $29.95.
This facsimile is more than just specifications of a wide variety of aircraft; it is very nearly a history of World War II in the air from 1939 through 1945. The planes, the actions, the air forces, and other aspects are covered, and the changing technology emerging from the period is discussed.
Jane’s All the World's Aircraft 1970-71
John W. R. Taylor (ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970. 819 pp. Illus. $49.50.
While some minor changes have been made on tabulating technical data, the most noticeable change is the omission of the sections on the world’s airlines, airports, ground equipment, navigation and control systems, and directory of equipment manufacturers. However, these losses are offset by increased coverage for those countries that have been developing their aviation capabilities but were not featured previously.
Jane’s Surface Skimmers: Hovercraft and Hydrofoils 1970-71
Roy McLeavy (ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970. 332 pp. Illus. $24.50.
Larger than previous editions, because of more vehicles being designed and used, this edition offers three new sections: a list of authorities around the world responsible for giving design or operating approval, a directory of consultants, and a review of selected, amateur-built air cushion vehicles.
Kronstadt 1921
Paul Avrich. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1970. 271 pp. Illus. $8.50.
The naval mutiny at Kronstadt in March 1921, was to early Bolshevism what Hungary and Czechoslovakia were to Communism in more recent times. Using available sources to the fullest, the author attempts to give a complete account of the rebellion and its place within the political and social events that marked Russia’s transition from War Communism to the New Economic Policy.
Navies of the Second World War—British Fleet and Escort Destroyers
H. T. Lenton. London: Macdonald, 1970. Vol. 1—136 pp; Vol. 2—136 pp. Illus. $2.30 each.
These two pocket-size volumes give complete descriptions and illustrate by photograph and line drawing the fleet and escort destroyers which served in the British and Dominion navies between 1939 and 1945. Also included are those cancelled or only projected, together with the 50 old destroyers loaned by the U. S. Navy. Volume One has a fine short introduction to the subject that highlights the problems faced by the Royal Navy in the inter-war years in designing and building their destroyer force.
Okinawa
Benis M. Frank. New York: Ballantine, 1970. 160 pp. Illus. $1.00 (paper).
Basically, this is a much reduced version of the campaign’s official history written by this same author for the Marine Corps.
One Germany Or Two
Eleanor Lansing Dulles. Stanford, Calif.: Hoover Institution Press, 1970. 315 pp. $7.95.
A thorough survey and balanced evaluation of 25 years of German Federal Republic foreign policy is presented. It is the author’s conviction that re-unification is just a matter of time.
Pearl Harbor
A. J. Barker. New York: Ballantine, 1970. 160 pp. Illus. $1.00 (paper).
The whole tragedy of 7 December 1941 is replayed in a narrative that is readable, concise, and detailed.
The Phantom War in the Northwest
Grahame F. Shrader. Edmonds, Wash.: Grahame F. Shrader, 233 No. 5th Ave., (98020), 1969. 59 pp. Illus. $3.75 (paper).
With all the publicity given to German submarine operations along the eastern seaboard of the United States during World War II, a similar, but much smaller, effort by the Japanese along the Pacific Northwest has been all but forgotten. This slender, large-format monograph, with many photographs of ships sunk and harbor defense installations, rectifies that historical oversight.
Pictorial History of the Royal Navy. Vol. 1: 1816-1880
Anthony J. Watts. London: Ian Allen, 1970. 144 pp. Illus. $5.80.
The transformation of Britain’s Navy from sail to steam, from muzzle-loaded round shot to breech-loaded shell is shown.
Sea, Sails, and Shipwreck
Robert H. Burgess. Cambridge, Md.: Tidewater, 1970. 132 pp. Illus. $6.00.
The rigorous life of the Chesapeake-built, four-masted, coasting schooner, Purnell T. White, is the subject of this unusual and remarkably thorough account. The author had a personal association with the ship during part of her 19-year career that saw her sailing to South America, the West Indies, and across the Atlantic. Many of the photographs are of his taking.
Seven Firefights in Vietnam.
John Albright, John A. Cash, and Allan W. Sandstrum. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1970. 159 pp. Illus. $1.00 (paper).
Detailed accounts of small unit actions representative of those fought by the Army since 1965 are presented by officer-historians who took part in a number of the actions described.
Sinkings, Salvages and Shipwrecks
Robert F. Burgess. New York: American Heritage Press, 1970. 192 pp. Illus. $6.95.
Told in a fast-paced, journalistic style, this presents an interesting collection of stories of underwater archaeological exploration, quests for sunken treasure, mysterious disappearances, castaways, and famous disasters.
Some Famous Sailing Ships and Their Builder Donald McKay
Richard C. McKay. Riverside, Conn.: 7 C’s Press [1928], 1969. 395 pp. Illus. $9.55.
First printed as a limited edition over four decades ago, this is a detailed study of America’s great clipper builder and his creations. This re-issue has been slightly up-dated with the addition of a few new illustrations.
SS and Gestapo
Roger Manvell. New York: Ballantine, 1970 160 pp. Illus. $1.00 (paper).
The jailers of the Nazi police state are all too vividly described.
To Santa Rosalia Further and Back
Harold D. Huycke, Jr. Newport News, Va.: The Mariners Museum, 1970. 631 pp. Illus. $10.00.
Santa Rosalia, Mexico, on the Gulf coast of Baja, California, was more than six decades ago a thriving mining town, and to it, in 1914, came 12 full-rigged ships and four-masted barks flying the German flag. Interned there by the owners for what was expected to be a short war, these Cape Horners remained for more than six years, but the crews, mostly teen-aged boys, deserted. This book is as much a story of those young men who signed articles reading “. . . to go from Hamburg to Santa Rosalia, further and beyond . . . ,” as it is of those ships.
Wake of the Coasters
John F. Leavitt. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1970. 201 pp. Illus. $9.95.
This very fine informal history consists of recollections of ships, men, cargoes, and ports, photographs from many sources, and sketches by the author who, in his youth, sailed in many of the schooners mentioned and is now associate curator of the famed Mystic Seaport.
War Game Campaigns
Donald F. Featherstone. New Rochelle, N.Y.: Sport Shelf, 1970. 214 pp. Illus. $11.00.
This is an advanced book aimed at the experienced war-games and the large table-top conflicts as played by clubs.
Weather for the Mariner
Capt. William J. Kotsch, U.S.N. Annapolis, Md.: U. S. Naval Institute, 1970. 164 pp. Illus. $6.50. (paper).
By avoiding high-level mathematics and involved theory, and by using many illustrations, the basic principles of modern meteorology are set out in as uncomplicated manner as possible.