Is it a plane? No..
It is the SR.N 4, the world’s largest ever passenger and vehicle carrying hovercraft. The name is an acronym for Saunders Roe Nautical, by the way. They made other things, notably flying boats, and big ones too, but under the name Saunders Roe..
Anyway, this is a Mountbatten class SR.N,, and one of these crossed the English Channel in a record 22 minutes with over 250 people and 30 cars on board. Impressive, eh. Also impressive was the huge size, noise and fuel consumption. They were not cheap to run, but always paid there way.
For passengers inside, it was noisy and the ride was not exactly smooth, despite the fact the hovercrafts do not sit in the water. But it was fast, and a unique way to travel. Unlike the venerable channel ferries, they couldn’t go out in overly rough seas, and the Dover Straits are some of the roughest seas anywhere, trust me, especially in the winter.
They don’t run anymore, which is a shame, but one or two have found their way into museums. Meanwhile, the ferries continue to plug across the Channel at various points, and of course, the Eurostar whisks under the sea all through the year apart from the odd time when the wrong kind of leaves or snow are on the lines.
Hovercrafts can be found in other places. The US used SK-6’s as part of their military fleet, and the Canadians used two SR.N 6’s for search and rescue on the west coast, but I believe that they are now decommissioned.
For photos of all of the types, see here.. http://www.bartiesworld.co.uk/hovercraft/saunders.htm
