Hovercraft Inventor Gets Trophy
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THE inventor of the I4overcraft, Mr. Christopher Cockerel]. has been awarded the Royal Automobile Club's Diamond Jubilee Trophy for the outstanding contribution in the whole field of automotive transport. Since it was instituted in 1957. the trophy has previously been awarded only onceāin 1958, to Sir Vivian Fuchs and his chief engineer on the Antarctic expedition.
Receiving the trophy from Earl Mountbatten, the R.A.C. president, Mr. Cockerell appealed for backing to develop a commercially profitable 100ton Hovercraft which, he said, could be built within two years. Hovercraft were at a difficult point in evolution, but the next generation of craft would be commercial. What was particularly needed was the expertise of a substantial operator to give practical assistance in development.