BHC BH.7 Wellington class :: James' Hovercraft Site

BHC BH.7 Wellington class

British Hovercraft Corporation's BH.7 "Wellington" class was designed for military use. Prototype P235 started service in the Royal Navy in 1970, trialling marine mine hunting techniques out of the Royal Navy Air Station at Portland, UK. Following service with the Navy, the craft was retired to The Hovercraft Museum, where she still exists now. Several other BH.7 craft were manufactured and sold to the Iranian Navy, now thought to be in storage. [Hovercraft Museum, 2007b]

Performance specifications for the BH.7 hovercraft

Source: Hovercraft Museum, 2007b
Feature Specification
Length (m) 23.90
Beam (m) 13.80
Cushion depth (m) 1.76
Height (landed) (m) 10.36
Max speed (kts) 58
Max payload (tonnes) 18.3
Max weight (tonnes) 56
Main Engines Rolls Royce Marine Proteus 15M/541 gas proteus (Mk 2, Mk 4 craft). Mk 5A craft 15M/549 engine.
Main Engine Power (kW) 3,171
Max endurance (hours) 11
Fuel capacity (l) 13,635
Electrical system Rover/Lucas IS/90 APUs via two 55kVA, 3-phase 400Hz@200v
Cabin length (m) 13.2
Cabin width (m) 4.17
Centre-line headroom (m) 2.38
Main hold floor area (sq.m) 56
Passengers 60 troops plus equipment in two side cabins

BH-7

As viewed at the Hovercraft Museum during Hovershow 2009.

BH7 at the 2009 Hovershow [TOP]

by James Rowson.

Operational Service

Images by J Lawrence [gallery homepage]

The BH-7 [TOP]

by Pat Lawrence.