Before the days of Terminal 5 at London's BAA Heathrow Airport, there was a vast expanse of swampland and sewage works in an area called Perry Oaks, at the western-end of the two main runways. For the sake of safety, should a plane have come down in these water areas, Heathrow Airport's Fire Department, located within the Perry Oaks of the airport, owned a rescue hovercraft, a Hoverguard 80.

On a work-experience trip to Heathrow in 2001, I was shown around the Fire Department, and they showed me their (soon to be decommissioned) hovercraft, shown in the photos below. This hovercraft now resides at the Hovercraft Museum, having been donated to them by BAA.

Heathrow's Hoveguard 80 at the Hovercraft Museum, 2011

Photos taken during the Hovercraft Museum Open Day, August 2011 of the BAA's old Hoverguard 80.

Page updated Saturday, September 13, 2014