Hovercraft propeller becomes waterfront landmark

A propeller from a cross-Channel passenger and car hovercraft has been installed as a monument on the waterfront close to where it was built.

The nearly seven-metre-high (23ft), four-bladed propeller of the hovercraft Princess Margaret was rebuilt following the vessel's dismantling and scrapping in 2018. It has been installed on Albany Green, East Cowes.

Isle of Wight Council said the propeller sits as a "permanent tribute" to one of the most recognisable chapters in the Isle of Wight's maritime and transport heritage.

The propeller is on permanent loan from The Hovercraft Museum in Lee-on-the-Solent to East Cowes Town Council.

A spokesperson for the Hovercraft Museum said it was a "fitting place for such a grand display, being such a significant location in the production and development of the hovercraft."

"This loan will enable a wider audience to see, learn and marvel at the sheer size and technical development of the true British invention of the hovercraft."

The second giant craft, and the sole-surviving cross-Channel hovercraft - Princess Anne - is being restored at the museum on the former HMS Daedalus naval base site at Lee-on-Solent.

Both hovercraft were on the verge of being destroyed, but the museum later secured a lease through Homes England for the Princess Anne.

The two 250-tonne Hoverspeed vessels could carry 400 passengers and 55 cars.

They were built on the Isle of Wight by the British Hovercraft Corporation in the 1970s and operated from Dover and Pegwell Bay in Kent.

They were taken out of service and replaced in 2000 by a catamaran service.