Griffon Hoverwork
Griffon Hoverwork Ltd.. (until 2009: Griffon Hovercraft ) is the world's largest producer of air -cushion vehicles. The British company is based in the South of England Southampton. All hovercrafts are produced in both civil and military variants.
History
Griffon Hovercraft was founded in 1976 by Edwin Gifford and Don Robertson. Gifford had already worked in the 1960s with Christopher Cockerell, inventor of the hovercraft, in the development of hovercraft and the establishment of regular ferry services on the English Channel. However, when it came to significant differences of opinion between the two developers in the 1970s, to Grifford decided to start their own company. While hovercrafts have so far been driven by gas turbines, to Gifford decided to develop a drive with a petrol engine. Just one year after the company delivered Griffon hovercraft from the world's first air-cushion vehicle with a gasoline engine, which could be operated more efficiently than previous versions. 1983 was the first time a 1000TD hovercraft built with diesel engine. Compared with the previous drive systems diesel engines offered a much higher reliability and are less susceptible to damage by salt water. In May 2000, currently the largest civilian hovercraft was with the 8000TD, after the retirement of SRN4 presented.
In 2008, Griffon Hovercraft was taken over by the Bland Group and 2009 with the company Hoverwork Ltd. of the Isle of Wight united under the new name Griffon Hoverwork.