the amphibious assault has proven to be one of the most dangerous yet ultra-critical components
of warfare since ancient times it falls onto naval forces to supply the fighting men and
machines with the means to cross over from water to land in attempt to carry the fight to the enemy
in the cold war period various naval powers of the world have invested mightily in the technologies
that enable such doctrine to exist however there are still many in service by several powers of
the world today we'll tell you about the most interesting military and civil hovercraft projects
zuber class the zuber class also known as project 1232.2 is air cushion landing aircraft developed
for carrying out rapid sea lift and beach landing of assault troops and combat material on territory
held by hostile forces the zuber craft is given a length of 187 feet with a beam measuring 84 feet
and a draft of 5.2 feet it displaces at 415 tons when under normal load and reaches 555
tons when under full load her profile includes a bridge superstructure of the midships with three
large shrouded propulsion fans aft the forward section of the boat is largely unobstructed
and sports a raised bow with a lowering ramp for embarking or disembarking units systems cargo
and infantry the cushion is deflated to bring the bow ramp to ground level for self-defense this
hovercraft is armed with surface-to-air missiles sam launchers two 30-millimeter ak-630 cannons and
two rocket launchers furthermore the zubercraft is even equipped with a surface search radar chaff
radar and decoys among other integrated systems internally the zuber features a centralized hold
for carrying vehicles or cargo the vessels hold can house up to three main battle tank
type vehicles up to 8 armored personnel carriers or similar 10 general military vehicles or up to
500 infantry of course the craft can also replace these items with pure cargo taking advantage of
its 4 300 square foot hold the zuber can make up to 40 knots in ideal conditions and reach
speeds up to 60 knots under certain conditions operational range is listed out to 300 miles
lcac the landing craft lcac is a high-speed over-the-beach fully amphibious landing craft
capable of carrying a 60-75 ton payload it is used to transport the weapon systems equipment
cargo and personnel of the assault elements of the marine air ground task force from ship to shore
and across the beach lcac can carry heavy payloads such as the m1 tank at high speeds
the lcac payload capability and speed combined to significantly increase the ability of the marine
ground element to reach the shore air cushion technology allows this vehicle to reach more
than 70 percent of the world's coastline while only about 15 of that coastline is available by
conventional landing craft the vessel operates in waters regardless of depth underwater obstacles
shallows or adverse tides it can proceed inland on its air cushion clearing obstacles up to four feet
including mud flats sand dunes dish designed and icy shorelines the vessel also provides
the capability to launch amphibious assaults from points over the horizon
thereby decreasing risk to ships and personnel and generating greater uncertainty in the enemy's mind
as to the location and timing of an assault thereby maximizing its prospects of success
with lcacs in the fleet an amphibious assault force could be nearly 500 miles
away and still make a pre-dawn attack launched from behind an enemy's horizon
borah class the project 1239 borah small missile air cushion ship is primarily intended for coast
defense operations the key design feature of this hydrodynamic configuration is an air cushion that
separates the hole from the water surface combined with maintaining contact with the water surface by
means of sidewalls it is the largest military hovercraft unmatched anywhere in the world
with a displacement of 1000 tons the craft has a speed of more than 50 knots
in addition intermediate speed modes with reduced air supply to the air cushion zone are available
this is called multi-mode motion capability a property no other ship in the world can boast
it is armed with eight mosquito missiles which can strike targets on c or on land the hovercraft
has 20 anti-aircraft missiles an artillery complex a machine gun and an interference
creating device the speed performance and combat capabilities of such ships has become extreme
with the characteristics of wing and ground wig affect vehicles the attacks of which cannot
be detected by satellites and have a very high mission accomplishment probability in this context
it should be noted that sidewall hovercraft are easier cheaper and more reliable in operation
than wig vehicles marina class the project 12061 morena is an air cushion landing craft designed to
transport amphibious landing equipment and troops on shore while providing fire support these crafts
are a lengthened version of the lebbed class lcac hovercraft which is the russian navy equivalent to
the u.s navy lcac the marina landing craft can transport up to 24 tons of payload including
130 fully equipped troops two medium armored vehicles or one medium main battle tank the
morena class vessels are armed with two thirty millimeter six-barrel ak-630 guns and 8 igla 1m
surface-to-air missiles and can be equipped with 10 to 24 mines these crafts achieve a top speed
of 55 knots and have a cruising range of over 200 nautical miles today none of these ships
are operational in the russian navy however three of these vessels are operational in the rok navy
kivas 48. if zuber is the champion among military hovercraft kivas 48 is the best among civilian
models it is the largest civil hovercraft in russia and one of the largest in the world
kivas 48 has a unique cross-country ability increased stability and maneuverability it is
able to move through shallow water swamps deep snow and broken ice it can also overcome gentle
coastal slopes gullies and shallows as well as this it has the ability to overcome long slopes up
to 10 degrees and short ones up to 35 degrees the hovercraft can be operated in any region because
of trouble-free operation in different weather conditions in addition kivas is equipped with
all necessary radio communication and navigation equipment rescue equipment and signaling devices
the vessel can achieve a speed up to 38 nautical miles and is able to transport 48 passengers
bht 150 the bht 150 is the largest hovercraft to be manufactured in the uk since the 1970s
the bht 150 was designed by griffin hoverwork to cope with the extreme temperatures in the region
ensuring a suitable environment for crew and machinery and minimizing craft downtime
delivered for use in the itching region for border patrol search and rescue and airport crash rescue
the bht-150 craft has a crew of 12 and can carry 188 passengers at speeds in excess of 40
knots with the one meter obstacle clearance this hovercraft is the most suitable vessel for the
water conditions and environment of the yellow sea with its large areas of shallow water and wetland
that freezes in the winter months fitted with four engines the vessel can patrol 300 nautical
miles before needing to be refueled srn4 the srn4 was the largest commercial hovercraft ever built
and was used on ferry services between the united kingdom and france operating at cruising speeds of
60 knots and with a maximum speed of 83 knots this remains the fastest commercial ferry service ever
the craft could carry up to 418 passengers in two cabins on either side of a car deck that
held up to 60 vehicles vehicles embarked using the craft's integral bow ramp and disembarked
through the rear doors using a ramp provided by the hoverport passengers embarked either
through the side doors or through the internal doors between the car deck and passenger cabins
a total of six srn4 hovercraft were built between 1968 and 1977. these hovercraft
remained in service until the year 2000 when the last serviceable craft was retired from operation
well that's enough for today let us know in the comments which vessel impressed you the most
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