Surface effect ship

A surface effect ship (SES) or sidewall hovercraft is a watercraft that has both an air cushion, like a hovercraft, and twin hulls, like a catamaran. When the air cushion is in use, a small portion of the twin hulls remains in the water. When the air cushion is turned off ("off-cushion" or "hull borne"), the full weight of the vessel is supported by the buoyancy of the twin hulls.[1]

P961 Storm, a Skjold-class corvette of the Norwegian Navy is a modern SES, the fastest combat ship class afloat at the time of their introduction.[2]

The SES has two advantages over a hovercraft for open sea operation: it is more resistant to slipping sideways when acted on by air or sea, and it can use water jets for propulsion since the inlet nozzles are always covered by water.

  1. ^ https://www.foils.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/HCH1962Jul.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  2. ^ Lundquist, Edward H. "Skjold-class Surface Effect Ship HNoMS Steil". Defense Media Network. Retrieved 2 December 2022.