Originally Posted by
WHBM
The Bordeaux works was later used to build the two French competitors to the big hovercraft many will remember that ran from Dover to Calais. One was lost even before delivery when the works were destroyed by fire, this nearly got the second one as well, but that never worked properly and eventually was given up.
The SEDAM N500:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N500_Naviplane
I travelled on the one which entered service in around May 1979 on a day trip to Boulogne. A slightly more comfortable trip than my one previous hovercraft experience from Calais to Ramsgate on a Hoverlloyd SRN4. Only our timeous arrival over Pegwell Bay's mudflats meant the roller coaster ride ended before I saw my lunch again.