In which decade was the hovercraft invented?

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Multiple Choice

In which decade was the hovercraft invented?

The idea hinges on turning an air cushion into a practical vehicle, lifting a craft off the surface to glide with very little friction. That breakthrough happened in the 1950s, when Christopher Cockerell developed the concept and built the first working model. A patent describing the idea was filed around 1950, and the first full-scale hovercraft prototype, SRN1, flew in 1959. Because of this sequence, the hovercraft is associated with the 1950s. Earlier decades—1920s, 1930s, and 1940s—had ideas and experiments related to air cushions, but a functioning hovercraft wasn’t demonstrated until the 1950s.

The idea hinges on turning an air cushion into a practical vehicle, lifting a craft off the surface to glide with very little friction. That breakthrough happened in the 1950s, when Christopher Cockerell developed the concept and built the first working model. A patent describing the idea was filed around 1950, and the first full-scale hovercraft prototype, SRN1, flew in 1959. Because of this sequence, the hovercraft is associated with the 1950s. Earlier decades—1920s, 1930s, and 1940s—had ideas and experiments related to air cushions, but a functioning hovercraft wasn’t demonstrated until the 1950s.

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