Liner propelled by 6 air engines

dan_inbox said:
Any information about this crazy-looking project for a liner with 6 diesel-powered air-propellers, designed by Dieter Jansen?

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/jet-styled-model-liner/
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It looks like a flying boat without the wings. So is probably built to aircraft standards out of light metal so would be much lighter than a steel ship. So it would skim along the water at high speeds (for a boat). Of course it would face major problems with slamming in heavy seas but would make for a very fast passenger ferry for sheltered waters. Of course it’s only a small step from this to a WIG craft.
 
It's a nutty idea. If it dates from 1957, then it's at the dawn of the jet age. Making liners faster wouldn't be of much economic use... the liners would cost more, but still be incredibly slow compared to transatlantic jets. And for pleasure cruisers, going 60 miles per hour kinda defeats the purpose.

Had it been designed 20 years earlier, it would've made more sense.
 
That's true if considered against long-haul jet airliners.
Probably the market would be more in the car-ferry segment, like Toulon-Corsica or Calais-Dover accross the English channel.
This market was served later on with hovercraft in the late 60s and 70s, until the Eurotunnel put them out of business.
 
Remember that the ocean liner business didn't dry up over night. There were about 26 ocean liners (NOT cruise ships) launched between 1957 and 1968 or so. Jets were just coming into service, and were fairly short legged by modern standards. There was still a place for ocean liners, and a high speed liner could be economical well into the 1960s.
 
royabulgaf said:
There was still a place for ocean liners, and a high speed liner could be economical well into the 1960s.
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Maybe. But given that this concept was apparently produced in 1957, even if the money had come available to go ahead with it, the ship probably wouldn't have entered service until... well into the 1960's.
 

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