Editing Hovercraft (section)

====United States====

During the 1960s, [[Bell Aircraft|Bell]] licensed and sold the Saunders-Roe SR.N5 as the Bell SK-5. They were deployed on trial to the [[Vietnam War]] by the [[United States Navy]] as ''[[PACV]]'' [[patrol craft]] in the [[Mekong Delta]] where their [[Motion (physics)|mobility]] and [[speed]] was unique. This was used in both the UK SR.N5 curved [[Deck (ship)|deck]] configuration and later with modified flat deck, [[gun turret]] and [[grenade launcher]] designated the 9255 PACV. The United States Army also experimented with the use of SR.N5 hovercraft in Vietnam. Three hovercraft with the flat deck configuration were deployed to [[Đồng Tâm Base Camp|Đồng Tâm]] in the Mekong Delta region and later to Ben Luc. They saw action primarily in the [[Đồng Tháp Mười|Plain of Reeds]]. One was destroyed in early 1970 and another in August of that same year, after which the unit was disbanded. The only remaining U.S. Army SR.N5 hovercraft is currently on display in the [[Fort Eustis|Army Transport Museum]] in [[Virginia]].

Experience led to the proposed Bell SK-10, which was the basis for the [[Landing Craft Air Cushion|LCAC-class]] [[air-cushioned landing craft]] now deployed by the U.S. and [[Japanese Navy]]. Developed and tested in the mid-1970s, the [[LACV-30]] was used by the US Army to transport military cargo in logistics-over-the-shore operations from the early 1980s until the mid-1990s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pike |first=John |title=Lighter Air Cushioned Vehicle 30-ton (LACV 30) |publisher=globalsecurity.org |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/lacv-30.htm |url-status=live |access-date=2016-05-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921063523/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/lacv-30.htm |archive-date=2016-09-21}}</ref>

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File:South Vietnam....A U.S. Navy patrol air cushion vehicle (PACV) glides over the waters of Cau Hai Bay near Hue. - NARA - 558515.tif|A U.S. patrol air cushion vehicle (PACV) in Cau Hai Bay near Hue South Vietnam 1968
File:LCAC 19970620.jpg|A [[U.S. Navy]] Landing Craft Air Cushion, an example of a military hovercraft
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