Jet Boat (1960)

M/S of two jet boats racing across a lake towards the camera; panning shot to show a Dowty Turbocraft jet speedboat on a carrier in Cirencester. We see Development Engineer John Ford-Crush climbing into the boat; apprentice engineer Norris Simmonds standing at the rear. C/U of Mr FC sitting at the controls to test them, then turning round look at the rear of the boat. C/U of winch at rear of the boat, tilting down to show a kind of rudder mechanism swinging from side to side. C/Us showing the controls in the boat and engine; when Mr FC pushes a lever forward a shutter drops over a hole at the rear of the boat. The commentator says “in place of the usual propeller and rudder, a simple nozzle containing steering vanes which emits the jet stream - not of air but of water... the jet unit (powered by a car engine) sucks in water through a grille in the bottom of the hull and shoots it out through the back at tremendous pressure“. M/S of Mr FC in the boat as it reverses out onto the lake and drives off