Problems of Commercial Hydrofoils 253 
increased to 53 knots if the Diesel engines are replaced by two 4200-hp Bristol-Proteus 
turbines. 
The next larger type was originally planned with a displacement of 120 tons but this 
was later increased to 160 tons. With accomodations for 400 passengers over short dis- 
tances or 320 baggage-carrying passengers and four motor cars, a top speed is expected of 
50 to 60 knots, depending on the type of turbine. 
The project of a 300-ton boat with supercavitating foils to carry about 550 passengers 
will be discussed in a subsequent section with regard to its economical and attainable 
speed and to the limits of its application. It is proposed to power this craft with two 
Bristol Siddeley-Olympus turbines with a continuous output of 17,500 hp each. The cruising 
speed is estimated to be 70 knots, thus reaching the technically possible limit, as we shall 
see later on, but still representing from the commercial point of view a very profitable speed 
under favorable conditions. 
Depending on the area of application either the surface-piercing foil or the new type of 
fully-submerged foil, now in development, will be employed in these future craft. 
DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCIAL PASSENGER SERVICE WITH HYDROFOIL BOATS 
For the introduction of hydrofoil boats in public service, Supramar in 1952 constructed 
a 9-ton boat (PT10) with a seating capacity of 28 passengers and powered by a 500-hp 
Mercedes-Benz Diesel engine located in the stern. Soon after her first demonstration on 
Lake Lucerne, Italian and Swiss navigation companies chartered this boat for passenger 
services between the Swiss and Italian part of Lago Maggiore under the technical manage- 
ment of Supramar. Thus the first scheduled hydrofoil boat service in the history of shipping 
was inaugurated on May 16, 1953 (on the same lake, incidentally, on which Forlanini suc- 
ceeded in getting his hydrofoil test-boat “foilbome” for the first time 55 years ago). 
Interest in the new “flying boat” became widespread and in many cases took on enthu- 
Siastic proportions. In a surprisingly short time travellers became accustomed to this 
rather strange means of transportation. With 27,000 nautical miles covered during this test- 
ing period, valuable experience was gained on the technical as well as on the commercial 
side of the business. By the middle of 1956 the first 28-ton boat (PT20) had completed 
several demonstration runs along the Italian coast and a round trip of 1600 nautical miles 
from Italy to Greece. It had proved its seaworthiness on many occasions and in waves up to 
13 feet high. On the initiative of Mr. Rodriquez a shipping company named Aliscafi was 
established in Sicily and the first scheduled sea service inaugurated between Sicily and the 
Italian mainland in August 1956. Cutting the port-to-port time from Messina to Reggio di 
Calabria down to one-quarter of that of the conventional ferryboat and making 22 daily trips 
the boat thus set an example for the operation of other hydrofoil services. The results of 
this service after four years of operation are noteworthy: With a seating capacity of 75 pas- 
sengers one boat alone has carried a record number of some 31,000 people in a single month. 
The average daily number of passengers is today between 800 and 900. To date the boat 
has carried a total number of approximately 1,000,000 passengers. The boats operating 
around Sicily have covered a combined distance of approximately 465,000 nautical miles, 
which is more than the round-trip distance to the moon. 
After the establishment of the Messina-Reggio line other services have been organized 
between the following localities: 
646551 O—62——_18 
