Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow
H.P.54 Harrow | |
---|---|
Harrow of No. 115 Squadron | |
Role | Heavy bomber |
Manufacturer | Handley Page |
Designer | G. V. Lachmann |
First flight | 10 October 1936 |
Introduction | 1937 |
Retired | 1945 |
Primary users | Royal Air Force Royal Navy Royal Canadian Air Force |
Produced | 1936–1937 |
Number built | 100 |
The Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow was a
The Harrow was developed during the 1930s as a derivative of the
On 14 August 1936, the Air Ministry ordered one hundred Harrows for the RAF. While the
Development
Background
The H.P. 54 Harrow was the production version of the earlier
Recognising that production of existing bombers, such as the
To fulfil the specification, which sought the Harrow as a heavy bomber, the design had to be reworked, largely in terms of its structure.
Into flight
On 10 October 1936, the first Harrow performed the type's maiden flight from Radlett.[6] Service trials of the type commenced at RAF Martlesham Heath twenty days later using this same aircraft. During January 1937, the second Harrow, which differed from the first by its fitting of the improved Bristol Pegasus XX radial engine, along with prototype Habbart-F.N. turrets, arrived for armament trials.[7] In March 1937, following the forced landings of seven Heyfords in bad weather, it was ordered that improved navigator positions be adopted on all bombers wherever feasible, leading to urgent modifications being performed on all Harrows. To speed deliveries, and to allow time to get the hydraulically powered turrets working properly, early production units were delivered to training squadrons without their turrets.[7]
The Harrow was typically furnished with several
Operational history
On 13 January 1937, the first Harrow was delivered to 214 Squadron at RAF Scampton.[7] Early examples, powered by the Bristol Pegasus X engine, were called Harrow Mk.I, while those powered by the more powerful Pegasus XX engine were named Harrow Mk.II. By the end of 1937, all one hundred aircraft had been delivered to a total of five RAF bomber squadrons.[6][10] Despite the presence of cabin heating, which used the exhaust head of onboard steam boilers, the Harrow gained a reputation amongst air crews of being a cold and draughty aircraft, which was largely attributed to the design of its turrets.[11]
Two of No. 214 Squadron's new Harrows from RAF Feltwell collided in mid-air over Wissington, Norfolk and crashed with the loss of five airmen on 29 April 1937. It was reported that a wing-tip of one aircraft contacted the tail of the other, one falling into a field and bursting into flames, and the other crashing into the River Wissey.[12]
As the delivery of more modern bombers, such as the Vickers Wellington proceeded, the Harrow was withdrawn from front line bomber squadrons by the end of 1939, having never performed any combat missions in this capacity. Perhaps its most prominent use during this brief period was a series of public formation flights performed over various British cities to mark Empire Air Day in May 1938; the Harrow was also put on stand-by during the Munich Crisis of 1938.[13]
Although relegated as a night bomber, the Harrow operated throughout the Second World War as a transport and trainer.
As a transport, the Harrow was routinely used to convey equipment and personnel between domestic military bases across Britain, as well as to continental airfields prior to the
The Harrow also served in a novel operational role at the height of
The Harrow was used as an aerial tanker for
Variants
- Harrow Mk.I
- Powered by two 830 hp (620 kW) Bristol Pegasus X engines, 19 built.
- Harrow Mk.II
- Powered by two 925 hp (690 kW) Pegasus XX engines, 81 built.
Operators
- Royal Air Force
- No. 37 Squadron – 1937–1939 at RAF Feltwell[24]
- No. 75 Squadron – 1937–1939 at RAF Driffield and later RAF Honington[25]
- RAF Middle Wallop (aerial mine role)[24]
- No. 115 Squadron – 1937–1939 at RAF Marham[26]
- No. 214 Squadron – 1937–1939 at RAF Scampton later RAF Feltwell[27]
- No. 215 Squadron – 1937–1939 at RAF Driffield and later RAF Honington[27]
- No. 271 Squadron – 1940–1945 at RAF Doncaster later RAF Down Ampney (transport role)[28]
- No. 420 Flight – became 93 Squadron[24]
- No. 1680 Flight – became 271 Squadron[28]
- Fleet Air Arm
- Flight Refuelling Limited
Specifications (Harrow II)
Data from The British Bomber since 1914[6]
General characteristics
- Crew: 5
- Capacity: 20 fully equipped soldiers[16] or 12 stretcher cases (used as transport)
- Length: 82 ft 2 in (25.04 m)
- Wingspan: 88 ft 5 in (26.95 m)
- Height: 19 ft 5 in (5.92 m)
- Wing area: 1,090 sq ft (101 m2)
- Empty weight: 13,600 lb (6,169 kg)
- Gross weight: 23,000 lb (10,433 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Bristol Pegasus XX nine-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 925 hp (690 kW) each for take-off
- Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch propellers
Performance
- Maximum speed: 200 mph (320 km/h, 170 kn)
- Cruise speed: 163 mph (262 km/h, 142 kn)
- Range: 1,260 mi (2,030 km, 1,090 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 22,800 ft (6,900 m)
- Rate of climb: 710 ft/min (3.6 m/s)
- Wing loading: 21.1 lb/sq ft (103 kg/m2)
- Power/mass: 0.0804 hp/lb (0.1322 kW/kg)
Armament
- Guns: 4 × 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Guns
- Bombs: Up to 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) of bombs internally.
See also
- Havoc Mk I (Pandora) intruder – also used for Long Aerial Mine (LAM) operations
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
References
Citations
- ^ Barnes 1987, pp. 347–351.
- ^ a b c Barnes 1976, p. 372.
- ^ a b Barnes 1976, pp. 372-373.
- ^ a b Barnes 1976, p. 373.
- ^ Barnes 1987, p. 372.
- ^ a b c d e Lewis 1980, pp. 270–271.
- ^ a b c d Barnes 1976, p. 374.
- ^ Barnes 1976, pp. 373-374.
- ^ Lumsden and Heffernan Aeroplane Monthly January 1986, pp. 4–7.
- ^ Barnes 1976, pp. 374-375.
- ^ a b c d e Mason 1994, pp. 301–302.
- ^ "Five Men killed in Feltwell R.A.F. Tragedy". Lynn Advertiser. No. 4081, Vol.XCVI. King's Lynn. 30 April 1937. p. 9. Retrieved 15 April 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Barnes 1976, p. 375.
- ^ Barnes 1976, pp. 378-379.
- ^ a b Thetford 1957, pp. 248–249.
- ^ a b Thetford 1957, p. 499.
- ^ Barnes 1976, p. 378.
- ^ a b c d Mondey 1994, pp. 125–126.
- ^ Barnes 1976, p. 379.
- ^ Price 1978, pp. 152–153
- ^ a b Sturtivant and Ballance 1994, pp. 104–105
- ^ Sturtivant and Burrow 1995, p. 292
- ^ a b Barnes 1976, p. 376.
- ^ a b c Jefford 1988, p. 37.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 48.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 52.
- ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 71.
- ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 82.
Bibliography
- Barnes, C. H. Handley Page Aircraft since 1907. London: Putnam, 1976. ISBN 0-370-00030-7.
- Barnes, C. H. Handley Page Aircraft since 1907. London: Putnam Publishing, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-803-8.
- Clayton, Donald C. Handley Page, an Aircraft Album. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd., 1969. ISBN 0-7110-0094-8.
- Gardner, Brian (2018). "Fill 'er Up!: Flight Refuelling Ltd's Handley Page Harrow Experiments, 1938–1940". The Aviation Historian (25): 64–74. ISSN 2051-1930.
- Gardner, Brian (1984). "Flight Refuelling... The Wartime Story". ISSN 0143-5450.
- Jefford, C. G. RAF Squadrons. first edition 1988, Airlife Publishing, UK. ISBN 1 85310 053 6.
- Lewis, Peter. The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1980. ISBN 0-370-30265-6.
- Lumsden, Alec and Terry Heffernan. "Probe Probare No. 20: Handley Page Harrow". ISSN 0143-7240.
- Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.
- Mondey, David. The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-85152-668-4.
- Price, Alfred. "The Long Aerial Mine: Failure or Unrealised Potential?" Air Enthusiast, No. 6, March–June 1978. pp. 151–153.
- Sturtivant, Ray and Ballance, Theo. The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1994. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
- Sturtivant, Ray and Burrow, Mick. Fleet Air Arm Aircraft 1939 to 1945. Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1995. ISBN 0-85130-232-7.
- Thetford, Owen. Aircraft of the Royal Air Force, 1918–57. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1957. OCLC 3875235