Handley Page H.P.42
HP.42 / HP.45 | |
---|---|
Handley Page H.P.42 G-AAUD Hanno | |
Role | Civilian airliner |
Manufacturer | Handley Page |
First flight | 14 November 1930 |
Introduction | June 1931 |
Retired | 1940 (all lost) |
Primary users | Imperial Airways Royal Air Force |
Number built | 4 HP.42, 4 HP.45 |
The Handley Page H.P.42 and H.P.45 were four-engine biplane airliners designed and manufactured by British aviation company Handley Page, based in Radlett, Hertfordshire. They held the distinction of being the largest airliners in regular use in the world upon the type's introduction in 1931.[1]
The H.P.42/45 were designed in response to a specification issued during 1928 by British airline Imperial Airways. The two models share considerable similarities, with the H.P.42 being optimised towards greater range at the expense of payload while the H.P.45 had these priorities inverted, allowing the latter to carry more passengers over shorter distances. Imperial Airways approved of Handley Page's proposals and ordered four aircraft of the two variants to serve as the new land-based long-distance flagships of its fleet.
On 14 November 1930, the prototype, named Hannibal, conducted its maiden flight. Following their introduction into Imperial Airways, they formed the backbone of the airliner's land-based fleet through most of the 1930s and, along with the company's numerous flying boats, have been considered to be icons of their era. A total of eight aircraft were built, four of each type; all were named, with names beginning with the letter "H". Three of the survivors were pressed into Royal Air Force (RAF) service at the outbreak of the Second World War. By the end of 1940, all of the aircraft had been destroyed as a result of several accidents.
Development
Work on what would become the H.P.42 was initiated in response to a specification released by British airline Imperial Airways in 1928, which sought new airliners to operate upon its major routes, including its long distance ones to various parts of the globe replacing the de Havilland Hercules and Armstrong Whitworth Argosy.[2] Imperial Airways invited submissions from all of British aviation industry with the tender split into four requirements: three and four engine aircraft for the European routes, and three and four engine aircraft for the Eastern routes. Quotes were expected for batches of three, four, five and six aircraft. Imperial Airways preferred air-cooled engines and whatever engine used would be provided by Imperial Airways as would the electrical and wireless equipment. Payments would be made progressively through production with the final third of the price kept until after delivery and acceptance.[3]
Imperial specified that the average weight of each passenger was to be assumed at 165 lb (75 kg) and that the aircraft should have a stall speed of no more than 52 mph (84 km/h). The aircraft were expected to be flown hands-off with one engine out and be able to maintain altitude with one engine out for a given range.
On top of the comprehensive specification, Imperial Airways included incentives in the form of bonus payments for exceeding specification and penalties for under performance and late delivery.[4] Aircraft were to be delivered from September 1930 to the end of the year (Eastern type) and December 1930 to end of March 1931 (Western type).
British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page, who had already established a pedigree for developing and constructing above-average sized aircraft, saw the Imperial Airways opportunity as quite attractive and thus embarked on producing their own designs to fulfil it.[5] They produced tenders for all four of the requirements.[6]
Handley Page ultimately designed two largely similar aircraft, designated H.P.42 and H.P.45 respectively, to meet different requirements: The H.P.42 was meant to serve Imperial Airways' long-range Eastern routes, while the H.P.45 had been configured to serve their shorter routes across Europe. Imperial Airways, having been suitably impressed by Handley Page's submissions, decided to order four of each variant for its passenger fleet. In Imperial Airways service, the H.P.42 was commonly referred to as the H.P.42E (E for "Eastern" routes – India and South Africa), while the H.P.45 was the H.P.42W (W for "Western" i.e. European routes). The H.P.42 and H.P.45 designations were internally assigned by Handley Page, thus the HP.45 identifier was not commonly used during the flying lives of the aircraft.[7][8]
The aircraft design was drawn up by George Volkert and Harold Boultbee using the Handley Page V/1500 as a starting point using warren girder bracing to avoid the maintenance associated with rigging wires.[a] The engines were placed as close to each other as the propeller diameter would allow.
Design
The Handley Page H.P.42 was a large unequal-span
The wings were braced by a Warren truss. Automatic slots are fitted to the top wing, the auxiliary airfoils of which benefiting from a new construction approach involving single z-section spars and planking, both composed of duralumin.[12] Slot-type ailerons are also present, each being installed upon four hinges and supported by four box-section brackets; these ailerons are both statically and aerodynamically balanced, making them relatively light to control. Inboard of the lower engines, the lower wings slope upwards to pass above the fuselage rather than through it, thus keeping the spars from obstructing potential cabin space.[11] Both the elevators and ailerons are controlled via a large diameter Y-tube; the core controls being duplicated.[13] The tailplane was of a biplane configuration, being furnished with three separate fins.
The H.P.42 was powered by an arrangement of four
The crew compartment, which was located at the very front of the aircraft, was fully enclosed, then a relatively new and uncommon feature.
Operational history
On 14 November 1930, the type's
A key demand of Imperial Airways was for its airliners to be able to land safely at low speed, on grass or unpaved airfields, as opposed to the normal runway surface present at almost all airports: this requirement had necessitated the adoption of a large wing area (almost as much as a 767 that weighs more than 10 times as much). During 1951, Peter Masefield wrote, "The trouble about a slow aeroplane with a really low wing loading is the way it insists on wallowing about in turbulent air ... One of the reasons why seven times as many people fly to Paris to-day, compared with 1931, is that the incidence of airsickness in modern aircraft is only one-hundredth of that in the pre-War types."[24] Another writer remembered "I had quite often been landed in a '42' at Lympne to take on sufficient fuel to complete the flight (from Paris) to London against a headwind – 90 mph was its normal cruising speed."[25] However, 90 mph was still three times faster than the previous fastest way of making the journey, which via a combination of steamships and trains. When the H.P.42s were finally withdrawn from civil service on 1 September 1939, they had recorded almost a decade without any major accidents or fatalities.[26][1]
In 1933, faced with rising demand in conjunction with reduction in capacity owing to accidents, Imperial attempted to purchase two more H.P.42s, to be powered by Armstrong Siddeley Tiger engines, but could not agree a price (Handley Page quoted a price of £42000 each, compared with the average price of £21000 in 1931), so, instead, they ordered two Short Scyllas, landplane versions of the Short Kent flying boat that could be brought into service quickly.[27][28]
Individual histories
In total, four H.P.42 and four H.P.45 aircraft were delivered. Two of the HP45s were later converted into HP42s.
H.P.42
The H.P.42 was intended for the Africa and India services. They were based in Cairo. In June 1939, RAF pilot Eugene Vielle was dispatched to Cairo to fly an H.P.42 back to England. He had to wait until December for spare parts to arrive to get the aircraft into good flying condition. His flight back to RAF Lakenheath, with at intermediate stop at Gibraltar for fuel, was uneventful until he reached the airspace near Lakenheath. As he circled, waiting for other planes in the area to clear the flight path for his landing, his aircraft began to experience engine trouble – possibly due to icing in the engine cowlings due to the frigid winter conditions over Lakenheath – and he was forced to parachute from the aircraft. He landed awkwardly in a sheep farmer's field adjacent the runway, breaking both legs.[29]
G-AAGX Hannibal
The first flight of the prototype, Hannibal, was on 14 November 1930. The aircraft was named after
G-AAUC Horsa
G-AAUC was originally named for
G-AAUD Hanno
G-AAUE Hadrian
G-AAUE, production number 42/2, was named after the Roman emperor Hadrian. Hadrian's first flight was on 24 June 1931.[38] On the outbreak of the Second World War, Hadrian was impressed into No. 261 Squadron RAF as AS982, at RAF Odiham. On 6 December 1940, Hadrian was torn loose from its moorings at Doncaster Airport in a gale, cartwheeled, and ended up inverted on a railway track next to the airport. The aircraft was too badly damaged to be worth repairing. The aircraft made a brief appearance in the 1936 movie Song of Freedom starring Paul Robeson.
H.P.45
The H.P.45 carried more passengers with a reduced range and baggage capacity, and was intended for Imperial Airways' European routes.
G-AAXC Heracles
G-AAXC was named after Heracles, also known as Hercules, a figure from Greek mythology who was the son of Zeus and Alcmene and was noted for his extraordinary strength. On 8 August 1931, Heracles took its first flight. It was most commonly deployed on the airline's services between Paris, Cologne, and Zürich; on 23 July 1937, the aircraft was recorded as having accumulated one million miles servicing the aforementioned routes.[39] Heracles was impressed into service with the RAF on 3 March 1940. The aircraft was destroyed in a gale on 19 March 1940 at Whitchurch Airport, Bristol, when it was blown together with Hanno and damaged beyond repair. The aircraft features briefly in the 1932 sports comedy The Lucky Number featuring Gordon Harker.
G-AAXD Horatius
G-AAXD was named after Horatius, a legendary Roman hero. Horatius first flew on 6 November 1931.[citation needed] On 9 December 1937, Horatius was struck by lightning whilst flying across the Channel from Paris to Croydon. A precautionary landing was made at Lympne where it was found that minor damage had been done to a wing.[40] In September 1938, Horatius suffered damage to its port undercarriage and lower port wing in a forced landing at Lympne. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.[41] It was impressed into RAF service in the Second World War. Returning from France on a transport mission on 7 November 1939, the aircraft could not find its destination of Exeter due to bad weather and was forced to make an emergency landing at Tiverton Golf Course; during which, it hit two trees and was destroyed. A four-bladed wooden propeller from the aircraft was salvaged and is now on display at the Croydon Airport Visitor Centre, situated in the former terminal building of Croydon Airport.[citation needed] Horatius can briefly be seen in action in the film Air Outpost and the 1937 film Stolen Holiday.
G-AAXE Hengist
G-AAXE was originally named for the
G-AAXF Helena
G-AAXF was named after Helena (Helen of Troy). It first flew on 30 December 1931. Like Hengist, it was converted to an Eastern aircraft. Helena was impressed into service with No. 271 Squadron RAF in May 1940. After a hard landing, the aircraft was grounded later that year; post-accident inspection condemned the airframe due to corrosion, and it was scrapped in 1941, except for the front fuselage section which was used as an office by the Royal Navy for several years. Parts of this plane can be seen in the 1933 film The Solitaire Man.
Replica
Several efforts have been mooted to produce additional H.P.42s for heritage/preservation purposes.[42] During 2015, a fundraising campaign was launched with the aim of producing a replica of the H.P.42.[17][20] As there are no surviving examples, a replica must be somewhat original in construction, although authentic blueprints and other source material from the era are available for use in its construction. While it is planned for the replica to be built to an airworthy condition, various safety regulations would prevent the carriage of paying passengers.[17][20]
Operators
Specifications (H.P.42E)
Data from Handley Page Aircraft since 1907[43]
General characteristics
- Crew: 4
- Capacity: 24 passengers and 14.2 cu m mail/baggage
- Length: 92 ft 2 in (28.09 m)
- Wingspan: 130 ft (40 m)
- Height: 27 ft (8.2 m) [44]
- Wing area: 2,989 sq ft (277.7 m2) [b]
- Airfoil: RAF 28[46]
- Empty weight: 17,740 lb (8,047 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 28,000 lb (12,701 kg)
- Powerplant: 4 × Bristol Jupiter XIF9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 490 hp (370 kW) each
- Propellers: 4-bladed fixed-pitch propellers
Performance
- Maximum speed: 120 mph (190 km/h, 100 kn)
- Cruise speed: 100 mph (160 km/h, 87 kn) [44]
- Range: 500 mi (800 km, 430 nmi)
- Rate of climb: 790 ft/min (4.0 m/s) [44]
Notable appearances in media
- The H.P.45 features in Roy Lockwood's 1934 short Shell Film Unit documentary Airport (a "day-in-the-life" of London's Croydon Airport).[47] H.P.45 G-AAXC Heracles appears in loading, taxiing and take-off scenes, while H.P.45 G-AAXD Horatius is seen landing and being unloaded.
- G-AAXE Hengist is scene of the murder in the 1934 mystery novel The 12.30 from Croydon by Freeman Wills Crofts.
- The H.P.42 'Prometheus' features as a crime scene in Agatha Christie's 1935 Poirot novel Death In The Clouds.
- An H.P.42 briefly appears near the beginning of the animated film Kiki's Delivery Service by Studio Ghibli.
- A fictional fifth H.P.42 G-AAXJ Horus is prominently featured in Roger Leloup's comic series Yoko Tsuno, in the albums Message pour l'éternité and Anges et faucons.
- H.P.45 G-AAXD Horatius appears in the 1937 film "Stolen Holiday".
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- Armstrong Whitworth Argosy
- Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta
- Armstrong Whitworth Ensign
- de Havilland DH.34
- de Havilland Hercules
- de Havilland Albatross
- Short Scylla
- Vickers Vulcan
Related lists
Notes
- ^ Already shown to work with the Handley Page Hare designed by Boultbee
- ^ Upper 1999, Lower 990[45]
References
Citations
- ^ a b c "Handley Page HP42 'Heracles'." Science Museum, Retrieved: 9 June 2019.
- ^ Barnes 1987, p. 306
- ^ Barnes 1987 p307
- ^ Barnes 1987 p307
- ^ Taylor and Taylor 1978, p. 118.
- ^ Barnes 1987 p 307
- ^ Sweetman 1979, p. 26.
- ^ Woodley 2006, p. 10.
- ^ NACA 1935, pp. 2, 6.
- ^ a b c NACA 1935, p. 2.
- ^ a b NACA 1935, pp. 3-4.
- ^ NACA 1935, p. 3.
- ^ NACA 1935, p. 6.
- ^ NACA 1935, p. 5.
- ^ NACA 1935, pp. 4-5.
- ^ Flight 1930 p 1385
- ^ a b c Croucher, Martin. "UK team plans to build replica of 1930s aircraft that connected Sharjah to the world." thenational.ae, 12 June 2014.
- ^ a b Jackson 1973, p. 238.
- ^ a b Votolato 2007, p. 13.
- ^ a b c d Marsh, Alton K. "Huge biplane airliner may fly again." AOPA, 31 March 2014.
- ^ NACA 1935, p. 9.
- ^ Swanborough 1992, p. 143.
- ^ Cooke 1959, p. 30.
- ^ The Aeroplane 14 December 1951, p. 767.
- ^ Banks 1978, [page needed].
- ^ Elanor, Humphreys and Humphreys 2005, p. 7.
- ^ Barnes 1976, p. 322.
- ^ Barnes 1967, p. 272.
- ^ Boyle, Frederick (26 September 1946). Biplane to Spitfire. British Air Ministry. p. 66.
- ^ "Accident To Air Liner. Damaged In Forced Landing." The Times, Issue 45897, 10 August 1931, p. 10, Column G.
- ^ "Loss of "Hannibal." Flight Magazine, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1628, 7 March 1940, p. 217. Retrieved: 4 August 2011.
- ^ "Plane Wreck Found". Irish Times, Reuter (Dublin), 5 March 1940, p. 6.
- ^ "Hannibal Disaster: Wreckage Not Found." Townsville Daily Bulletin (Townsville, QLD), 7 March 1940, p. 4.
- ^ "Hannibal Search Abandoned." Flight Magazine, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1630, 21 April 1940, p. 271. Retrieved: 4 August 2011.
- ^ Hellyer, Peter and Laurence Garey. "World War Two Plane Crashes in the UAE" (PDF). Tribulus (Dubai: ENHG–Abu Dhabi), 14 (1) 2004, pp. 9–11. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
- ^ a b Hobby, R. W. "Imperial Airways HP42 'Hannibal' flight CW197". rrhobby.ca, 2010.
- ^ National Archive of Israel [1] archives.gov.il, Retrieved: 20 December 2017.
- ^ Barnes 1976, p. 316.
- ^ Jackson 1988, p. 239.
- ^ "Air Liner In A Storm. Wing Damaged By Lightning. Alarming Experience Over Channel." The Times, Issue 47864, 10 December 1937, p. 16, Column E.
- ISBN 0-7509-0169-1.
- ^ "Time travel?" Flight International, 22 April 2003.
- ^ Barnes 1976, p. 327.
- ^ a b c Jackson 1973, p. 240.
- ^ Flight 1930 p 1383
- ^ Barnes 1976, p. 307.
- ^ BFI screenonline
Bibliography
- Banks, Francis Rodwell. I kept no diary: 60 Years with Marine Diesels, Automobile and Aero engines. London: Airlife Publications, 1978. ISBN 978-0-95045-439-9.
- 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 & Company, Ltd., 1987 (2nd edition). ISBN 0-85177-803-8.
- Barnes, C. H. Shorts Aircraft since 1902. London: Putnam, 1967.
- Eleanor, Mary., Beggs Humphreys and D. W. Humphreys. The Scientific and Industrial Revolution of Our Time. Taylor & Francis, 2005. ISBN 0-41538-238-6.
- Clayton, Donald C. Handley Page, an Aircraft Album. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd., 1969. ISBN 0-7110-0094-8.
- Cooke, David Coxe. Transport Planes that Made History. London: Putnam, 1959.
- Jackson, Aubrey Joseph. British Civil Aircraft since 1919. London: Putnam, Second edition, 1973. ISBN 0-370-10010-7.
- Jackson, Aubrey Joseph. British Civil Aircraft, 1919–1972, Volume 2. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-851-77813-5.
- Swanborough, Gordon. "H.P. 42: First of the million milers". Air International, Vol. 42, No. 3, March 1992, pp. 139–144. ISSN 0306-5634.
- Sweetman, William. A History of Passenger Aircraft. Hamlyn, 1979. ISBN 0-600-37205-7.
- Taylor, Michael John Haddrick and John William Ransom Taylor. Encyclopedia of Aircraft. Putnam, 1978.
- The Handley Page type 42 commercial airplane (British): a metal sesquiplane (PDF). Aircraft Circular No. 131. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. 1 December 1930. NACA-AC-131, 93R19549.
From Flight, November 28, 1930.
- Votolato, Gregory. Transport Design: A Travel History. Reaktion Books, 2007. ISBN 1-861-89329-9.
- Woodley, Charles. The History of British European Airways. Casemate Publishers, 2006. ISBN 1-844-15186-7.
- "The Handley Page "42"". Flight. Vol. 22, no. 1144. 28 November 1930. pp. 1381–1385.
External links
- "Forty Passenger Airplane Use On European Airways", Popular Mechanics, February 1931
- "Color Cover Illustration of H.P.42", Popular Mechanics, March 1931
- "The World's Largest Airliner..." Popular Mechanics, Cutaway March 1931, drawing on pp. 394–395
- "Giant British Airliner." British Pathé newsreel via the Smithsonian