Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page (later Sir Frederick) in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidation and ceased to exist in 1970. The company, based at

Radlett Radlett is a village in Hertfordshire, England, between Elstree and St Albans on Watling Street, with a population of 8,042. It is in the council district of Hertsmere in the south of the county, and is covered by two wards; Aldenham East an ...

Aerodrome in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

, was noted for its pioneering role in aviation history and for producing heavy

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

s and large

airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ai ...

History

Frederick Handley Page first experimented with and built several biplanes and

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

s at premises in Woolwich, Fambridge and Barking Creek. His company, founded on 17 June 1909, became the first British public company to build aircraft. In 1912, Handley Page established an aircraft factory at Cricklewood after moving from Barking. Aircraft were built there, and flown from the company's adjacent airfield known as Cricklewood Aerodrome, which was later used by Handley Page Transport. The factory was later sold off to Oswald Stoll and converted into Britain's largest film studios, Cricklewood Studios.

World War I

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Handley Page produced a series of

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range ( takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larg ...

s for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

to bomb the German

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

yards, with the ultimate intent of bombing Berlin in revenge for the Zeppelin attacks on London. Handley Page had been asked by the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

to produce a "bloody paralyser of an aeroplane". These aircraft included the O/100 of 1915, the O/400 of 1918 and the four-engined V/1500 with the range to reach Berlin. The V/1500 had only just entered operational service as the war ended in 1918. The Handley Page factory at Radlett Aerodrome employed women as part of the war effort, and was visited by royalty.

Interwar period

In early 1919, a Handley Page V/1500 aircraft, dubbed ''Atlantic'', was shipped to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

to attempt the world's first non-stop Transatlantic flight; only to be beaten by a Vickers Vimy piloted by Alcock and Brown in June of that year. The ''Atlantic'' flew into

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

via

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

on 9 October 1919, carrying the first airmail from Canada to the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. In the immediate postwar years, Handley Page modified a number of O/400's to passenger use, which they flew on the London-Paris route as Handley Page Transport. The V/1500 was considered too large to be practical at the time, but a number of design features of the V/1500 were later incorporated into an O/400 airframe to produce their first dedicated passenger design, the W.8 that led to a series of similar airliners, fitted with two or three engines, which, aside from being used by Handley Page Transport, were also exported to Belgium. In 1924 Handley Page Transport merged with two other airlines to create Imperial Airways, as the UK's national airline service, which continued to use a number of the W.8, W.9 and W.10 series of airliners. Handley Page continued to develop large biplane airliners, including the luxurious

Handley Page H.P.42 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. It held the distinction of being the largest airliner in regular use in ...

, for use on

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

routes to Africa and India. Handley Page developed the Handley Page Slat (or slot), an auxiliary airfoil mounted ahead and above the wing, which formed a narrow gap which improved airflow at high angles of attack and improved low speed handling. The leading edge slat was simultaneously designed by the German aerodynamicist Gustav Lachmann, who was later employed by Handley Page. The design was so successful that licensing fees to other companies was their main source of income in the early 1920s.

In 1929, Cricklewood Aerodrome was closed and Handley Page moved aircraft final assembly to Radlett Aerodrome. Cricklewood Aerodrome was taken over by Cricklewood Studios, the largest film studio in the UK at that time. Manufacture of aircraft parts and sub-assemblies continued until 1964 at Cricklewood when the remainder of the site was sold off and a

Wickes Wickes is a home improvement retailer and garden centre, based in the United Kingdom with more than 230 stores throughout the country. Its main business is the sale of supplies and materials, for homeowners and the building trade. It is listed ...

home renovation store currently occupies the site.

World War II

With the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

looming, Handley Page designed and produced the HP.52 Hampden bomber, which took part in the first British raid on Berlin. In response to a 1936 government request for heavier, longer ranged aircraft, Handley Page tendered the HP.56 design powered by twin

Rolls-Royce Vulture The Rolls-Royce Vulture was a British aero engine developed shortly before World War II that was designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited. The Vulture used the unusual " X-24" configuration, whereby four cylinder blocks derived from the R ...

s and this was ordered, along with what became the Avro Manchester. However the Vulture proved so troublesome that – years before the engine was abandoned by Rolls-Royce in 1940 – the Air Staff decided that the HP.56 should be fitted with four engines instead. Therefore, before reaching prototype stage, the HP.56 design was reworked into the four-engined HP.57 Halifax. The Halifax became the second most-prolific British heavy bomber of the war after the

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stir ...

(itself essentially a four-engine development of the Manchester). Although in some respects (such as crew survivability) better than the Lancaster, the Halifax suffered in terms of altitude performance and was redeployed toward the end of the war as a heavy transport and glider tug, with several variants being specifically built as such, including the HP.70 Halton.

Postwar

After the war, the British Government sought tenders for jet bombers to carry the nation's nuclear deterrent. The three types produced were known as the V-Bombers, and Handley Page's contribution was the HP.80 Victor, a four-engined, crescent-winged design. This aircraft remained in service (as a tanker aircraft) well beyond the demise of the company which created it. In 1947 Handley Page bought some of the assets of the bankrupt

Miles Aircraft Miles was the name used between 1943 and 1947 to market the aircraft of British engineer Frederick George Miles, who, with his wife – aviator and draughtswoman Maxine "Blossom" Miles (née Forbes-Robertson) – and his brother George Herber ...

company. These assets include existing designs, tools and jigs, most notably for the Miles M.52 supersonic research aircraft, and the Miles site at Woodley, near Reading. The operation was named Handley Page (Reading) Ltd, a company constituted to buy and operate the assets formed out of the inactive Handley Page Transport Ltd. The most significant of the inherited designs became the Herald airliner. Designs from the Reading site used the initials HPR ("Handley Page (Reading)").

Demise

Unlike other large British aircraft manufacturers, Handley Page resisted the government's pressure to merge into larger entities. By the late 1960s, the British aviation industry was dominated by two companies:

Hawker Siddeley Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of onl ...

and the

British Aircraft Corporation The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 19 ...

. Unable to compete for government orders or build large commercial aircraft, Handley Page produced its final notable Handley Page design, the

Jetstream Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow, meandering air currents in the atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. On Earth, the main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds (flowing west to east). ...

. This was a small

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...

-powered commuter aircraft, with a pressurised cabin and a passenger capacity of 12 to 18. It was designed primarily for the United States " feederliner" market. Although successful, the Jetstream was too late to save Handley Page, and the company went into voluntary liquidation in March 1970 and was wound up after 61 years trading under the same name. The Jetstream lived on, the design being purchased and produced by Scottish Aviation at Prestwick, continuing after the company was bought by

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...

in 1977.

Sites

Radlett Aerodrome was opened in 1929 as a grass aerodrome for Handley Page Civil Aircraft. Its runway was extended in 1939 to enable production of Halifax bombers. By the time of its closure the airfield had two runways: * 03/21 approximately * 15/33 approximately Most of the towers,

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s and runways were demolished in the 1970s after the Company was terminated. The M25 Motorway now runs on the south side of the site, with Lafarge Aggregates now owning the remainder. The runway surface was removed and replaced with grass, but a shadow remains when viewed from the air. The aerodrome was used in the 1962 film,

The Iron Maiden ''The Iron Maiden'' is a 1963 British comedy film. The film was directed by Gerald Thomas, and stars Michael Craig, Anne Helm, Jeff Donnell and Alan Hale, Jr. There are minor roles for '' Carry On'' stalwarts Jim Dale and Joan Sims, and th ...

Products

Designations

Handley Page originally used a letter sequence to designate types (i.e. ''A'', ''B'', ''C'' etc.). Beginning with the model E, the letter was used in combination with a slash and a number that referred to the installed horsepower, at least initially. However the 100 in O/100 indicated the type's 100-foot wingspan, while other designs it may or may not have been meaningful other than as a design sequence. By 1923, the company had come to the end of the alphabet and had begun reusing earlier letters, but this would have become confusing, so from 1924 they assigned the letters ''HP'' and a sequential number to indicate the model, with previous aircraft being retroactively assigned numbers in the new sequence, starting with the Type A as the HP.1. Thus the O/400 became the HP.16 and the W.8 the HP.18. Unbuilt projects were skipped from this sequence. When the assets of Miles Aircraft were taken over, the latter's Reading design office used ''HPR'' for Handley Page Reading, followed by a number as with the HPR.1 Marathon.

Designs

First Letter Designation Sequence (used to 1923)

* Type A – 1909 Bluebird monoplane * Type B – 1909 biplane * Type C – 1910 monoplane, did not fly, rebuilt from Type A * Type D – 1911 Antiseptic monoplane * Type E/50 – 1911 Antiseptic monoplane * Type F/70 – 1912 military monoplane with side by side seating * Type G/100 – 1913 biplane * Type H – 1913 monoplane projects, developments of type E & F *Type I & J – skipped * Type K/35 – 1913 biplane project, scaled down type G * Type L/200 – 1914 transatlantic biplane – never flew * Type M/200 – 1914 biplane project * Type MS/200 – 1914 seaplane biplane project * Type N/80 – 1914 biplane project * Type O – twin-engined O/100 & O/400 bombers, and O/7, O/10 & O/11 airliners * Type P/320 – 1916 HP.13 triplane project *Type Q – skipped * Type R/200 – HP.14 biplane/triplane for specification N.2B. * Type S/400 – O/400 floatplane project *Type T/400 – 1917 flying boat project *Type U – skipped * Type V/1500 four engine heavy bomber * Type W/400, W.4, W.8, W.9 & W.10 airliners * Type X/4B – Airco DH.9A fitted with slotted monoplane wing

Second Letter Designation Sequence (1923-1924)

* Type C/7 Handcross – 1924 biplane day bomber, letter reused * Type D/4 – HP.29 transport projects * Type D – HP.32 Hamlet * Type E – HP.31 Harrow * Type F – HP.37 O.22/26 shipboard fighter project * Type H – HP.34 Hare * Type M – HP.36 Hinaidi II * Type S – HP.21 monoplane fighter * Type T – HP.19 Hanley * Type Ta – HP.25 Hendon

Numerical Designations (1924-1970)

* HP.1 – Type A monoplane * HP.2 – Type B biplane * HP.3 – Type C monoplane, never flew * HP.4 – Type D monoplane * HP.5 – Type E monoplane * HP.6 – Type F monoplane * HP.7 – Type G biplane * HP.8 – Type L biplane, never flew *HP.9 – biplane project *HP.10 – scout project * HP.11 – O/100 twin-engined bomber * HP.12 – O/400 twin-engined bomber * HP.13 – triplane project * HP.14 – prototype naval reconnaissance * HP.15 – V/1500 four-engined bomber * HP.16 – W400 airliner * HP.17 – Airco DH.9 fitted with wing slots * HP.18 Hamilton – W8 airliner * HP.19 Hanley – torpedo bomber * HP.20 – Airco DH.9A fitted with slotted monoplane wing * HP.21 – monoplane fighter for US Navy * HP.22 – single-seat sport monoplane for Lympne light aircraft trials * HP.23 – single-seat sport monoplane for Lympne light aircraft trials * HP.24 Hyderabad – biplane heavy bomber * HP.25 Hendon – torpedo bomber * HP.26 Hamilton – W8 airliner * HP.27 Hampstead – W9 airliner * HP.28 Handcross – biplane day bomber *HP.29 – transport project * HP.30 – W.10 airliner * HP.31 Harrow – carrier-based torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft * HP.32 Hamlet – six-passenger monoplane airliner * HP.33 Hinaidi I and Clive I – heavy bomber & transport * HP.34 Hare – high-altitude day bomber * HP.35 Clive II – heavy bomber * HP.36 Hinaidi II – twin-engine bomber *HP.37 – O.22/26 shipboard fighter project * HP.38 Heyford I – prototype biplane heavy night bomber * HP.39 Gugnunc – experimental STOL/safety biplane *HP.40 – biplane seaplane project for Japan for 3MR4 design *HP.41 – M.5/28 torpedo biplane project * HP.42 – eastern biplane airliner * HP.43 – three-engined biplane bomber transport * HP.44 Hinaidi III – twin-engine bomber * HP.45 – western biplane airliner * HP.46 – M.1/30 torpedo bomber * HP.47 – G.4/31 bomber & torpedo bomber *HP.48 – single-engine civil transport project *HP.49 – skipped * HP.50 Heyford – production variant, biplane heavy night bomber * HP.51 – prototype bomber transport for C.26/31 * HP.52 Hampden I – medium bomber * HP.53 – bomber project for Sweden, led to the HP.52 Hereford * HP.54 Harrow – monoplane heavy bomber *HP.55 – twin-engine heavy bomber design for B.1/35 *HP.56 – twin-engine heavy bomber design for B.13/36 * HP.57 Halifax Mk.I – four-engined heavy bomber * HP.58 Halifax Mk.II – four-engined heavy bomber project; cancelled due to armament problems * HP.59 Halifax Mk.II – four-engined heavy bomber * HP.60 Halifax Mk.IV – heavy bomber project for B.1/39, not built * HP.61 Halifax Mk.III – four-engined heavy bomber * HP.62 Hampden Mk.II – medium bomber * HP.63 Halifax Mk.V/VI/VII – four-engined heavy bomber * HP.64 Halifax transport – project * HP.65 Super Halifax – project with low drag wing, turbo supercharged Hercules engines. * HP.66 Hastings B.I – Halifax project for spec. B.27/43, provisional name, abandoned at end of war. * HP.67 Hastings C.I – military transport * HP.68 Hermes I – airliner * HP.69 Hastings Mark II – Halifax project with turbo-blower exhaust Hercules 100, provisional name. Order cancelled 1944Buttler p132 * HP.70 Halifax Mk.VIII & Halton – transport & airliner * HP.71 Halifax Mk.IX – four-engined heavy bomber *HP.72 – military transport project to specification C.15/45 * HP.73 Hastings C.III – transport project * HP.74 Hermes II – airliner * HP.75 Manx – tailless research aircraft *HP.76 – civil transport project *HP.77 – civil transport project *HP.78 – civil transport project * HP.79 Hermes III – project airliner * HP.80 Victor – four-engined bomber * HP.81 Hermes IV – airliner * HP.82 Hermes V – airliner *HP.83 – civil transport project *HP.84 – civil transport project *HP.85 – civil transport project *HP.86 – civil transport project * HP.87 – 1/3 scale Victor project * HP.88 – Victor research aircraft, wings and tail on Supermarine Attacker * HP.89 Hastings C.VI – transport project * HP.90 Hermes IA – project civil freighter * HP.91 – lightened Hermes project * HP.92 – lightened Hermes project *HP.93 – Dufaylite wing for Miles Messenger * HP.94 Hastings C.4 – VIP transport project * HP.95 Hastings C.3 – transport project for RNZAF * HP.96 – Victor military transport project * HP.97 – Victor civil airliner project * HP.98 – Victor target marker project *HP.99 – bomber project * HP.100 – reconnaissance bomber to OR.330 * HP.101 – Victor military transport project *HP.102 – airliner project * HP.103 – conversion of Jet Provost * HP.104 – Victor bomber phase 3 project *HP.105 – transport project *HP.106 – missile projects *HP.107 – bomber project *HP.108 – transport project *HP.109 – transport project *HP.110 – transport project *HP.112 – flying jeep project *HP.113 – transport project * HP.114 – Victor bomber phase 6 project * HP.115 – low speed delta wing research aircraft *HP.116 – freighter project *HP.117 – airliner project *HP.118 – VTOL jeep project *HP.119 – VTOL jeep project *HP.120 – VTOL jeep project *HP.122 – OR.351 VTOL transport project *HP.123 – OR.351 Victor transport aircraft project * HP.124 – military Herald project * HP.125 – military VTOL Herald NMBR-4 project * HP.126 Aerobus – airliner project * HP.127 – jet Herald project *HP.128 – supersonic transport project * HP.129 – scaled-down Herald project * HP.130 – HS.125 project * HP.131 – military Herald project for Belgium * HP.132 – military STOL Herald project * HP.133 – military STOL Herald project *HP.134 – Ogee Aerobus project *HP.135 – global transport project * HP.137 Jetstream – twin-turboprop feederliner

Handley Page (Reading) designs

* HPR.1 Marathon – airliner * HPR.2 Basic Trainer – basic trainer * HPR.3 Herald – airliner * HPR.4 Herald – turbine Herald project * HPR.5 Marathon – engine testbed *HPR.6 – transport project * HPR.7 Dart Herald – airliner *HPR.8 – car ferry transport project

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *Barnes, C.H. ''Handley Page Aircraft since 1907'' London:, 1987 (2nd Ed, Rev. Derek N James) * Buttler, Tony. ''British Secret Projects: Fighters & Bombers 1935–1950''. Hinckley: Midland Publishing, 2004. .

External links

*
Short history of the company written for the ''Centennial of Flight''
* ttp://www.uh.edu/engines/epi2288.htm Engines of Our Ingenuity {{Authority control Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom Manufacturing companies established in 1909 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1970 Aircraft industry in London Defunct companies based in London 1909 establishments in England 1970 disestablishments in England British companies disestablished in 1970 British companies established in 1909