H.P.42 & H.P.45 @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • Handley Page H.P.42 Hannibal Handley Page H.P.42 Hannibal
    Handley Page H.P.42 Hannibal
  • H.P.42 Hanno H.P.42 Hanno
    H.P.42 Hanno
  • H.P.45<br>Hengist H.P.45<br>Hengist
    H.P.45
    Hengist
  • H.P.42 H.P.42
    H.P.42
  • H.P.42 Hanno H.P.42 Hanno
    H.P.42 Hanno
  • Handley Page H.P.42 Handley Page H.P.42
    Handley Page H.P.42
  • H.P.42 Hadrian (Haren - Belgium) H.P.42 Hadrian (Haren - Belgium)
    H.P.42 Hadrian (Haren - Belgium)
  • H.P.42 Hannibal H.P.42 Hannibal
    H.P.42 Hannibal
  • H.P.42 Hanno H.P.42 Hanno
    H.P.42 Hanno
  • H.P.42 Heracles H.P.42 Heracles
    H.P.42 Heracles
  • H.P.45<br>Hengist H.P.45<br>Hengist
    H.P.45
    Hengist
  • H.P.42 Hanno H.P.42 Hanno
    H.P.42 Hanno
  • H.P.45 Heracles H.P.45 Heracles
    H.P.45 Heracles
  • H.P.42 Hanno H.P.42 Hanno
    H.P.42 Hanno
  • H.P.45<br>Heracles H.P.45<br>Heracles
    H.P.45
    Heracles
  • H.P.42<br>Hanno H.P.42<br>Hanno
    H.P.42
    Hanno
  • H.P.42<br>Heracles H.P.42<br>Heracles
    H.P.42
    Heracles
  • H.P.45 Helena H.P.45 Helena
    H.P.45 Helena
  • H.P.45<br>Hengist H.P.45<br>Hengist
    H.P.45
    Hengist
  • H.P.45 Heracles H.P.45 Heracles
    H.P.45 Heracles

Handley Page H.P.42 and H.P.45

The H.P. 42 made its first flight on November 17, 1930. A total of eight of these four engine aircraft were built for the new Imperial Airways.

Imperial Airways was formed in 1924 by the merger of four British airlines - Instone, Handley Page, Daimler Airways and British Air Marine Navigation Company. The home base was the new airport at Croydon, outside London. In the late 20s and in the 30s Imperial Airways started routes to Paris, Brussels, Basle, Cologne and Zurich and also intercontinental routes to Egypt, the Arabian Gulf, India, South Africa, Singapore and West Africa. In cooperation with Quantas, Australia´s international airline, who served Singapore the route to Australia was opened in 1935.

Between 1931 and 1941 the H.P. 42 serviced the Imperial routes. There were two classes of the H.P. 42; the Heracles Class for the European routes, carrying 38 passengers and the Hannibal Class for the Intercontinental routes, carrying 24 passengers. The Hannibal Class aircrafts were fitted with toilets and galleys. Stewards were attending to the passengers serving full meals in-flight - a first by Imperial Airways and the H.P. 42. The H.P. 42 was renowned for its safety and for its outstanding comfort. No H.P. 42 ever crashed during the 10 years of service and the 10 million miles of flight.

Individual aircraft histories

Four H.P.42 and another four H.P.45 aircraft were delivered:

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.

G-AAGX Hannibal

The first flight of the prototype, Hannibal, was on 14 November 1930. The aircraft was named after Hannibal Barca, the Carthaginian military commander.[citation needed] On 8 August 1931 the aircraft was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Croydon to Paris when the port lower engine failed. Flying debris from the failed engine struck the propeller of the port upper engine causing it to vibrate so severely that it had to be shut down. A forced landing was made at Five Oak Green, Kent where the aircraft suffered further damage to a wing and another propeller and the tail was ripped off against a tree stump. There were no injuries amongst the 20 passengers and crew. The aircraft was dismantled and taken to Croydon by road for rebuild. It was lost over the Gulf of Oman in RAF service on 1 March 1940 with eight aboard including the First World War ace Group Captain Harold Whistler and the Indian politician Sir A. T. Pannirselvam. An early report that wreckage of the aircraft had been located turned out to be incorrect; no trace of the aircraft, the air mail it carried or its occupants has ever been discovered and the cause of its loss remains unknown. A wrecked H. P. 42 had been loaded or unloaded at Haifa/Palestine between 1932 and 1943, according to photographs found in the National Archive of Israel. An HP.42 was damaged at the RAF temporary landing ground at Semakh on the Sea of Galilee on 17 November 1932 by strong winds. The fuselage and heavily damaged wings were sent by 1.05m gauge Hedjaz Railway to Haifa where it was transferred to the standard gauge Palestine Railways and forwarded to Heliopolis for repair.

G-AAUC Horsa

G-AAUC was originally named Hecate after the Greek goddess; it was soon renamed Horsa, after the legendary conqueror of Britain and brother of Hengest. The aircraft first flew on September 11, 1931. It was impressed into No. 271 Squadron RAF as AS981. The aircraft burned after a forced landing on uneven ground at Moresby Park, near Whitehaven, Cumberland, on August 7, 1940.

G-AAUD Hanno

G-AAUD, production number 42/3, was named after the Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Navigator, who explored the Atlantic coast of Africa in approx. 570 BC. Hanno first flew on July 19, 1931 and was later converted to a H.P.42(W) (Hannibal class). The aircraft was impressed into No. 271 Squadron RAF and was destroyed in a gale at Whitchurch Airport, Bristol when it was blown together with Heracles and damaged beyond repair on March 19, 1940. This aircraft was featured in the fifteen minute 1937 Strand Film Company documentary Air Outpost.

G-AAUE Hadrian

G-AAUE, production number 42/2, was named after the Roman emperor Hadrian. Hadrian's first flight was on June 24, 1931. On the outbreak of World War 2, Hadrian was impressed into No. 261 Squadron RAF as AS982, at RAF Odiham. On December 6, 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 plane 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 but 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, who was the son of Zeus and Alcmene in Greek mythology and was noted for his extraordinary strength. Heracles first flew on August 8, 1931 and was impressed into service with the RAF on March 3, 1940. The aircraft was destroyed in a gale on March 19, 1940 at Whitchurch Airport, Bristol, when it was blown together with Hanno and damaged beyond repair.

G-AAXD Horatius

G-AAXD was named after Horatius, a legendary Roman hero. Horatius first flew on 6 November 1931. 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. 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. 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 this, 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.

G-AAXE Hengist

G-AAXE was originally named Hesperides, but was soon renamed after Hengist, brother of Horsa and legendary conqueror of Britain. Hengist first flew on December 8, 1931. It was later converted from a European to an Eastern aircraft. Hengist was caught in an airship hangar fire and burned at Karachi on May 31, 1937, making it the only H.P.42/45 not to survive until World War II.

G-AAXF Helena

G-AAXF was named after Helena, also known as Helen of Troy. It first flew on December 30, 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.

Operators

United Kingdom :

  • Imperial Airways.
  • Royal Air Force :
    • No. 271 Squadron RAF.

Notable appearances in media

  • The H.P.42 features in Roy Lockwood's 1934 short documentary film Airport (a "day-in-the-life" of London's Croydon Airport).
    • >
  • The H.P 42 features as a crime scene in Agatha Christie’s 1935 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.

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This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Handley Page H.P.42 of Wikipedia ( authors )

Handley Page H.P.42

  • 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.

    • Specifications (H.P.42E)

  • Crew : 4.
  • Capacity : 24 passengers.
  • Length : 92 ft 2 in (or 28.10 m).
  • Height : 27 ft (or 8.23 m).
  • Wingspan : 130 ft (or 39.62 m).
  • Wing area : 3,000 sq ft (278 m²).
  • Empty weight : 17,740 lb (8,047 kg).
  • Loaded weight : 28,000 lb (12,700 kg).
  • Maximum speed : 120 mph (195 km/h).
  • Cruise speed : 95 to 105 mph (150 to 170 km/h).
  • Range : 500 miles (800 km).
  • Initial rate of climb : 800 ft/min (4 m/s).
  • Powerplant : Four Bristol Jupiter XIF radial engines.
  • Power : 490 hp (365 kW) each.

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Handley Page H.P.42 of Wikipedia ( authors )
Handley Page H.P.42 & H.P.45 : Your comments on this subject
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