Handley Page Halifax
Handley Page Halifax | |
---|---|
Halifax Mk 3 |
|
Type: | Heavy bomber |
Design country: | |
Manufacturer: | |
First flight: |
September 24, 1939 |
Commissioning: |
November 1940 |
Production time: |
1940 to 1946 |
Number of pieces: |
6178 |
The Handley Page Halifax (Handley-Page Type 57 or HP57) was a four-engine bomber of the Second World War from British production. It was used by the RAF Bomber Command from March 1941 .
Developed by the Handley Page Aircraft Company , 6178 machines were produced in various versions from 1940 to 1946. The type used until March 1952 was the second four-engine heavy bomber flown by the Royal Air Force , alongside the 1941 Avro Lancaster (7377 machines) and the Short Stirling (2380 machines) .
development
The mid-decker was designed in 1936 from the conversion of the HP56, which was equipped with two Rolls-Royce Vulture engines, according to specification P.13 / 36 after it became clear that the technically highly modern, but fault-prone Vulture engines were not able to satisfy . The HP57 was a greatly enlarged design based on four Rolls-Royce-Merlin engines. The first flight of the first of two prototypes (L 2,744) took place on September 24, 1939 in Bicester . At that time the first order had already been received.
commitment
The delivery of the Halifax Mk.I began in November 1940 to Squadron 35. The bomber was on the night of 11/12. March 1941 used for the first time in large numbers during an attack on Le Havre . The first Mk.I's were known as the BI series. This was followed by the Series II with a higher total weight and the Series III. The Mk.II-Series I had its first significant modifications by using a twin MG rear turret and more powerful Merlin-XX engines. The Mk.II-Series I (Special) had a cladding of the nose instead of the armament, and it had no exhaust manifolds on the engine pods. The series IA was the first to use the low- resistance Plexiglas fuselage nose that was later always used; the fuselage turret had four machine guns and the aircraft was powered by Merlin-22 engines. Variants of the Mk.III Series I (Special) and Series IA with chassis from Dowty instead of the usual one from Messier were referred to as Mk.V Series I (Special) and Series IA. In 1966 Mk.II and 915 Mk.V were produced.
The Mk.II-Series IA (HP59) brought another important modification: it had larger rectangular vertical stabilizers to solve the serious stability problems encountered with the earlier design. Perspex nose and rectangular vertical stabilizers were characteristic of all subsequent Halifax. Their only disadvantage was the insufficient drive power.
Therefore, they left in 1943 published Mk.III (HP61) the Rolls-Royce Merlin - V engine and built Bristol-Hercules - radial engines with 1,615 horsepower and increased fuel storage one. With 2091 pieces, the Mk.III was the most built Halifax variant. The aircraft were later fitted with H2S radar devices.
Mk.IV remained an unfinished project.
The next models were the Mk.VI (HP61) with 1675 HP Hercules 100 and the Mk.VII (HP61) , which again had the Hercules of the Mk.III. These were the last versions of the bomber; they were built in relatively modest numbers.
The end of the Halifax types were the civilian conversion version Mk.VIII (HP70 Halton) and the troop transporter Mk.IX (HP71) , the last aircraft of which was delivered in November 1946.
Handley Page 6178 Halifax were manufactured in collaboration with various companies including English Electric , Fairey , Rootes Motors and the London Aircraft Production Group. The Bomber Command used the Halifax until the end of the war; they made up about 40% of the British "four-engine bombers"; it was last used during the air raid on Wangerooge on April 25, 1945 . His duties included many special missions, including the dropping of agents and jamming German radio measuring ( radar ) stations. Halifax were also used in the Middle East. After the war, they stayed with the Coast and Transport Command for a long time. A GR Mk.VI of the Coast Command completed its last flight in March 1952.
Production numbers
The Halifax was built in the UK by Handley Page, London Aircraft , English Electric , Rootes in Speeke and Fairey in Errwood Park.
version | Handley Page | London Aircraft | English Electric | Rootes / Speeke | Fairy / Errwood Park | total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BI | 85 | 85 | ||||
B.II | 607 | 450 | 900 | 12 | 1,969 | |
B.III | 323 | 260 | 900 | 250 | 320 | 2,053 |
A.III | 30th | 30th | ||||
BV | 658 | 246 | 904 | |||
B.VI | 155 | 280 | 435 | |||
B.VII | 120 | 20th | 21st | 161 | ||
A.VII | 120 | 53 | 173 | |||
C.VIII | 100 | 100 | ||||
total | 1,390 | 710 | 2,100 | 1,070 | 640 | 5,910 |
At the end of the war, the ASR variant A.VII was still in production.
year | bomber | Transporter | ASR | number |
---|---|---|---|---|
1940 | 6th | 6th | ||
1941 | 162 | 162 | ||
1942 | 801 | 801 | ||
1943 | 1,827 | 1,827 | ||
1944 | 2,334 | 2,334 | ||
until July 31, 1945 | 477 | 100 | 203 | 780 |
total | 5,607 | 100 | 203 | 5,910 |
Incidents
Due to the abundance of accidents, only a selection of total losses from the period after the Second World War can be presented here (list has only just begun).
- On May 13, 1948, a Halifax C.VIII of Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux (TAI) ( aircraft registration F-BCJX ) coming from Le Bourget airport rolled over the runway end at Bovingdon military airfield and finally got stuck in the airport fence . The three-man crew were unharmed. The aircraft registered with Société Aero Cargo was irreparably damaged.
- On May 20, 1948, a Halifax C.VIII of the TAI (registration number F-BCJT ) crashed at Le Bourget Airport . The three-man crew survived without injuries. However, the aircraft registered with the Société Auxiliaire de Navigation Aérienne (SANA) was irreparably damaged.
- On December 1, 1948, a Halifax C.VIII of the TAI (registration number F-BCJS ) crashed while taking off in thick fog from Lyon-Bron airport about 1200 meters behind the end of the runway at Beauregard in the Décines district. The machine was on a commercial flight to Casablanca-Anfa Airport . Of the eight occupants, three of the passengers were killed, the other two and the three-man crew injured. The aircraft registered with Société Aero Cargo was destroyed.
- On April 1, 1949 (probably on the night of March 31 to April 1), a Halifax C.8 of the British Westminster Airways (G-AHDL) coming from the Berlin-Gatow airfield as part of the Berlin Airlift arrived at the military airfield Schleswigland crash-landed. All three crew members survived unharmed. The aircraft was totaled.
- On November 20, 1950, a Halifax C.VIII freighter of Eagle Aviation (registration G-AIAP ) crashed after taking off from Dum Dum Airport in Calcutta ( India ). Two of the six crew members were killed.
Technical specifications
Parameter | Data Halifax Mk. III |
---|---|
crew | 7th |
length | 21.35 m |
span | 31.80 m |
height | 6.32 m |
Wing area | 110.6 m² |
Empty mass | 17,178 kg |
Takeoff mass | 24,700 kg |
Top speed | 450 km / h |
Cruising speed | 410 km / h |
Landing speed | 120 km / h |
Range | 2,000 km |
Summit height | 7,300 m |
Armament | On the top of the fuselage and on the stern, a turret with a Browning MG quadruplet, in the bow a MG Vickers K , all caliber .303 British (7.7 mm) |
Bomb load | 5,900 kg |
See also
literature
- Olaf Groehler : History of the Air War 1910 to 1980. Military publishing house of the German Democratic Republic, Berlin 1981.
- Kenneth Munson: Bombers, Patrol and Transport Aircraft 1939–45. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich, 3rd edition 1977.
- Friedrich König: The History of the Air Force. Rastatt 1980.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ according to Friedrich König: The history of the air force. Rastatt 1980 p. 150 on October 25, 1939
- ↑ according to Friedrich König: The history of the air force. Rastatt 1980 p. 150 on March 10, 1941; see. under [1] also " The RAF attacks Le Havre and at the same time gives the new 4-engine Halifax bomber it debut, although one of the six Halifax's involved is shot down on its return flight by an RAF night fighter. "
- ↑ a b Public Record Office (National Archives), Kew, stock AVIA 10/311
- ↑ Air-Britain Aviation World (English), December 2016, p. 159.
- ↑ Accident report HP Halifax F-BCJX , Aviation Safety Network WikiBase , accessed on August 19, 2017.
- ↑ Air-Britain Aviation World (English), September 2016, p. 110.
- ^ Accident report HP Halifax F-BCJT , Aviation Safety Network WikiBase , accessed on August 19, 2017.
- ↑ Air-Britain Aviation World (English), September 2016, p. 109.
- ↑ Accident report HP Halifax F-BCJS , Aviation Safety Network WikiBase , accessed on August 19, 2017.
- ^ Accident report HP Halifax C.8 G-AHDL , Aviation Safety Network WikiBase , accessed on March 7, 2019.
- ↑ HP 61 Halifax 8 G-AIAP, c / n 1354
- ↑ Air-Britain Aviation World (English), September 2016 p. 110.