Handley Page Hampden
| Handley Page HP52 Hampden | |
|---|---|
 Handley Page Hampden I |
|
| Type: | Medium bomb plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
June 21, 1936 |
| Commissioning: |
1938 |
| Number of pieces: |
1430 |
The Handley Page HP52 Hampden was a twin-engine bomber produced by the British Handley Page Aircraft Company . From 1936 to 1941, Handley Page and its licensees built 1,430 machines, which were mainly used during the first years of the Second World War . The machines fitted with Napier Dagger engines were called Handley Page Hereford .
Development and use
After the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and the Vickers Wellington , the Hampden was the last of three twin-engine medium bombers to enter service with the Royal Air Force in late 1938. On September 3, 1939, when Great Britain entered the war, a total of 226 Hampden served in ten squadrons.
The first of two prototypes (K4240), which were built to the same specification (B.9 / 32) as the Wellington, flew on June 21, 1936. Two months later, a first order to specification 30/36 for 180 Hampden followed Mk I . These were delivered from September 1938. Squadron 49 received the first machines.
In the production aircraft, the rectangular fuselage nose was replaced by a dome formed from perspex , the rear arms were modified and the Bristol Pegasus PE 5S (a) engines were replaced by Pegasus XVIII. Despite these changes, the mission was disappointing - the limited space in the slim fuselage contributed to the rapid fatigue of the four-man crew and the field of fire of the defensive armament was too small. Later attempts to improve the armament by installing twin weapons brought only modest success. The Hampden was still used by the Bomber Command until September 1942 , mainly as a night bomber and mine-layer. The coastal command used the type for a year longer as a torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft.
Hampdens took part in the first bomb attack on Berlin in June 1940 and in " Operation Millennium ", the 1000 bomber attack on Cologne at the end of May 1942. In May 1941, the Hampdens were with the No. 44 Squ. also involved in the attack on the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in Brest. The last deployment in Bomber Command took place on the night of 14/15. September 1942 with by No. 408 Squ. against Wilhelmshaven.
32 Hampden TB. Mk. I was under the Lend-Lease Act (Lend-Lease Act) in the summer of 1942 in the Soviet Union flew over, 23 of them reached their destination Vaenga. Then they were used in the 24th MTAP (Mine and Torpedo Flying Regiment) against enemy ships. Hampdens also flew in the Air Forces in Australia , New Zealand and Sweden .
In the UK, 1270 Hampden were made, 500 by Handley Page and 770 by English Electric . 1940-41 built Canadian Associated Aircraft Ltd. another 160 pieces. Two Hampden were equipped as prototypes for the Mk II version with 1000 hp Wright R-1820 cyclone engines made in the USA. However, the model did not go into series production.
At the same time as the RAF's first order, a supply contract for 100 aircraft of a 1000 hp Napier Dagger version was concluded. The order for this Hereford named type was later increased to 150. Short and Harland Ltd. in Belfast built the pattern. Because of difficulties with the Dagger engine, many machines were later converted to Hampden with Bristol Pegasus engines. The rest of the Hereford were used exclusively in training units.
Production numbers
The Hampden was built in Great Britain by English Electric and Hadley Page, the Hereford by Short Harland.
| version | Hampden Mk I. | Hereford | total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handley Page | 500 | 500 | |
| English Electric | 770 | 770 | |
| Short Harland | 150 | 150 | |
| total | 1,270 | 150 | 1,420 |
| year | Hampden | Hereford | number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | 37 | 37 | |
| 1939 | 306 | 27 | 333 |
| 1940 | 417 | 123 | 540 |
| 1941 | 453 | 453 | |
| 1942 | 57 | 57 | |
| total | 1,270 | 150 | 1,420 |
construction
The HP52 was a cantilevered mid-decker in all-metal construction . The hull was unusually narrow (0.90 m wide) and had two floors in the bow area. The tail unit with two rudder unit end disks attached to the horizontal tail unit was located in connection with a narrow fuselage support that tapered to the rear. The bomb bay was in the front part of the fuselage.
The wings had a trapezoidal floor plan and were equipped with slats and flaps as lift aids. The two front wheels of the tail wheel chassis drove backwards into the engine pods.
Military use
Hampden
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- Svenska Flygvapnet : 1 HP.52 was purchased for evaluation under the designation P.5
Hereford
Technical data (Hampden TBMk.I)
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 4th |
| length | 16.33 m |
| span | 21.08 m |
| height | 4.49 m |
| Wing area | 63.9 m² |
| Empty mass | 5345 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 9526 kg |
| Cruising speed | 269 km / h |
| Top speed | 426 km / h at an altitude of 4720 m |
| Rate of climb | 5 m / s near the ground |
| Service ceiling | 5790 m |
| Range | 2768 km |
| Engines | 2 × air-cooled radial engines Bristol Pegasus XVIII each with 966 HP / 710 kW starting power |
| Armament | 1 × fixed 7.7 mm Browning MG in the bow 1 × movable 7.7 mm Vickers K MG in the bow 1 × movable 7.7 mm Vickers twin MG in the upper MG position 1 × Movable 7.7 mm Vickers twin MG in the MG stand under the fuselage Bomb load: max. two 907 kg or four 227 kg bombs internal and two 227 kg bombs external |
See also
literature
- Chaz Bowyer: Hampden Special. Ian Allan Ltd., Shepperton 1976, ISBN 0-7110-0683-0 .
- Jerry Day: Hurt Hampden. In: Air Classics , Volume 45, Issue 4, April 2009.
- Philip JR Moyes: The Handley Page Hampden. (Aircraft in Profile 58) Profile Publications Ltd., Leatherhead 1965.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans-Joachim Mau, Hans Heiri Stapfer: Under the Red Star - Lend Lease Aircraft for the Soviet Union 1941-1945. Transpress, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-344-70710-8 , pp. 103-1105.
- ^ National Archives, Kew, stock AVIA 10/311
- ^ National Archives, Kew, stock AVIA 10/311
- ↑ Hampden ... defenders of liberty (Warbirds). In: AIR International , November 1984, pp. 244-252.