Handley Page
185156
225969743
2008-07-16T07:08:25Z
193.202.109.254
/* Designs */
{{Infobox Defunct Company
|company_name = Handley Page Limited
|company_logo = [[image:Handley Page.png|150px]]
|fate = Voluntary liquidation
|successor = [[Scottish Aviation]]
|foundation = [[17 June]][[1909]]
|defunct = March 1970<ref>Not dissolved until 03 June 2001 [http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/e52a31b38405acf86142020e577f1d55/compdetails Companies House]</ref>
|location = [[Cricklewood]], [[Radlett]]
|industry = Aviation
|key_people = [[Frederick Handley Page]]
|products =
|num_employees =
|parent =
|subsid = Handley Page Transport (until 1924)
}}
[[Image:Handley-Page 1919.jpg|thumb|[[Handley Page V/1500|''Atlantic'']] in flight, non-stop from New York to Chicago, 1919]]
'''Handley Page, Limited''' was founded by [[Frederick Handley Page]] (later Sir Frederick) in [[1909 in aviation|1909]] as the [[United Kingdom]]'s first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into [[voluntary liquidation]] and ceased to exist in [[1970 in aviation|1970]]. The company, based at [[Radlett]] Aerodrome in [[Hertfordshire]], was noted for producing heavy bombers and large airliners.
==History==
Frederick Handley Page first experimented with and built several [[biplane]]s and [[monoplane]]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 air field.
===World War I===
During the [[World War I|First World War]] Handley Page produced a series of [[heavy bomber]]s for the [[Royal Navy]] to bomb the [[Germany|German]] [[Zeppelin]] yards, with the ultimate intent of bombing Berlin in revenge for the Zeppelin attacks on London. Handley Page had been asked by the [[Admiralty]] to produce a ''bloody paralyser of an airplane''. These aircraft included the [[Handley Page O/100|O/100]] of 1915, the [[Handley Page O/400|O/400]] of 1918 and the four engined [[Handley Page V/1500|V/1500]] with the range to reach Berlin. The V/1500 only just reached operational service as the war ended in [[1918 in aviation|1918]].
In the immediate post-war 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 a O/400 airframe to produce their first dedicated passenger design, the [[Handley Page W.8|W.8]]. In 1924 Handley Page Transport merged with two other regional airlines to create [[Imperial Airways]], the UK's first national airline service. Handley Page developed several large [[biplane]] airliners, including the 8 luxurious [[Handley Page H.P.42]], for use on [[British Empire|Imperial]] routes to Africa and India.
Handley Page also paid for the development of what soon became known as the '''Handley Page Slat''' (or slot, see [[slats]]), a small channel cut into the leading edge of the wing to improve airflow at high [[angle of attack|angles of attack]]. The design was so successful that licensing fees to other companies was their main source of income in the early 1920s.
In 1929 the airfield at Cricklewood was closed and a new one built at [[Radlett]], where most aircraft were now to be constructed. However the construction of aircraft at Cricklewood continued until 1964 when the premises were sold to become the Cricklewood trading estate.
===World War II===
With the [[Second World War]] looming, Handley Page turned back to bomber design and produced the [[Handley Page Hampden|HP.52 Hampden]], which took part in the first British raid on [[Berlin]]. In response to government request for heavier, longer ranged aircraft Handley Page produced the HP.56. Powered by twin [[Rolls-Royce Vulture]] engines, the latter proved so troublesome that the aircraft was cancelled. The design was however elaborated into the four-engined [[Handley-Page Halifax|HP.57 Halifax]] which, after the [[Avro Lancaster|Lancaster]], was the most prolific British heavy bomber. This had been the same development route as the Lancaster, and although the Halifax had a somewhat more protracted development, it soon reached maturity and was considered by some to be to a superior aircraft{{Fact|date=March 2007}}.
===Post-war===
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 bomber|V-Bomber]]s, and Handley Page's contribution was the [[Handley Page Victor|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 in aviation|1947]] Handley Page bought some of the assets of the bankrupt [[Miles Aircraft]] company. These assets include existing designs, tools and jigs, and the Miles [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]] site at Woodley. The whole operation was '''Handley Page (Reading) Ltd''' the company constituted to buy and operate the assets formed out of the legally alive but otherwise inactive [[Handley Page Transport]] Ltd. The most significant of the inherited designs was the [[Handley Page Herald|Herald]] airliner. Designs coming out of the Reading site were shown by the initials HPR (from "Handley Page (Reading) Limited" )
===Demise===
Unlike the 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 just two combines; [[Hawker Siddeley]] and the [[British Aircraft Corporation]].
Unable to compete for Government orders or with large commercial aircraft, Handley Page produced its final notable Handley Page design; the [[Handley Page Jetstream|Jetstream]]. This was a small [[turboprop]]-powered commuter aircraft, with a [[cabin pressurization|pressurised cabin]] and a passenger capacity of 12 to 18. It was designed primarily for the [[United States]] "[[feederliner]]" market.
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 however lived on as a successful product, the design being purchased and produced by [[Scottish Aviation]] at [[Prestwick]] and later when Scottish Aviation was incorporated into [[British Aerospace]] from 1977.
{{BAE Systems evolution}}
==Products==
===Designations===
Handley Page originally used a letter progression to designate types (i.e. ''R'', ''S'', ''T'' etc. ) in combination with a number, that may or may not have been meaningful, to designate sub-types (e.g. the O/100 indicated the type's 100 foot wingspan).
In [[1924]], Handley Page moved to using the letters ''HP'' and a number to indicate the model. Thus the O/400 became the HP.16 and the [[Handley Page Type W|W.8]] the HP.18.
When the assets of Miles Aircraft were taken over, the latter's Reading design office began using ''HPR.'' (for Handley Page Reading), followed by a number indicates that the design originated in the Reading design office (e.g. the HPR.1 Marathon).
===Designs===
*[[Handley Page Type A|Type A / HP.1]] - monoplane (1910)
*[[Handley Page Type B|Type B / HP.2]] - biplane
*[[Handley Page Type D|Type D / HP.4]] - monoplane (1911)
*[[Handley Page Type E|Type E / HP.5]] - monoplane
*[[Handley Page Type F|Type F / HP.6]] - monoplane
*[[Handley Page Type G|Type G / HP.7]] - biplane
*[[Handley Page Type L|Type L / HP.8]]
*[[Handley Page Type O|Type O / HP.16]] - twin engined bomber
** O/100
** O/400
*** O/10 airliner
*** O/11 airliner
*** W/400 airliner
** O/7 bomber
*[[Handley Page V/1500|V/1500]]
*[[Handley Page Type W|Type W]] airliner
**W8 / HP.18 / HP.26 Hamilton
**W9 / HP.27 Hampstead
* [[Handley Page Hyderabad|W10 / HP.30 Hyderabad]]
* [[Handley Page Hanley|HP.19 Hanley]]
* [[Handley Page Type S|Type S / HP.21]]
* [[Handley Page HP.22|HP.22]]
* [[Handley Page Hendon|HP.25 Hendon]]
* [[Handley Page Handcross|HP.28 Handcross]]
* [[Handley Page HP.31|HP.31 Harrow]]
* [[Handley Page Hamlet|HP.32 Hamlet]]
* [[Handley Page Hinaidi|HP.33 / HP.35 / HP.36 Hinaidi]] - heavy bomber
* [[Handley Page Hare|HP.34 Hare]]
* [[Handley Page Heyford|HP.38 / HP.50 Heyford]] - biplane heavy bomber
* [[Handley Page Gugnunc|HP.39 Gugnunc]] - experimental biplane
* [[Handley Page H.P.42|H.P.42]] - biplane airliner
* [[Handley Page H.P.43|H.P.43]] - three engined biplane bomber transport
* [[Handley Page H.P.42|H.P.45]] - biplane airliner
* [[Handley Page H.P.51|H.P.51]] - prototype bomber transport
* [[Handley Page Hampden|H.P.52 Hampden]] - medium bomber
* HP.53 - bomber design for Sweden - led to the [[Handley Page Hampden|HP.52 Hereford]]
* [[Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow|H.P.54 Harrow]] - monoplane heavy bomber
*HP.55 - two-engined heavy bomber design
*HP.56 - two-engined heavy bomber design
*[[Handley Page Halifax|Halifax]] - four-engined heavy bomber
** HP.57 Halifax Mk.I
** HP.58 Halifax Mk.II
** HP.59 Halifax Mk.II Series
** HP.61 Halifax Mk.III
** HP.63 Halifax Mk.V / VI / VII
** HP.70
***Halifax Mk.VIII
***Halton - airliner
** HP.71 Halifax Mk.IX
* [[Handley Page Hastings|HP.67 Hastings]] - military transport
* [[Handley Page Hermes]] - airliner
**HP.68 Hermes I
**HP.74 Hermes II
**HP.81 Hermes IV
**HP.82 Hermes V
* [[Handley Page Manx|HP.75 Manx]] - tailless research aircraft
* [[Handley Page Victor|HP.80 Victor]] - four-engined bomber
* [[Handley Page HP.88|HP.88]] - Victor research aircraft
* [[Handley Page HP.115|HP.115]] - delta winged research aircraft
* [[Handley Page HP.100|HP.100 ]] - reconnaissance bomber to OR.330
* [[Handley Page Jetstream|HP.137 Jetstream]] - twin-turboprop feederliner
Handley Page (Reading) designs
* [[Handley Page Marathon|HPR.1 Marathon]] - airliner
* [[Handley Page Basic Trainer|HPR.2]] - basic trainer
* [[Handley Page Dart Herald|HPR.3 Herald]] airliner
* [[Handley Page Marathon|HPR.5 Marathon]] - engine test bed
* [[Handley Page Dart Herald|HPR7 Dart Herald]] - airliner
==Sites==
{| border=1 cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" width=300 style=margin-left:10px
|-
!colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#FFFF99"|Site of Cricklewood Factory
|-
|width="50%"|[[British national grid reference system|OS Grid Reference]]:||{{gbmappingsmall|TQ240862}}
|-
!colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#FFFF99"|Site of Radlett Aerodrome
|-
|width="50%"|[[British national grid reference system|OS Grid Reference]]:||{{gbmappingsmall|TL155038}}
|-
|}
[[Image:Handley Page Limited - Cricklewood Site In 1921.jpg|thumb|left|The Handley Page Cricklewood site in early 1921]]
[[Radlett Aerodrome]] was opened in 1929 as a grass aerodrome for Handley Page Civil Aircraft, the runway was extended in 1939 to enable production of [[Handley Page Halifax|Halifax]] bombers. Most of the towers, [[hangar]]s and runways were demolished in the 1970s after the Company was wound up. The M25 Motorway now stands on the south of the site, with [[Lafarge|Lafarge Aggregates]] now owning the remainder.
==References==
<references/>
== See also ==
* [[Hedley Hazelden]] - Handley Page test pilot
==External links==
*[http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/companypage.php?ID=15 British Aricraft Directory entry]
*[http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Aerospace/Handley-page/Aero51.htm short history of the company written for the ''Centennial of Flight'']
*[http://www.handleypage.com An enthusiast web site dedicated to the company]
{{Aviation lists}}
[[Category:Companies established in 1909]]
[[Category:1970 disestablishments]]
[[Category:Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Hertsmere]]
[[Category:Aircraft industry in London]]
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