HANDLEY PAGE HAMPDEN

The 'Handley Page HP.52 Hampden' was a British twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force serving in the Second World War. With the Whitley and Wellington the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane raid on Cologne. The newest of the three medium bombers, the Hampden, known as the "Flying Suitcase," was still unsuited to the modern air war and, after operating mainly at night, it was retired from Bomber Command service in late 1942.

Contents

Design and development

Operational history

Variants

The Hampden in popular culture

Survivors

Operators

Specifications (Hampden Mk I)

References

External links

Related content

Design and development

Handley Page designed the Hampden to the same specification as the Wellington (Air Ministry Specification B.9/32) and the first prototype flew on 21 June 1936. The first production batch of 180 'Mk I' Hampdens was built to specification 30/36.
The Mk I had a crew of four: pilot, navigator/bomb aimer, radio operator and rear gunner. Conceived as a fast, manoeuvrable, "fighting bomber", the Hampden had a fixed .303 in Vickers K machine gun in the forward fuselage. To avoid the weight penalties of powered-turrets, the Hampden had a curved Perspex nose fitted with a manual .303 inch Vickers K gun and two more single Vickers K installations in the rear upper and lower positions. The guns were thoroughly inadequate for defence, consequently, by 1940, the single guns had been replaced by twin Vickers K guns.
1430 Hampdens were built, 500 by Handley Page, 770 by English Electric and in 1940-41, 160 in Canada by the Canadian Associated Aircraft consortium (although some were retained in Canada, 84 were shipped by sea to the United Kingdom).

Operational history

No. 49 Squadron received the first Hampdens in September 1938. Through the operational history of the type they remained the most famous operators with the 12 August 1940 attack led by Flight Lieutenant Rod Learoyd resulting in his receiving the Victoria Cross (the only VC awarded to Hampden aircrew). A total of 226 Hampdens were in service with eight squadrons by the start of the Second World War. Despite its speed and agility, in operational use, the Hampden was no match for Luftwaffe fighters; subsequently, its career as a day bomber was brief. It continued to operate at night, on bombing raids over Germany and mine-laying (code-named "gardening") in the North Sea.
According to Harry Moyle, author of ''The Hampden File'', almost half of the Hampdens built– 714, were lost on operations, taking with them 1,077 crew killed and another 739 missing. German flak accounted for 108; one became the victim of a German barrage balloon; 263 Hampdens crashed due to "a variety of causes," and 214 others were classed as "missing." Luftwaffe pilots claimed 128 Hampdens, shooting down 92 at night. Guy Gibson spent most of the first two years of his wartime service flying Hampdens, and his book ''Enemy Coast Ahead'' gives a strong flavour of the trials and tribulations of taking these aircraft into action.
After being withdrawn from Bomber Command in 1942, it operated with Coastal Command through 1943 as a long-range torpedo bomber (the 'Hampden TB Mk I' with a Mk XII torpedo in an open bomb-bay and a single 500 lb (227 kg) bomb under each wing) and a maritime reconnaissance aircraft. No. 144 Squadron RAF and No. 455 Squadron RAAF were involved in the escort of Convoy PQ-18 operating out of Soviet airbases and left their 23 aircraft in the USSR afterwards. These were then used by the 3rd squadron of the 24MTAP (Anti-shipping Wing) of the Soviet Navy until at least 1943. The Hampden was also used by the RCAF and the RNZAF.
After war service in Europe, about 200 "war-weary" Hampdens were flown to Canada where they were used for bombing and gunnery training.

Variants

The Hampden was powered by a pair of 980 hp Bristol Pegasus XVIII 9-cylinder radial engines. A 'Mk II' Hampden was developed as the HP.62 by converting two Hampdens to use the 1,000 hp Wright Cyclone engine in 1940 but no more was done of the project.
Interest in the HP.52 by the Swedish for placing a potential order led to the HP.53 prototype, which was subsequently used as a testbed for a pair of 1,000 hp Napier Dagger VIII 24-cylinder H-block water-cooled inline engines.
In 1936, the RAF ordered 150 Dagger-engined Hampdens as the 'Hereford'. Problems with engine cooling resulted in most of those built (by Short & Harland) being re-engined as Hampdens. The surviving Herefords served in training units only.

The Hampden in popular culture

The HP Hampden had a featured role in the ''Big Blockade'' (1941) starring Michael Rennie, a Second World War propaganda film showing "blockade" bombing and its affects on the German war industry [1].

Survivors

No Hampdens remain in flying condition today, although two wrecks are in the process of being restored. Handley Page Hampden I ''P1344'' awaits reconstruction in Great Britain having crashed into a mountain in Sweden in 1942. The remains are presently stored in the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre at the Royal Air Force Museum, Cosford.
The other surviving Hampden, ''P5436'', is being reconstructed largely from parts of a Hampden (the last one built in Canada) which were recovered from 600 feet of water in Saanich Inlet on Vancouver Island in 1989 as well as recovered components from two other Hampden crashes in Canada. The aircraft was ditched on a training flight in 1942 when the pilot lost control after a torpedo drop. As of 2007, the reconstruction of the Hampden is about 97 per cent complete, and is currently the showpiece exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Flight at Langley, British Columbia, in the Fraser Valley, east of Vancouver.

Operators

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★ Royal Australian Air Force

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★ No. 455 Squadron RAAF Used between July 1941 and December 1943, Codeletters UB
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★ Royal Canadian Air Force

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★ No. 408 (Goose) Squadron RCAF Used between July 1941 and September 1942, Codeletters EQ

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★ No. 415 (Swordfish) Squadron RCAF Used between February 1942 and November 1943, Codeletters GX

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★ No. 420 (Snowy Owl) Squadron RCAF Used between December 1941 and August 1942, Codeletters PT

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★ No. 32 Operational Training Unit RCAF Used between MAy 1942 and February 1944, Codeletters DK, LB, OP and RO
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★ Royal New Zealand Air Force

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★ No. 489 Squadron RNZAF Used between February 1942 and November 1943, Codeletters XA
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★ Soviet Naval Aviation

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★ No. 24 MTAP
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★ Swedish Air Force operated a single HP.52 aircraft for evaluation.
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★ Royal Air Force

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★ No. 7 Squadron RAF Used between April 1939 and April 1940, Codeletters LT (pre-War) and MG (Wartime)

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★ No. 44 Squadron RAF Used between February 1939 and December 1941, Codeletters JW (pre-War) and KM (Wartime)

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★ No. 49 Squadron RAF Used between October 1938 and April 1942, Codeletters XU (pre-War) and EA (Wartime)

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★ No. 50 Squadron RAF Used between December 1938 and April 1942, Codeletters QX (pre-War) and VN (Wartime)

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★ No. 61 Squadron RAF Used between February 1939 and October 1941, Codeletters LS (pre-War) and QR (Wartime)

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★ No. 76 Squadron RAF Used between March 1939 and April 1940, Codeletters NM (pre-War) and MP (Wartime)

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★ No. 83 Squadron RAF Used between November 1938 and January 1942, Codeletters QQ (pre-War) and OL (Wartime)

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★ No. 97 Squadron RAF Used between July and August 1941, Codeletters OF (Wartime)

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★ No. 106 Sqaudron RAF Used between March 1939 and March 1942, Codeletters XS (pre-War) and ZN (Wartime)

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★ No. 144 Squadron RAF Used between March 1939 and October 1942, Codeletters NV (pre-War) and PL (Wartime)

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★ No. 185 Squadron RAF Used between June 1939 and April 1940, Codeletters ZM (pre-War) and GL (Wartime)

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★ No. 207 Squadron RAF Used between July and August 1941, Codeletters EM (Wartime)

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★ No. 517 Squadron RAF Used between August and November 1943, Codeletters unknown

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★ No. 519 Squadron RAF Used between August and November 1943, Codeletters Z9

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★ No. 521 Squadron RAF Used between September and December 1943, Codeletters 5O

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★ No. 1403 Flight RAF

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★ No. 5 (C)OTU RAF Used between July 1942 and September 1943, Only individual Codeletters and numbers

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★ No. 14 Operational Training Unit Used between 5 May 1940 and December 1942, Codeletters AM, GL and VB

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★ No. 16 Operational Training Unit Used between 18 April 1940 and September 1942, Codeletters GA, JS and XG

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★ No. 25 Operational Training Unit Used between February and December 1941, Codeletters ZP

Specifications (Hampden Mk I)

References

★ Bowyer, Chaz. ''Hampden Special''. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan Ltd., 1976. ISBN 0-7110-0683-0.

★ Clayton, Donald C. ''Handley Page, an Aircraft Album''. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd., 1969. ISBN 0-7110-0094-8.

★ Donald, David and Lake, Jon. (eds.) ''Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft''. London: AIRtime Publishing, 1996. ISBN 1-880588-24-2.

★ Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. ''WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: RAF Bombers, Part 2''. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1981. ISBN 0-7106-0118-2.

★ Gunston, Bill. ''Classic World War II Aircraft Cutaways''. London: Osprey, 1995. ISBN 1-85532-526-8.

★ Mondey, D. ''The Hamyln Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II''. London: Hamlyn/Aerospace, 1982. ISBN 0-600-34951-9.

★ Moyes, Philip J.R. ''Royal Air Force Bombers of World War Two, Volume Two''. Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire, UK: Hylton Lacy Publishers, 1968. ISBN 0-85064-000-8.

★ ________. ''Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's, 1964 (2nd edition 1976). ISBN 0-354-01027-1.

★ Moyle, Harry. ''The Hampden File''. Tonbridge, UK: Air-Britain Historians Ltd., 1989. ISBN 0-85130-128-2.

★ Roberts, Nicholas. ''Crash Log: Handley Page Hampden & Hereford''. Earl Shilton, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1980. ISBN 0-904597-34-2.

External links

★ Hampden at the Canadian Museum of Flight

★ Handley Page Hampden

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