Handley Page H.P.42
| HP.42 / HP.45 | |
|---|---|
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| Handley Page H.P.42 G-AAUD Hanno | |
| 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 |
The Handley Page H.P.42 and H.P.45 were British four-engine biplane airliners designed to a 1928 Imperial Airways specification by Handley Page of Radlett in Hertfordshire. The H.P.42/45 were the land-based backbones of Imperial Airways and along with the airline's later flying boats are well remembered. Eight were built, four of each type; all were named, with names beginning with the letter "H". The three survivors were pressed into Royal Air Force service at the outbreak of the Second World War. No lives were lost in civilian service (a record thought to be unique for contemporary aircraft) but by 1940, all aeroplanes had been destroyed.
The H.P.42 was designed for the long-range Eastern routes and the similar H.P.45 was built for the European routes. Imperial Airways called the H.P.42 the H.P.42E (E for "Eastern" routes - India and South Africa), while the H.P.45 was the H.P.42W (W for "Western" i.e. European routes). The H.P.42 and H.P.45 designations were Handley Page's identifiers but the HP.45 was not commonly used during the flying lives of the aircraft. The H.P.42 was a large unequal-span biplane, all-metal except for the fabric coverings of the wings, tail surfaces and rear fuselage. The wings were braced by a Warren truss. The tailplane was biplane with three fins. The H.P.42 had four Bristol Jupiter XIFs of 490 hp (370 kW) each while the H.P.45 used four Jupiter XFBM supercharged engines of 555 hp (414 kW). Both had two engines on the upper wing and one on each side of the fuselage on the lower wing.
The crew compartment was enclosed—a new development—and there were two passenger cabins, one forward and one aft of the wings. The H.P.42E carried six (later 12) in the forward compartment and twelve in the aft. There was substantial baggage room. The H.P.42W seated 18 forward and 20 aft, with reduced baggage capacity.
The first flight was on 14 November 1930, by G-AAGX later to be named Hannibal, with Squadron Leader Thomas Harold England at the controls. The certificate of airworthiness was granted in May 1931, permitting commercial service; the first flight with fare-paying passengers was to Paris on 11 June of that year.
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