Aztec versus Samurai Page 14 The dynamic duo Page 20

The dynamic duo Page 20

Page 20

End of an era Page 42

End of an era

Handley Page

100th 100th ANNIVERSARY

ANNIVERSARYANNIVERSARYANNIVERSARYANNIVERSARYANNIVERSARYANNIVERSARY100th 100th ANNIVERSARY

66-PAGE SPECIAL SECTION 35 Handley Page: 60 years of Aeronautical Achievement Harry Fraser-Mitchell introduces our Handley Page 100th Anniversary Special Section with a look at the company’s six decades between its launch in 1909 and its sad demise in 1969

42 The Last Flight of Horatius Johnny de Uphaugh tells the story of the elegant H.P.42 airliner Horatius and its rather undignifi ed demise on a Devon golf course

48 Handley Page Oddballs Not every type Handley Page built was a natural-born winner; Philip Jarrett takes a look at some of the company’s lesser-known types

54 To Hell and Back in a Hampden Wg Cdr Peter McDermott DFC DFM recalls an

ill-conceived sortie to bomb German battle-

ill-conceived sortie to bomb German battleships at Brest Harbour on Christmas Eve, 1941

63 Halibag Down! One of Bomber Command’s most valuable wartime assets was H.P.’s mighty Halifax. Alan Judd describes an ill-fated “Halibag” sortie by his uncle, Plt Off Sydney Judd, in June 1944

73 Victor Database The most futuristic of the V-bombers, the Victor symbolised the British Cold War bomber. This is the full story, as detailed at right

96 Mudlarking at Martlesham The end of the line: Harry Fraser-Mitchell explains how the politically-motivated rejection of a military variant of Handley Page’s Dart Herald ultimately put paid to the company

Other Features 14 Aztec Thunder

over the Pacifi c

over the Pacifi c Santiago A. Flores reveals the part played by the P-47s of the Mexican Air Force against Japan in the Pacifi c War

20 Night Reaper A typically dramatic photograph by Richard Paver of the BBMF’s Spitfi re VC and Hawker Hurricane IIC

22 A New Cape Dash Alex Henshaw Jr on the successful attempt to beat his father’s record

26 Mosquito Update: No 11 Jack Meadows reports on the rebuild of Mosquito B.35 VR796 in Canada

28 Archive Colour Peter R. Arnold presents a rare archive colour image of an Avro Anson COVER IMAGE To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Handley Page Ltd, MARK POSTLETHWAITE GAvA was specially commissioned by Aeroplane to paint the late Wg Cdr Peter McDermott’s Hampden during an attack on Brest Harbour in December 1941.

THIS PAGE The new frontier — Handley Page Victor B.2 XH669 makes a very low pass at the SBAC Show at Farnborough in September 1960. It was the B.2’s fi rst public appearance, and made quite an impression on those in the crowd. The full story of the futuristic Victor begins on page 73 . . .

Contents

July 2009 Vol 37 No 7 Issue No 435 (on sale May 29)

Regulars 4 News All the latest preservation news, compiled by Tony Harmsworth

31 From the Archives Nick Stroud revisits the aviation news and issues of 85 years ago — 1924

32 Readers’ Archive Tom Samson’s photographs range from the 1940s to the 1970s

52 Aircrew The role of the inter-war RAF bomber Handley Page Heyford pilot

AircrewAircrew

searching for H.P. rarities

95 Picture of the Month It’s Handley Page of course — a chance to buy an image of the iconic H.P.42

109 Crosswind John Fricker provides sideways comment on the aviation world

114 Skywriters A selection of readers’ letters on a wide range of topics

115 Flying Visit Melvyn Hiscock puts his usual questions to Mike Dentith

70 Where on Earth? Peter Davison shares his tips on online

In Database

120 Hairy Moment Our regular spot for your historic-aviation close calls

historic-aviation close calls

historic-aviation close calls

PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES 22IN-DEPTH PAGES 22

IN-DEPTH

IN-DEPTH IN-DEPTH IN-DEPTH IN-DEPTH IN-DEPTH IN-DEPTH

PAGES

The Handley Page Victor

The Handley Page Victor

The Handley Page Victor

73 The Handley Page Victor As part of our 66-page Handley Page Special Section, Harry Fraser-Mitchell traces the evolution of the company’s futuristic Cold War V-bomber 74 Genesis — the Victor’s origins 75 Scale drawings of the Victor B.1 and B.2R by Juanita Franzi 77 Development of a V-bomber 79 Into RAF service with the Mk 1 82 The aerodynamic miracle in detail 87 Improving perfection — the Mk 2 90 Victor victualling — the tankers 93 Pilot’s perspective — former H.P. test pilot John Allam describes fl ying the Victor

In News

Flug Werk 190 fl ies Page 5

Grumman Bearcat Page 7

On Mark Invader Page 8

Aztec Eagles Page 10

Fairchild 22 Page 12

In Navigator

Our Navigator section at the back of the magazine tells you all you need to know about what to buy and where to go:

103 Three Greens 103 Book Reviews 107 Flyleaves 108 Information Exchange 109 Crosswind 110 Airshows and Events 111 Registration Update 112 Classifi ed 118 Aeroplane services — back-issues, subscriptions, binders, newsagent order form, annual index and more 119 Contacts and next month in Aeroplane

established 1911established 1911

established 1911 Aeroplane traces its lineage back to the weekly The Aeroplane, founded by the legendary C.G. Grey in 1911 and published until 1968. It was relaunched as a monthly magazine in 1973 by Richard T. Riding (Editor for 25 years until 1998)

1968. It was relaunched as a monthly magazine