British Hadley-Page Medium Bomber Plane

By Crusader1307

Known by it's Crews as ''The Flying Suitcase'' (due to the cramped conditions inside), The Handley-Page was a Medium Bomber used by The British Royal Air Force in World War II. An early War Bomber, over 1,400 were produced for the War Effort. It was The Handley-Page Class of Bombers that led the first Bombing Raids against Berlin, Germany. Deemed obsolete by 1942-43, it was retired from service (in lieu of The Lancaster Bomber). The Bomber also saw some limited use by The Royal Navy as a makeshift Torpedo/Mine deployment Aircraft. The Handley-Page was 55-feet long with a wingspan of nearly 70-feet. Crewed by (4), The Handley-Page was powered by Twin Bristol Pegasus 9-Cylinder Radial Engines. They were rated at an airspeed of slightly over 200-mph. The operational ceiling for this Bomber was 20,000 feet. Armament included a fixed 7.7mm Nose Machine Gun, and packages of (3 to 5) Vickers ''K''Machine Guns, mounted in Dorsal and Ventral positions. The Page could support various Ordnance packages to include up to 4,000-lbs of Bombs, Depth Charge Mines or a Torpedo configuration. Several non-flying survivors exist in many Museums throughout The World.