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| Click Here For Full Artist Print Indexes | Aviation History Archive |
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Aviation Art Prints  Countries UK Aircraft Index More Aircraft Initial E to L  HP42 |
[UP] - Fairey IIID - Fairey IIIF - Felixstowe F.3 - Firefly - Fury - Gazelle - Gipsy Moth - Gladiator - Globemaster III - Gunbus - Hamilcar - Hampden - Handley Page 0400 - Harrier - Hart - Hastings - Hawk - Hercules - Hind - Horsa - Horsley - HP42 - Hudson - Hunter - Iris - Jaguar - Kittyhawk - Liberator - Lightning - Lincoln - Lynx - Lysander |
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| Text for the above items : |
Imperials Flying Bananas by Stan Stokes. The Handley Page H.P. 42 biplane airliner had a reputation unmatched in its day for reliability, safety, and passenger comfort. Imperial Airways, the British flag carrier during the between war period, was one of aviations pioneers when it came to establishing long range commercial air services. With the British Empire spanning the globe, effective long distance air service was important in linking both former and current colonies. In 1928 Imperial solicited proposals for a long distance airplane capable of flying the London to India air mail route. Handley Page won the bid for a total of eight new airliners. The large bi-plane design which was agreed upon had four radial engines, with two mounted on the upper wing and two on the lower wings on each side of the fuselage. With its triple finned tail assembly, this huge biplane was quite something to see. Despite its antiquated appearance the H.P. 42 had a very impressive passenger compartment which was quite luxurious. Inlaid wood paneling, twin lavatories, a full galley, comfortable seating, passenger ventilation controls, and wide windows gave the H.P. 42 ambiance comparable to some of the ocean liners of the day. The slight kink in the aircrafts fuselage gave rise to its flying banana nickname. Four aircraft were built for Imperials eastern route structure, which included the India and South Africa routes. These aircraft were powered by 9-cylinder 550-HP Bristol radials. The other four aircraft were utilized for the London-Paris shuttle and other continental routes, and were powered by a different engine, and contained a total of 38 passenger seats instead of the 24 passenger configuration for the longer routes. The H.P. 42 had a corrugated metal skin similar to both the Ford and Junkers Tri-motor designs of that era. With a cruising speed of only about 100-MPH the passenger amenities on these aircraft were greatly appreciated, especially if a stiff headwind was encountered. The aircraft, with its large wing area, had an incredibly short take off capability, and could become airborne in only 600 feet. As depicted in Stan Stokes painting Hannibal passes over the Pyramids in Egypt on its approach into Cairo, one of the stop over points on the London to India route. This journey would take more than six days, with no flying at night. Occasionally these aircraft would make stops at unattended desert fuel depots in order to refuel. These aircraft were in service for about eight years, with most of them attaining more than one million flight miles. The eight aircraft in the fleet, Hengist, Helena, Horatius, Hannibal, Heracles, Horsa, Hanno, and Hadrian chalked up more than 100,000 flight hours covering more than 10 million miles. Only one aircraft was lost in a fatal accident, as Hannibal disappeared over the Indian Ocean while being ferried back to England. |
Handley Page H.P. 42 G-AAXC Heracles of Imperial Airways at Croydon by Keith Woodcock. No text for this item |
Croydon Departure by Gerald Coulson. During the early 1930s, Imperial Airways of London introduced to its European and Eastern routes the HP42, an enormous four-engined Handley Page biplane carrying up to 38 passengers at a sedate 100mph. For the first time air travellers could enjoy Pullman comfort, the wicker-work chairs finally being dispensed with. Eight of these outstanding aircraft were built and operated from 1931 to the start of the Second World War. The European services were flown by the four known as the Heracles class with fleet names Horatius, Hengist and Helena. The Hannibal class with Horsa, Hanno and Hadrian serviced the Empire routes. They accumulated over 10 million miles of peacetime operations wthout harm to a single passenger or crew member. Safety became their byword. Depicted here is Horatius, bound for Paris from Croydon. What a sight to behold, truly a galleon of the clouds. |
Night Mail to Paris by Michael Turner. Imperial Airways Handley Page HP42 Hengist prepares to leave Croydon Airport on a misty evening in 1936. |
HP42 |
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