A four-engine biplane airliner built by Handley Page for Imperial Airways from 1930, with a 130 ft wing and cabins styled like Pullman railway carriages. Eight were built, they carried passengers for almost a decade without a fatal accident, and none survived the Second World War. Developed by Handley Page.
A four-engine biplane airliner built by Handley Page for Imperial Airways from 1930, with a 130 ft wing and cabins styled like Pullman railway carriages. Developed by Handley Page.
See Specifications for full detail.
The Handley Page H.P.42 is a four-engine British biplane airliner built by Handley Page for Imperial Airways, which put it into service in 1931. It has a 130 ft wingspan and four Bristol Jupiter radial engines, and it carried 24 passengers on the Eastern routes or 38 on the European routes. [1]
Eight were built, four H.P.42s and four H.P.45s, and all had names beginning with H. For nearly a decade of civil service they flew without causing a fatal accident, and by the end of 1940 all had been destroyed. [1] [2]
In 1928 Imperial Airways sought replacements for its de Havilland Hercules and Armstrong Whitworth Argosy on the long Empire routes. The tender covered three- and four-engine aircraft for European and Eastern services. It demanded a stall speed no higher than 52 mph, hands-off flight, and the ability to hold altitude with one engine out, and it assumed each passenger weighed 165 lb. Bonuses were offered for exceeding the specification and penalties for falling short or arriving late. [1]
Handley Page tendered for all four requirements and won orders for four H.P.42s for the Eastern routes to India and Africa and four H.P.45s for the Western, European routes. Hannibal first flew on 14 November 1930 with Squadron Leader Thomas Harold England at the controls. [1]
The biplane wings had no flying or landing wires and were braced instead by large Warren girder struts, with ailerons and Handley Page slots on the upper wing only. The structure was all metal except the fabric-covered wing surfaces and rear fuselage, and the tail had three rudders. The main fuel tanks held about 500 gallons in the upper wing. [3] [4]
The slow speed was a result of the specification. Imperial needed an aircraft that could land on grass or unpaved fields, and that required a large wing area, so the maximum wing loading was less than 48.2 kg per square metre. Cabins were styled like Pullman railway carriages, with wide windows and full onboard service, and travel was mostly limited to wealthy or prominent passengers. [1]
Hannibal received its certificate of airworthiness in May 1931, and paying passengers first flew to Paris on 11 June 1931. It was the largest airliner in regular use at the time. Helena flew the first Imperial mail service from Croydon to Cape Town on 20 January 1932. [1] [5]
On 8 August 1931 Hannibal lost a port lower engine on a Croydon to Paris flight, and debris from the failed engine damaged the engine beside it. The crew made a forced landing at Five Oak Green with 20 aboard and no major injuries. Heracles reached a million miles on 23 July 1937. In nine years the H.P.42 and H.P.45 fleet flew more than 10 million miles, carrying roughly 300,000 passengers, without a passenger fatality. [1] [4]
On 9 December 1937 Horatius was struck by lightning while crossing the Channel from Paris to Croydon and landed at Lympne with minor wing damage. Hengist was destroyed in an airship hangar fire at Karachi on 31 May 1937. [1] [2]
The aircraft were withdrawn from civil service on 1 September 1939 and impressed. Horatius hit trees and was destroyed at Tiverton on 7 November 1939. Hannibal disappeared over the Gulf of Oman on 1 March 1940 with eight aboard, including Group Captain Harold Whistler and Sir A. T. Pannirselvam. No trace was found, and the cause is unknown. [1]
On 19 March 1940 a gale at Whitchurch Airport, Bristol destroyed Hanno and Heracles, which had been impressed on 3 March. Horsa burned after a forced landing at Moresby Parks near Whitehaven on 7 August 1940, and Hadrian was torn from its moorings in a gale at Doncaster on 6 December 1940 and wrecked. Helena was grounded in 1940 after a hard landing, and scrapped in 1941, except for its front fuselage, which the Royal Navy used for several years. A propeller from Horatius is displayed at the Croydon Airport Visitor Centre. [1] [2]
The Handley Page H.P.42 has a top speed of 104 kn (120 mph / 193 km/h).
A total of 8 were built.
No, the Handley Page H.P.42 has been retired. It retired in 1940.
The Handley Page H.P.42 first flew on November 14th 1930.
The Handley Page H.P.42 has a range of 500 mi (805 km, 434 nmi).
Operators included Imperial Airways, British Overseas Airways Corporation and Royal Air Force.
No H.P.42 survived the Second World War, so none appears on Flightradar24. The fleet's story is told at the Croydon Airport Visitor Centre, which displays a propeller from Horatius.
| Performance | |
| Max Speed | 104 kn (120 mph / 193 km/h) |
|---|---|
| Cruise SpeedCruise Speed — The economical speed an aircraft sustains for the bulk of a flight - lower than maximum speed, chosen for the best balance of time and fuel burn. Glossary → | 83 kn (95 mph / 153 km/h), range 95 to 105 mph depending on source |
| RangeRange — How far an aircraft can fly without refuelling. Quoted figures vary with payload, speed and reserves - see also ferry range and combat radius. Glossary → | 500 mi |
| Service CeilingService Ceiling — The highest altitude at which an aircraft can still climb at a useful rate (typically 100 ft/min). Above it, the air is too thin to keep climbing meaningfully. Glossary → | Not published |
| Airframe & Weight | |
| Wingspan | 130 ft 0 in |
| Length | 92 ft 2 in |
| Height | 27 ft 0 in |
| WeightMTOW — Maximum Take-Off Weight - the heaviest an aircraft is certified to be at the start of its take-off run, including fuel, crew, payload and the aircraft itself. Glossary → | empty: 17,740 lb; MTOW: 28,000 lb |
| Power & Payload | |
| Engines | Four Bristol Jupiter XIF nine-cylinder radial piston engines, 490 hp each (H.P.45: 555 hp Jupiter XFBM) |
| Crew | 4 |
| CapacityPayload — Everything an aircraft is carrying that isn't the aircraft or its fuel: passengers, cargo, or weapons. Payload and fuel usually trade off against each other. Glossary → | 24 passengers on the H.P.42E (38 on the H.P.45), plus 14.2 cubic metres of mail and baggage |
| Program & Service | |
| Manufacturer | Handley Page |
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| First Flight | November 14th 1930 |
| Service Entry | June 11th 1931 |
| Retired | 1940 |
| Number Built | 8 |
| Unit Cost | About £21,000 in 1931 (roughly $102,000), around $2.3M in 2026 dollars, adjusted for CPI inflation |
6 notable events involving the H.P.42, 1931 to 1940. 8 deaths are recorded across the 2 of these with a figure listed. Curated rather than exhaustive.
Hannibal lost a port lower engine on a Croydon to Paris flight, and debris from the failed engine damaged the neighbouring one. The crew made a forced landing at Five Oak Green with 20 aboard and no major injuries.
Hengist burned in an airship hangar fire at Karachi, India.
Horatius was struck by lightning on a Paris to Croydon crossing and landed at Lympne with minor wing damage. No deaths are recorded.
The impressed Horatius hit trees at Tiverton and was destroyed. Casualty figures are not given.
Hannibal disappeared over the Gulf of Oman with eight aboard, including Group Captain Harold Whistler and Sir A. T. Pannirselvam. No trace was found and the cause is unknown.
A gale at Whitchurch Airport, Bristol destroyed both Hanno and Heracles on the same night.
| H.P.42E (Eastern) | The long-range version for Imperial Airways routes to India and Africa, with four 490 hp Bristol Jupiter XIF engines. Four were ordered and named Hannibal, Hanno, Hadrian and Horsa. Cabins held 6 passengers (later 12) forward and 12 aft, 24 in total, with more baggage space than the Western version for long hauls. |
| H.P.42W / H.P.45 (Western) | The European-route version, with 555 hp supercharged Jupiter XFBM engines. Four were built and named Heracles, Horatius, Hengist and Helena, with 18 passengers forward and 20 aft, 38 in total. Handley Page's own designation was H.P.45, though the H.P.42W label was widely used. Two of them were later converted to H.P.42 standard. |
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