Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow

Infobox Aircraft
name=H.P.54 Harrow


caption=Harrow of No. 115 Squadron RAF
type=Heavy bomber
manufacturer=Handley Page
designer=
first flight=10 October 1936
introduced=1937
retired=1945
status=
primary user=RAF
more users=Fleet Air Arm
produced=1936-1937
number built=100
unit cost=
variants with their own articles=The Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow was a British heavy bomber of the 1930s built by Handley Page and used by the Royal Air Force, being used for most of the Second World War as a transport. It was a twin-engine, high-wing monoplane with a fixed undercarriage.

Development

The Harrow was designed by Dr. G.V. Lachmann in response to Air Ministry Specification 29/35; it was a derivative of his earlier Handley Page H.P.51 design, which was itself a monoplane conversion of the three-engined Handley Page H.P.43 biplane.Cite book |author=Mason, Francis K |authorlink =|title=The British Bomber since 1914 |publisher=Putnam Aeronautical Books|location=London |year=1994 |id= ISBN 0 85177 861 5 While the competition for specification B.3/34 was won by the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, the Air Ministry ordered 100 "off the drawing board" as an interim type pending development of more advanced designs under Specification B.29/35. This required that the H.P.54 be capable of being adapted as a transport once no longer needed as a bomber .

Powered by Bristol Pegasus X engines of 830 hp, the first Harrow flew on 10 October 1936 from Radlett. The Harrow was designed to have powered nose, dorsal and tail turrets, and carried a bomb load of 3,000 lb under the cabin floor.

Operational history

The first Harrow was delivered to No. 214 Squadron RAF on 13 January 1937, with all 100 delivered by the end of the year, with five bomber squadrons of the RAF being equipped with the Harrow.

The Fleet Air Arm ordered 100 Harrows but Handley Page lacked the production capacity to supply them.

Despite being fitted with cabin heating by steam boilers using exhaust heat, the Harrow gained a reputation of being a cold and draughty aircraft owing to the turret design. As the delivery of more modern bombers increased, the Harrow was phased out as a front line bomber by the end of 1939, but continued to be used as a transport.

271 Squadron was formed on 1 May 1940 with a mixture of Harrows, Bristol Bombays and impressed civil aircraft. While the other aircraft equipping 271 squadron were replaced by Douglas Dakotas, it retained a flight of Harrows (sometimes nicknamed "Sparrows" due to their new nose fairings to give a more streamlined fuselage) as transports and ambulance aircraft until the end of the Second World War in Europe.

Harrows were used occasionally to operate risky flights between England and Gibraltar, two being lost on this route . Harrows were used to support the Allied forces in their advance into Northwest Europe, being used to evacuate wounded from the Arnhem operation in September 1944Cite book|author=Mondey, David|authorlink =|title=The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II|publisher=Aerospace Publishing|location=London|edition=|year=1994|isbn= 1 85152 668 4. Seven Harrows were destroyed by a low level attack by Luftwaffe fighters of JG 26 and JG 54 on Brussels-Evere airfield as part of Operation Bodenplatte, the German attack on allied airfields in North West Europe on 1 January 1945 , leaving only five surviving Harrows. These were eventually retired on 25 May 1945.

The Harrow also served in a novel operational role at the height of the German night Blitz against Britain in the winter of 1940-1941, with six Harrows equipping No. 93 Squadron RAF which used lone Harrows to tow Long Aerial Mines (LAM) into the path of enemy bombers. The LAM was an explosive charge on the end of a long cable. This unorthodox tactic was credited with the confirmed destruction of six German Bombers The experiment was however judged of poor value and the planned deployment of Douglas Havocs in the LAM role cancelled.

Nine Harrows were also used by 782 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm as transports cite web |url= http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Aircraft/Harrow.html|title= Fleet Air Arm Archive, Handley Page Harrow|accessdate=2007-03-29 |format= |work= ] .

After flight refuelling trials three Harrows were operated by Flight Refuelling Limited. They were used to refuel Short Empire Flying Boats on transatlantic services, two were based in Gander, Newfoundland and one based in Ireland. In 1940 the two aircraft based at Gander were impressed into service with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Variants

;Harrow Mk.I:Powered by two 830 hp Bristol Pegasus X engines, 19 built.;Harrow Mk.II:Powered by two 925 hp Pegasus XX engines, 81 built.

Operators

;flag|Canada|1921
*Royal Canadian Air Force;UK
*Royal Air Force
**No. 37 Squadron RAF
**No. 75 Squadron RAF
**No. 93 Squadron RAF
**No. 115 Squadron RAF
**No. 214 Squadron RAF
**No. 215 Squadron RAF
**No. 271 Squadron RAF
**No. 420 Flight RAF
**No. 1680 Flight RAF
*Fleet Air Arm
**782 Naval Air Squadron
*Flight Refuelling Limited

pecifications (Harrow II)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?= plane
jet or prop?= prop

ref=P Lewis, The British Bomber since 1914cite book
url=
title=The British Bomber since 1914
last=Lewis
first=Peter
edition= Third Edition
date=
year=1980
accessdate=
work=
publisher=Putnam
location= London
isbn= 0 370 30265 6]
crew=Five
capacity= 20 fully equipped soldiers or 12 stretcher cases (used as transport) Cite book|author=Thetford, Owen|title=Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1918-57|edition= 1st edition |publisher=Putnam |location= London|year=1957|id=
length main= 82 ft 2 in
length alt= 25.05 m
span main= 88 ft 5 in
span alt= 26.96 m
height main= 19 ft 5 in
height alt= 5.92 m
area main= 1,090 ft²
area alt= 101.3 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 13,600 lb
empty weight alt= 6182 kg
loaded weight main= 23,000 lb
loaded weight alt= 10455 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=

engine (prop)=Bristol Pegasus XX
type of prop=nine-cylinder radial engines
number of props=2
power main= 925 hp
power alt= 690 kW
power original=
max speed main= 174 knots
max speed alt= 200 mph, 322 km/h
cruise speed main= 142 knots
cruise speed alt= 163 mph, 262 km/h
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main= 1096 nm
range alt= 1260 mi, 2029 km
ceiling main= 22,800 ft
ceiling alt= 6950 m
climb rate main= 710 ft/min
climb rate alt= 3.6 m/s
loading main= 21.1 lb/ft²
loading alt= 103 kg/m²
thrust/weight=
power/mass main= 0.0804 hp/lb
power/mass alt= 0.132 kW/kg
more performance=

armament=* Four 0.303-in (7.7-mm) Lewis machine guns

* Up to 3000 lb bombs internally.

avionics=

ee also

aircontent

related=

similar aircraft=
*Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
*Bristol Bombay
*Junkers Ju 52

lists=
*List of aircraft of the RAF

see also=
*Havoc Mk I (Pandora) intruder - also used for Long Aerial Mine (LAM) operations

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Barnes, C. H. "Handley Page Aircraft Since 1907". London: Putnam & Company, Ltd., 1987.
* Clayton, Donald C. "Handley Page, an Aircraft Album". Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd., 1969. ISBN 0-7110-0094-8.

External links

* [http://www.jaapteeuwen.com/ww2aircraft/html%20pages/HANDLEY%20PAGE%20HP54%20HARROW%20(AND%20SPARROW).htm British Aircraft of WWII]
* [http://www.handleypage.com/Aircraft_hp54.html HANDLEY PAGE H.P.54 HARROW]
* [http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/bc_aircraft2.html Bomber Command Aircraft]
* [http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=232 Harrow at British Aircraft Directory]