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Handley Page Hampden

posted by Jiri Wagner

Medium bomber, used during the first part of WWII. It was a remarkable design with a short fuselage and a big tail boom, carrying twin tail fins. The Hampden was nicknamed 'Flying Suitcase'. It had good flying characteristics, but cramped crew accommodation and totally inadequate defensive armament. Heavy losses were suffered on day bomber missions. The Hampden was abandoned by bomber Command in 1942. Some were then converted to torpedo bombers.

General characteristics Hampden Mk. I

Primary function Bomber
Power plant Two 9cylinder Bristol Pegasus XVIII radial engines
Thrust 2x 1,000 HP 2x 746 kW
Wingspan 72.1 ft 21.98 m
Length 53.6 ft 16.33 m
Height 14.33 ft 4.37 m
Weight empty 11,782 lb 5,344 kg
max. 18,757 lb 8,508 kg
Speed max. 255 mph 410 km/h
Initial climb rate 984 ft/min 300 m/min
Ceiling 19,000 ft 5,790 m
Range 1,095 mi 1,762 km
Armament 4x 7.7mm machine gun; 1,814 kg bombs
Crew Four
First flight Prototype 21.6.1936
Date deployed December 1939
Number built 1432
Users GB, Canada, New Zealand

 

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