Handley Page Halifax
 Handley Page Halifax. Photo: British official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
| |
| Make | Handley Page |
|---|---|
| Model | Handley Page Halifax |
| Type | Heavy bomber |
| Country |  United Kingdom
|
| First flight | 25 October 1939 |
| Built | 1940–1946 |
| Status | Retired |
| Number built | 6,178 including 2 H.P.57 prototypes |
| Seats | 7 (pilot, co-pilot/flight engineer, navigator, bomb aimer, radio operator/gunner, two gunners) |
| Engine | 4 × Bristol Hercules XVI, 1615 hp
|
| Service ceiling | 24,000 ft (Mk.III) |
| Max weight | 65,000 lb (Mk.III)
|
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The Handley Page Halifax is a British four-engine heavy bomber of World War II and soon a major part of RAF Bomber Command.[1] In all, 6,178 were built. None are on the U.S. civil register.[1][2]
History
The Halifax began as the twin-engine H.P.56, designed for the same specification as the Avro Manchester and planned around the Rolls-Royce Vulture engine. Handley Page switched it to four Rolls-Royce Merlins.[1] It first flew on October 25, 1939, and entered RAF service on November 13, 1940.[1]
Bomber Command's chief, Arthur Harris, rated it below the Lancaster, partly because it carried less, but many of its crews disagreed.[1] Halifaxes flew 83,138 sorties with Bomber Command, mostly night bombing but also mine-laying, anti-submarine patrols and radio countermeasures.[1] Production went on until April 1945, and Pakistan flew the last ones until 1961.[1]
Specifications (Mk.III)
| Item | Mk.III |
|---|---|
| Crew | 7 (pilot, co-pilot/flight engineer, navigator, bomb aimer, radio operator/gunner, two gunners) |
| Length | 71 ft 7 in |
| Wingspan | 104 ft 2 in |
| Height | 20 ft 9 in |
| Wing area | 1190 sq ft |
| Empty weight | 37,870 lb |
| Maximum takeoff weight | 65,000 lb |
| Engine | 4 × Bristol Hercules XVI, 1615 hp (14-cylinder air-cooled sleeve-valve radial piston engines) |
| Propeller | constant-speed propellers |
| Maximum speed | 282 mph |
| Service ceiling | 24,000 ft |
| Rate of climb | 750 ft/min |
Figures as given in the Wikipedia article and its sources.[1]
Photos
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Handley Page Halifax. Photo: Hines, Ronald Maxwell, Public domain -
Handley Page Halifax. Photo: see the file page on Commons, Public domain -
Handley Page Halifax. Photo: RuthAS, CC BY 3.0 -
A Royal Air Force Handley Page Halifax B.V Series 1 (Special) (s/n EB151, "OO-R") of No. Photo: Flying Officer W. Bellamy, Royal Air Force official photographer, Public domain -
A Handley Page Halifax A.V Series 1 (Special) glider tug (EB139, "NN"), of No. Photo: No. 295 Squadron RAF, Public domain -
Handley Page Halifax. Photo: Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer, Smith Jack?, Public domain -
Handley Page Halifax. Photo: Miller (Flt Lt), Royal Air Force official photographer, Public domain -
Handley Page Halifax. Photo: Lea T (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer, Public domain
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All photos are from Wikimedia Commons; click a photo for its full credit and license.
Buying a Handley Page Halifax
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Wikipedia, "Handley Page Halifax", read November 1, 2026. Airplane Wiki's text is written in its own words; facts are checked against this article and its sources.
- ↑ Federal Aviation Administration, Releasable Aircraft Database, file dated October 30, 2026. Valid registrations of fixed-wing airplanes whose FAA maker and model names belong to this family. Airplane Wiki uses only counts from this file, never owner names or addresses.