Handley Page Hampden
Description
Role	Medium bomber
Crew	Four
First Flight	June 21, 1936
Entered Service	September 1938
Manufacturer	Handley Page, English Electric, CAA
Dimensions
Length	53 ft 7 in	16.33 m
Wingspan	69 ft 2 in	21.98 m
Height	14 ft 4 in	4.37 m
Wing area	688 ft²	63.9 m²
Weights
Empty	11,780 lb	5,344 kg
Loaded	18,756 lb	8,508 kg
Maximum takeoff	lb	kg
Powerplant
Engines	2 x Bristol Pegasus XVIII 9-cylinder radial
Power	2 x 980 hp	2 x 730 kW
Performance
Maximum speed	265 mph (at 15,500 ft)	410 km/h (at 4,724 m)
Combat range	1,095 miles	1,762 km
Ferry range	miles	km
Service ceiling	19,000 ft	5,790 m
Rate of climb	980 ft/min	300 m/min
Wing loading	27.3 lb/ft²	133 kg/m²
Power/Mass	0.104 hp/lb	0.172 kW/kg
Armament
Guns	4 to 6 x .303 in machine guns (Vickers K or Lewis guns)
Bombs	4,000 lb	1,814 kg
Other	1 x 18 in torpedo or mines

The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force that was one of the main front-line bombers at the start of World War II. Along with the Whitley and Wellington bombers, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane raid on Cologne. The newest of the three medium bombers, the Hampden, known as the ""Flying Suitcase", was still unsuited to the modern air war and, after operating mainly at night, it was retired from Bomber Command service in late 1942.

The Hampden was designed to the same specification as the Wellington (Air Ministry Specification B.9/32) and the first prototype flew on June 21, 1936. The first production batch of 180 Mk I Hampdens was built to specification 30/36. No. 49 Squadron received the first Hampdens in September 1938 and a total of 226 were in operation with eight squadrons at the start of the war.

The Mk I had a crew of four; pilot, navigator/bomb aimer, radio operator and rear gunner. The Hampden carried a similar bomb load to the other mediums (Wellington and Whitley) but was almost as fast as the Blenheim yet could carry four times the payload over twice the range. Originally conceived as a fast, manoeuvrable "fighting bomber", the Hampden featured a fixed .303-in Vickers K machine gun fitted in the forward fuselage. To avoid the weight penalties of powered-turrets, the Hampden had a curved Perspex nose fitted with a manual .303-in Lewis gun and two more Lewis guns located in the rear upper and lower positions. The theory was flawed and the guns were thoroughly inadequate for defence so by 1940 the Lewis guns had been replaced by twin Vickers K guns.

Despite its speed and agility, the Hampden was no match for Luftwaffe fighters so its career as a day bomber was brief. It continued to operate at night, on bombing raids over Germany and mine-laying in the North Sea. After being withdrawn from Bomber Command service in 1942, it operated with Coastal Command through 1943 as a long-range torpedo bomber (travelling as far as northern Russia) and a maritime reconnaissance aircraft.

The Hampden was powered by a pair of 980 hp Bristol Pegasus XVIII 9-cylinder radial engines. A Mk II Hampden was designed, powered by two 1,000 hp Wright Cyclone engines but it never went into production.

A total of 1430 Hampdens were built, 500 by Handley Page, 770 by English Electric and in 1940-41, 160 in Canada by Canadian Associated Aircraft.

Handley Page Hereford

In 1936 the RAF had also ordered 150 variants of the Hampden, designated the HP.53 Hereford. These were powered by a pair of 1,000 hp Napier Dagger VIII 24-cylinder H-type air-cooled inline engines but problems with the powerplant resulted in most of those built (by Short & Harland) being re-engined as Hampdens. The surviving Herefords served in training units only.

Related content
Related Development	Handley Page Hereford
Similar Aircraft	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley - Vickers Wellington
Designation Series	HP47 - HP50 - HP51 - HP52 - HP53 - HP54 - HP56 - HP57
Related Lists	List of aircraft of the RAF

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