Handley Page Manx

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}} {{Use British English|date=January 2018}} {{Infobox aircraft |name = HP.75 Manx |image = Handley Page H.P.75 Manx.jpg |caption = Modern radio-controlled model of the Manx |type = Experimental |manufacturer = [[Handley Page]] |national_origin=United Kingdom |designer = [[Gustav Lachmann]] |first_flight = 11 June 1943 |introduction = |retired = |status = |primary_user = |more_users = |produced = |number_built = 1 |unit cost = |developed_from = |variants = }}

The '''Handley Page HP. 75 Manx''' was a British [[experimental aircraft]] designed by [[Handley Page]] that flew test flights in the early 1940s for possible transport, bomber and fighter aircraft projects. It was notable for its unconventional design characteristics, being a twin-engine [[tailless aircraft|tailless design]] of [[pusher configuration]].

==Design and development== The Manx (named after a well-known breed of [[Manx (cat)|stub-tailed housecat]])<ref>Brookes 2011, p. 6</ref> was built to participate in a flight research program investigating problems associated with tailless aircraft. The partially-[[swept wing]]s supported the vertical stabilizers of a [[twin tail]], with [[elevon]]s for pitch and roll control.

Construction of the prototype was subcontracted to [[Dart Aircraft]] of Dunstable.<ref name="Exper p5-6">Barnes 1980, pp.5–6.</ref> There were serious issues encountered early in the development phase that caused a delay in the testing program. After it was delivered in 1939, redesigns had to be made because the Manx was too heavy, and there were also structural integrity issues with the main [[Spar (aviation)|spar]].

An unorthodox aspect of the Manx design incorporated into the aircraft was that the main [[Landing gear|undercarriage]] was retractable, while the nose gear remained fixed.

[[Taxiing|Taxi]] tests began in early 1940, but inspection revealed serious deterioration of the wing structures, which required extensive repair.<ref name="Exper p7">Barnes 1980, p.7.</ref> These and further problems delayed the maiden flight until June 1943 (sources conflict as to whether it was 11 or 25 June.) The first flight was terminated early when the [[Canopy (aircraft)|canopy]] was lost in mid-flight, but the pilot managed to land the plane safely. In December 1945 the Manx's regular crew were killed flying the [[Handley Page Hermes]] prototype. The Manx had accumulated only about 17 hours of flight time over approximately 30 flights when flight tests were finally terminated in April 1946. The sole example built was scrapped in 1952.

==Specifications (HP.75 Manx)== [[File:KN HandleyPage HP75 Manx 1942.jpg|thumb|Handley Page Manx]] {{Aircraft specs |ref=Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II<ref>{{Ref Jane's|Handley Page Manx|126}}</ref> |prime units?=imp  |crew=two, pilot and flight test observer |length m=5.5 |span m=12.2 |wing area sqft=246 |empty weight lb=3,000 |gross weight lb=4,000  |eng1 number=2 |eng1 name=[[de Havilland Gipsy Major]] |eng1 type=4-cyl. inverted air-cooled inline piston engines |eng1 hp=140  |max speed mph=150 |ceiling ft=15,000 }}

==See also== {{Aircontent| |related= |similar aircraft= *[[Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52]] *[[Kayaba Ku-4]] *[[Miles M.39B Libellula|Miles Libellula]] |see also= |lists= *[[List of experimental aircraft]] *[[List of tailless aircraft]] }}

==References== ===Notes=== {{Reflist}}

===Bibliography=== {{Refbegin}} * Barnes, Chris. "Tailess Experimental". ''Aeroplane Monthly'', January 1980, Volume 8 No. 1. pp. 4–9. * Barnes, C. H. ''Handley Page Aircraft Since 1907''. London: Putnam & Company, Ltd., 1987. {{ISBN|0-85177-803-8}}. * Clayton, Donald C. ''Handley Page, an Aircraft Album''. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd., 1969. {{ISBN|0-7110-0094-8}}. *Brookes, Andrew. ''Victor Units of the Cold War''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2011. * Jackson, A.J. ''British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 2''. Putnam & Company, Ltd., 1973 (2nd Edition). {{ISBN|0-370-10010-7}} {{Refend}}

==External links== {{commons category|Handley Page Manx}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930170928/http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=234 Handley Page Manx] – British Aircraft Directory * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070217130702/http://www.handleypage.com/Aircraft_hp75.html Handley Page H.P. 75 Manx]}} – British Aircraft Directory * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090107205207/http://www.jaapteeuwen.com/ww2aircraft/html%20pages/HANDLEY%20PAGE%20HP75.htm Handley Page HP.75] – British Aircraft of World War II * [http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/flying%20wings/britain.htm History of the flying wing] – Century of flight * [http://www.diseno-art.com/encyclopedia/strange_vehicles/handley_page_hp75_manx.html Handley Page HP.75 Manx] – diseno-art.com

[[Category:1940s British experimental aircraft]] [[Category:Handley Page aircraft|Manx]] [[Category:Twin-engined pusher aircraft]] [[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1943]] [[Category:Mid-wing aircraft]] [[Category:Tailless aircraft]] [[Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear]]