Handley Page V/1500

{{Short description|British WWI Heavy-Bomber}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}} {{Infobox aircraft |name = Handley Page V/1500 |image = Handley Page V-1500.jpg |caption =  |type = Heavy bomber |manufacturer = Handley Page |designer = George Rudolph Volkert |first_flight = 22 May 1918 |introduction = 1918 |retired = |status =  |primary_user = Royal Air Force |more_users =  |produced =  |number_built = 32-40{{efn|Contracts were cancelled due to the Armistice and production stopped, sources differ as to the actual number completed, they vary between 32 and 40}} |developed_from =  |variants = }} The '''Handley Page V/1500''' was a British night-flying heavy bomber built by Handley Page towards the end of the First World War. It was a large four-engined biplane, which resembled a larger version of Handley Page's earlier O/100 and O/400 bombers, intended to bomb Berlin from East Anglian airfields. The end of the war stopped the V/1500 being used against Germany, but a single aircraft was used to carry out the first flight from England to India, and later carried out a bombing raid on Kabul during the Third Anglo-Afghan War. It was colloquially known within the fledgling Royal Air Force as the "Super Handley". The V/1500 which was shipped to Canada to attempt a transatlantic flight was flown in the US, and in 1919 crash-landed in a field at Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania. Photos appeared in the 20 February 1919 issue of the ''Bradford Journal'' newspaper.

==Development and design==

thumb|Handley Page V/1500 with wings folded The V/1500 was produced to meet a 1917 British Air Board requirement for a large night bomber capable of reaching deeper into Germany than the Handley Page O/100 which had recently entered service, carrying a 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) bombload.<ref name="Bowyer p122">Bowyer 1992, p.122.</ref> It was thus capable of bombing Berlin from bases in East Anglia.<ref name="Mason Bomber p108">Mason 1994, p.108.</ref>

While the V/1500 had a similar fuselage to that of the O/400, it had longer-span, four-bay biplane wings and was powered by four 375 hp (280 kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engines mounted in two nacelles, with two engines pulling in the conventional manner and two pushing, rather than the two Eagle engines of the smaller bomber. Construction was of wood and fabric materials. A relatively novel design feature was the gunner's position at the extreme rear of the fuselage, between the four fins.<ref name="Bowyer p122"/>

Owing to pressure of work at Handley Page's Cricklewood factory and to ensure security, the first prototype was constructed by Harland and Wolff at Belfast, Northern Ireland, being assembled at Cricklewood and first flying on 22 May 1918.<ref name="Bowyer p122-3">Bowyer 1992, pp.122–123.</ref> Orders were placed with a number of companies (including Harland and Wolff, Beardmore, Handley Page, Grahame-White and Alliance Aircraft for a total of 210 V/1500s at £12,500 apiece, although only 40 aircraft were completed, with a further 22 produced as spares.{{sfn|Jones|2009b|p=156}}<ref name="Mason Bomber p111">Mason 1994, p.111.</ref> The Beardmore order was for fifty machines in two batches, the first batch was for 20 and the second batch for 30. The company accounts state production continuing into 1921.The test pilot for Beardmore was Clifford Prodger and the aircraft were delivered from Inchinnan Aerodrome.<ref name="University of Glasgow">University of Glasgow Archive Services - UGD 100/8/1921"</ref>

==Service== [[File:Handley Page V1500 at Ambala, India 1919.jpg|thumb|Handley Page V1500, J1936 at Ambala, India, 1919; 130km SE of Rissalpur, from where it bombed Kabul; showing side windows removed & mechanic)]]

Three aircraft were delivered to No. 166 Squadron at RAF Bircham Newton (Norfolk) during October 1918. The squadron commander did not receive clear orders for his mission until 8 November, due to debate at high level. A mission was scheduled for that night (to bomb Berlin, fly on to Prague as the Austro-Hungarian forces had surrendered by then, refuel, re-arm, and bomb Düsseldorf on the way back). No mission was flown - a technical expert insisted that all the engines on one aircraft be changed. The same happened the following day (but with a different aircraft). The three aircraft were about to taxi out after the second set of engine changes when an excited ground crew member ran out to stop them — the armistice had just been declared.

One of the original batch of aircraft (serial J1936, ''Old Carthusian'') went on to record two significant 'firsts'. On 13 December 1918, the bomber, flown by Major A.C.S. Maclaren and Captain Robert Halley, accompanied by Brigadier-general N.D.K. MacEwen, made the first ever 'through-flight' from England to India. Taking off from Britain the aircraft flew via Rome, Malta, Cairo, and Baghdad, finally reaching Karachi on 15 January 1919.<ref name="Bowyer p135, 338">Bowyer 1992, pp135, 138.</ref>

The same aircraft played a pivotal role in ending the Third Anglo-Afghan War. On 25 May 1919, flying from Risalpur piloted by Captain Halley and with Lt E. Villiers as observer, the V/1500 reached Kabul in three hours.<ref>MacKay,& J. M. Bruce, Air Pictorial August 1962</ref> Of its payload of four 112 lb (51 kg) bombs on improvised bomb racks removed from B.E.2cs and 16 20 lb (10 kg) bombs carried in the fuselage and dropped by hand, four bombs hit the royal palace.<ref name="Bowyer p142">Bowyer 1992, p.142.</ref> Although the bombing did little physical damage, it had a great psychological impact on the citizens - the ladies of the royal harem rushed onto the streets in terror, causing great scandal. A few days later King Amanullah sued for peace, bringing an end to the war after less than one month of hostilities.<ref name="Bowyer p142"/> J1936 ended its life being consumed by termites.<ref name="Bowyer p142"/>

The Handley Page V/1500 aircraft ''Atlantic'' was shipped to Newfoundland in early 1919 to attempt the first non-stop Transatlantic flight.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kaisersbunker.com/rfc/rfc13.htm |title=Fabric and Postcard from the Parrsboro Nova Scotia Handley Page V/1500 |work=Kaisersbunker.com |access-date=27 March 2017}}</ref> However, the prize was won by Alcock and Brown in a Vickers Vimy in June 1919. The crew departed for New York City but was forced to land in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia on 5 July 1919 where it was repaired over the course of the summer. The ''Atlantic'' continued to New York on 9 October 1919 carrying with it the first airmail from Canada to the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.town.parrsboro.ns.ca/history.html |title=History: The Handley Page |work=Town of Parrsboro |access-date=27 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221043948/http://www.town.parrsboro.ns.ca/history.html |archive-date=21 December 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

They were eventually replaced in service by the Vickers Vimy.

==Survivors==

No complete example of the V/1500 remains. The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford holds several relics in store, including three propellers, four sections of tailplane and a compass<ref>[https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/archive-exhibitions/not-quite-extinct/handley-page-v1500/what-do-we-have.aspx Handley Page V/1500 - What Do We Have?] Royal Air Force Museum Cosford. Accessed 04 August 2017.</ref>

==Operators==

'''{{UK}}''' * Royal Air Force ** No. 166 Squadron RAF ** No. 167 Squadron RAF ** No. 274 Squadron RAF

==Specifications (V/1500)==

{{Aircraft specs |ref=Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I<ref name=JFAoWWI>{{cite book |title=Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I |first=W. E. De. B. |last=Whittaker |contribution=forward |contributor=John W.R. Taylor |date=1990 |publisher=Military Press |location=New York, N.Y. |isbn=978-0517033760 |page=74}}</ref> |prime units?=imp  |crew=8-9 |length ft=64 |length in=0 |length note= |span ft=126 |span in=0 |span note= |height ft=23 |height in=0 |height note= |wing area sqft=2800 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight lb=15000 |empty weight note= |gross weight lb=30000 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity={{cvt|1000|impgal|USgal l|0}} |more general=  |eng1 number=4 |eng1 name=Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII |eng1 type=V-12 water-cooled piston engines |eng1 hp=375 |eng1 note=<br> :* '''Alternative engines:''' ::* 4x {{cvt|500|hp|0}} Galloway Atlantic ::* 4x {{cvt|450|hp|0}} Napier Lion ::* 4x {{cvt|400|hp|0}} Liberty L-12

|prop blade number=2 |prop name=wooden fixed pitch tractor propellers (x2) |prop dia ft=13 |prop dia in=5 |prop dia note=, driven at 1,080 rpm. ::::4-bladed wooden fixed-pitch pusher propellers (x2), {{cvt|10|ft|4|in|1}} diameter, driven at 1,080 rpm.

|max speed mph=103 |max speed note=at sea level ::::{{cvt|99|mph|kn km/h|0}} at {{cvt|6500|ft|0}} ::::{{cvt|95|mph|kn km/h|0}} at {{cvt|10000|ft|0}} *'''Landing speed:''' {{cvt|50|mph|kn km/h|0}} |cruise speed mph= |cruise speed note= |stall speed mph= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed note= |minimum control speed mph= |minimum control speed note= |range miles= |range note= |combat range miles= |combat range note= |ferry range miles= |ferry range note= |endurance=14 hours |ceiling ft= |ceiling note= |climb rate ftmin= |climb rate note= |time to altitude=<br> :* {{cvt|5000|ft|0}} in 8 minutes :* {{cvt|10000|ft|0}} in 21 minutes |wing loading lb/sqft=10 |wing loading note= |fuel consumption lb/mi= |power/mass={{cvt|0.0476|hp/lb}} |thrust/weight=

|more performance=  |guns= 3 × {{cvt|.303|in|2}} Lewis guns, in nose, dorsal and tail positions |bombs= Up to {{cvt|7500|lb}} of bombs: 30 × {{cvt|250|lb|0}} carried internally }}

==See also== {{Aircontent  |related=*Handley Page Type O  |similar aircraft=*Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI  |lists= * List of bomber aircraft  |see also= }}

==Notes== {{Notelist}}

==References==

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

===Bibliography=== {{Refbegin}} * Barnes, C. H. ''Handley Page Aircraft Since 1907''. London: Putnam & Company, Ltd., 1987. {{ISBN|0-85177-803-8}}. * Bowyer, Chaz. ''Handley Page Bombers of the First World War''. Bourne End, Bucks, UK:Aston Publications, 1992. {{ISBN|0-946627-68-1}}. * Clayton, Donald C. ''Handley Page, an Aircraft Album''. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd., 1969. {{ISBN|0-7110-0094-8}}. * {{cite magazine |last=Halley |first=Jock |title=The Kabul Raid |magazine=Aeroplane Monthly |date=August 1979 |volume=7 |issue=8 |pages=437–441}} * {{cite book |ref={{harvid|Jones|2009b}} |title=The War in the Air Being the Part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force: Appendices |volume=VII |last=Jones |first=H. A. |year=2009 |orig-year=1937 |publisher=Clarendon Press |edition=Imperial War Museum and Naval & Military Press, Uckfield |location=London |isbn=978-1-84342-411-6}} * Mason, Francis K. ''The British Bomber since 1914''. London:Putnam, 1994. {{ISBN|0-85177-861-5}}. * Mac Kay, Charles E. "Beardmore Aviation". Glasgow: A. Mackay(Publisher) Ltd. {{ISBN|9780957344303}} * Mac Kay, Charles E. "Clydeside Aviation Vol 1 and 2" Glasgow:A. Mac Kay(Publisher) Ltd. {{ISBN|9780957344389|9780957344372}} * Thetford, O.G. & Riding E.J., Aircraft of the 1914- 1918 War. Marlow: Harleyford Publications. 1954 * University of Glasgow, Archive Services. “William Beardmore & Co. Ltd. Records (UGD 100). Listed in The National Archives (UK), Creator Record F169746.”https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F169746. {{Refend}}

==Further reading== * {{cite report |last=Kent |first=W. D. |title=Biplanes and Bombsights: British Bombing in World War I |type=Report |url=http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA366808 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407054738/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA366808 |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 April 2017 |year=1999 |publisher=Air University |location=Maxwell Air Force Base, AL |access-date=6 April 2017 |docket=ADA366808 |oclc=831693694}}

==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Handley Page V/1500}} {{Handley Page aircraft}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Handley Page V 1500}} Category:1910s British bomber aircraft V 1500 Category:Four-engined push-pull aircraft Category:World War I strategic bombing Category:Aircraft first flown in 1918 Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear