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The Handley Page Heyford was an unusual-looking aircraft due to its fuselage being joined to the upper wing rather than the lower wing, as was more common in biplanes. Although Handley Page strived to make the best of the biplane, various design choices while giving the aircraft a distinct appearance, making it one of the ugliest aircraft of the interwar period.
But don’t you dare judge a book by its cover! This heavy bomber was relatively easy to maintain, super sturdy, and agile – it’s fair to say it was one of the most well-liked aircraft in service! However, before the dawn of the second world war, Handley Page Heyford was given up as a Frontline Bomber! It served no less than 12 royal air force squadrons during her time but was given up as a Frontline Bomber before World War 2.
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why are there a vickers vimy and multiple other "not heyford" included 🙃
My Pap always said, "If it ain't broke; then though, don't fix it son ".
I don't suppose any of these have survived have they?
I find this aircraft beautiful to look at. But maybe that says more about me than it does the Heyford. 🤓
Subscribed – excellent work. 👋👋
An interesting glimpse into a bygone era
The narration reveals a compulsion 4 conservative convention; consider this bird a high-wing monoplane w/ an expanded auxiliary wing formed from a bombload pannier & landing gear support structure combined, & rather handsome @ that ❤️.
Narrator was also ready 2 diss the Whitley. And the Wellesley was no replacement 4 any Heyford; grant this 2 the Overstrands.
Heyford's long service life is more a comment on bloody ministers & the anthill of inert civil servants ever-trying 2 bung things up w/ British affairs, almost making the American cloosterfook look good, bah!
An aircraft only a mother could love, interesting to say the least. 👍
The ventral dustbin gunner's position came with unavoidable drag. It should have been capitalized on by replacing it with a position of similar width but greater length, between the lower fuselage and lower wing. The forward part of which could have held an internal stacked bombload of three or four 1000lb. and the gunners position at the back. With a small increase in weight and probably a decrease in drag compared to an external bombload, I think it would have been an improvement. The only question is whether the centre section of the lower wing could be modified to allow bombs to pass through.
You can add one other achievement of the Heyford. It has a place in Aviation history as it was, in 1937, assigned to the RAE Research Dept and asked to fly a triangular course between 3 towns in Southern England radioing each turn as it was made. (Why you ask?) Because the Air Ministry Technical Research Dept under Dr Watson-Watt with Professor RV Jones were (successfully) tracking the progress of the Heyford using a ground based "Radio Direction Finding"
aka RDFapparatus – Later known as Radar. This makes the Heyford the FIRST Aircraft EVER tracked by radar… (Ref: "Most Secret War" by Dr R.V. Jones)First flight 1930, Introduced 1934, retired 1941. Barely 5 years after retirement from the RAF a specification was issued by the air ministry for the V Bombers in 1946.
Why the O/400 and Harrow at 8:17?
I wonder what the story is regarding frame 0:50. a person has clearly fell from the front of the aircraft. the body language of the four persons indicate that the accident just happened and they are about to give assistance.
I always liked the Heyford.
A Heyford was used in early radar trials to establish proof of concept.
So one could argue that it was one of the most important pre-war aircraft the RAF operated. 🤔
Whilst I’m a succour for the graceful lines of a Spit or a Mossie, I do love an ugly duckling. The BV 141 is one of my favourites purely because it looks so weird. Just so for the Heyford.
It looks more like a relic from WWI than a WWII bomber
There seems to be something missing from your heading photograph, which I find quite fascinating. How on earth did it fly? Just an insignificant little something, like the fuselage joining front of plane and the tail!
The Heyford was, as stated, produced to an Air Ministry spec. What was Handly Page suppose to do, predict the future – ?