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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0697.PDF
•• •IBiMHHSBM NOVEMBER 30, 1922 THE HANDLEY PAGE " HANLEY " TORPEDO 'PLANE As the first aeroplane to be built for some specific purpose other than the testing of slotted wings, although incor porating this feature as an essential part of the design, very •exceptional interest attaches to the Handley Page " Hanley," photographs of the first of which appeared in our issues of November 2 and November 16, 1922. By the permission of the Air Ministry it is now possible to give a detailed descrip tion of this machine, with the restriction that no mention is made of the size and weight of the armament which the machine was designed to carry. The particular form of " frightfulness " which the " Hanley " is meant to hand out includes a torpedo, but beyond mentioning this fact as the 450 H.P. Napier "Lion" Engine which the " Hanley " was designed, and which have nothing to do with the use of slotted wings—the control mechanism of a slotted wing need not be either complicated or heavy. The general lines of the " Hanley " are well illustrated in the accompanying scale drawings, which form a useful supple ment to the photographs which we have already published. The undercarriage looks needlessly complicated, and as a matter of fact, a more recent model (the present notes refer to the first of the type) shows much cleaner lines, as will be seen from the accompanying photographs. Owing to the restrictions already indicated, we propose in the following description to treat the " Hanlev " solely as an THE HANDLEY PAGE "HANLEY " TORPEDO 'PLANE : Front view. •raison d'etre of the divided undercarriage we are not permitted to go into details as to mounting, form of discharging, etc., ofjthe torpedo. General Design Having been designed for work from a ship, the " Hanley " had to incorporate certain features, such as low landing speed, small overall size, and folding wings. The first two desi derata form the reason for the use of slotted wings, while the last was a necessary evil (from the aircraft designer's point of view), which at first threatened to complicate to a very ;on- siderable extent the mechanism for opening and closing the slots. It will be shown presently, however, that these com plications have been reduced to a minimum, and that—apart from the number of " gadgets " necessitated by the work for interesting aeroplane, without too much reference to features which are connected with the special purpose for which the machine was designed. In other words, we shall deal with such aerodynamic and structural features as might be incor porated in any machine, no matter of which type. Ill this way our description may prove disappointing to a few who are interested in the machine chiefly as an instrument of war ; but it should appeal no less on that account to those with whom the machine as an aeroplane is of first importance and the use to which it might be put a secondary consideration. The Fuselage In the main, the fuselage of the " Hanley " is of orthodox design, being a girder built up of spruce longerons and struts, THE HANDLEY PAGE " HANLEY " : Side view. 697 0 2 MM
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