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Aviation History
1940
1940 - 1448.PDF
450 MAY 16, 1940 " Line astern " by Hampdens as seen from the lower gun position on a machine of the same type. THE "0/400" TRADITION With the Hampden Bombers By H. F. KING Illustrated with "Flight" Photographs) THE official history of Great War No. 1 recordsnumerous night attacks on enemy centres byHandley Page 0/400 bombers. A typical men- tion reads "Two Handley Pages of No. 215 Squadron left their aerodrome at 8 p.m. on the 25th August on the first attempt to be made by the Squadron to attack the Badische works. One pilot approached the target from the north-west, through a searchlight barrage and under gun-fire, and, gliding down from 5,000ft., made his attack from a height of 200ft. The lights in the works had been put out, but the searchlights, in their attempts to find the bomber, were trained almost hori- zontally, and they clearly illuminated the works for the bombing crew. Many of the bombs (sixteen 112-lb. and ten 25-lb.) were seen to explode among the build- ings, and when they had been released the pilot con- tinued to fly low for some minutes while the machine guns from the Handley Page traversed the area. The second pilot came in close behind the first and made a somewhat similar attack from 500ft." Such exploits by the 0/400S (the war finished too . soon for the later and larger V/1500s to prove their real worth) resulted in the popular association of the name Handley Page with big bombers. To-day Hand- ley Page bombers are again flying over Germany but they are far removed from the awkward-looking O / 400s ; the ' are the slim Hampden monoplanes of a Bomber Group in the north country. The following figures for the Hampden and 0/400 are not without interest: — Spaa Wing loading. . All-up weightDisposable load Top speed Range at economicsspeed Armament il 0/400 100 ft. 8.5 lb. 14,000 1b. 5,800 lb. 97 m.p.h. 720 miles 3 machine guns Hampden (in overload condition' 69 ft. 2 in. 31.43 lb. 21,000 lb. 9.220 lb. 265 m.p.h. 870 miles 6 machine guns Until the big raid on Sylt on the night of March 19 few major operations had fallen to the lot of the Hampdens, but on that occasion, in conjunc- tion with other aircraft of the Bomber Command, they gave the German base a hammering which
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