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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 1051.PDF
KAY 3 IST, Handler Page Civil Programme Most prominent feature of the civil Halifax (above) '; is the "pannier'' in place of the bomb bay. Belowis an artist's impression of the Hermes cargoversion being loaded. Converted Halifax Bomber Ready to Fill the Interim Period : A Cargo Version of the Hermes Passenger Carrier TIINGS are moving fast in British civil aviation inspite of the uncertainty caused by the fact that theWhite Paper is still waiting to be " implemented '' and the imminence of the general election may cause a complete change of Government policy. Recent civil types announced and described in this journal are the de Havil- land Dove, the Short Shetland flying boat, and the Vickers Viking, while some months ago (October 19th, 1944) we described and illustrated the Handley Page Hermes passen- ger carrier. The Handley Page company now announces two more civil types: a passenger conversion of the Halifax bomber and a freight version of the Hermes. Both are powered by four Bristol Hercules engines (not identical versions, how- ever.), each giving more than 1,650 h.p. for take-off, so that an interesting comparison can be made between the converted bomber and the out-and-out civil type. The former has a normal gross weight of 65,000 lb., while the latter weighs 75,000 1b. loaded The Halifax has a wing area of 1,275 sq- ft.; that of the Hermes is 1,408 sq. ft. Thus the two wing loadings are 51 lb. /sq. ft. and 53 1b. /sq. ft. respectively. The corresponding power loadings (based on 1,650 h.p. per engine for take-off) are 9.85 lb./h.p. and 11.35 lb./h.p. respectively. The combined loadings (wing loadings multiplied by power loadings) are 500 and 600 respectively. Dr. Edward P. Warner has laid it down that for maximum economy the combined loading should be about 300, so both these Handley Page types exceed this figure by a considerable amount, the Hermes by 100 per cent. Cruising Speed and Consumption An interesting sidelight is thrown on aircraft design by the fact that in spite of its higher combined loading, the Hermes cruises at a most economical cruising speed of 194 m.p.h., while the corresponding figure for the Halifax is 210 m.p.h. at 15,000ft. and 200 m.p.h. at 10,000ft., not a very great difference. The larger machine, therefore, must be proportionately "cleaner." This is brought out much more strikingly by the consumption figures. The makers have not provided figures of miles per gallon, but these can be calculated from the data given in the tables. Maximum range for the Halifax on normal tankage is 2,530 miles, the tankage being 2,190 gallons. This, there-
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