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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 0717.PDF
PLIGHT International, 3 May 1962 715 Sir Frederick Handley Page WITH the passing of Sir Frederick Handley Page, CBE, whose death on Good Friday at the age of 76 we record with great regret, the British aircraft industry has lost one of its famous pioneers and most individualistic characters. His working life spanned the whole half-century of heavier-than-air aviation history, from pre-First World War monoplanes to present- day V-bombers; and the company which he founded and headed as chairman was the only major airframe manufacturing concern which stayed aloof from the industry mergers of recent years. "H.P.," as he was universally known, registered his company in 1909. Its first product, made in a small factory in Barking, in London's East End, was the monoplane which he called Bluebird after the play by Maurice Maeterlinck. The company then moved to Cricklewood, where its main manufacturing premises are now, and several aircraft were produced there before 1914. It was an Admiralty requirement early in the 1914-18 war for a twin-engined bomber that first led Frederick Handley Page to manufacture big aircraft, a subsequent characteristic of his com pany's work. During the period of the war the original bomber type was progressively developed, and in 1918 came the first flight of the V/1500—a four-engined aircraft with a 126ft wing-span. After the war Handley Page turned his attention to the world's first big airliners, and for several years a company bearing his name —Handley Page Air Transport Ltd—successfully operated routes to Brussels, Paris and later to Zurich. But inability to continue operations without a subsidy led eventually to the merging of the company with Imperial Airways, though the latter organization continued to use Handley Page aircraft, notably (from 1930 onwards) the four-engined 40-seater H.P. 42, largest and most comfortable of its day. Some years previously, in 1921, the Handley Page slotted-wing for preventing or minimizing stalling had been devised. It was subsequently fitted to the company's—and other—aircraft and adopted by the Royal Air Force; 45 foreign countries also took up the device, which brought in royalties amounting to £750,000. In the Second World War, as in the First, Handley Page built heavy bombers, over 6,000 H.P. Halifaxes being produced in various factories. These were followed after the war by the Hermes and Hastings civil and military transports, the latter still doing yeoman service in RAF Transport Command. Then came the crescent-winged Victor for the V-Force of Bomber Command and the Herald short-haul civil transport. When re-equipped with Rolls- Royce Dart turboprops the Herald deservedly began to attract customers; but, shortly before Sir Frederick's death, endeavours to sell a military version to the RAF failed, though not on technical grounds. Experimental work by the company in recent years has included, notably, the laminar-flow wing and, as typified by the H.P. 115, research into possibilities of the supersonic airliner. Sir Frederick received his knighthood in 1942 (he had been appointed CBE in 1918). His other distinctions were numerous, including Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Institute of the Aerospace Sciences. He held many notable offices, among them the chairmanship of the SB AC (twice) FOR THCOM May 6 600 (City of London) Sqn Flight Group; Breakfast Patrol, Biggin Hill. May 9 Society of Environmental Engineers: "Operation of a Combined Climatic and Random Vibration Test Facility" by S. S. Duncan. May 9 British Interplanetary Society: "Ground-borne Micro wave Aerials for Space Communications" by F. J. D. Taylor. May 10 RAeS: Annual General Meeting. Sir Frederick: a photograph taken a few weeks ago when he was being interviewed by Frank Beswick for our "Safety, Economy, Comfort" series of articles and its presidency (1938-39), and the RAeS presidency (1945-47). He was chairman of the Board of Governors of the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield, and of the Council of the City and Guilds of London Institute; he was also a Governor and Fellow of Im perial College of Science and Technology. From 1956 to 1960 he was Lieutenant of the County of Middlesex. Sir Frederick was a brilliant and forthright extempore speaker. Official policy—no matter what government was in office—was the favourite target for his barbed but never spiteful wit; and often he pressed biblical quotations into service with uncanny aptness. Tributes have been paid to him from all sides of aviation. Lord Brabazon commented: "I very much regret the death of my dear old friend; he was an individualist of outstanding personality and a pioneer of all sorts of great machines." Col R. L. Preston, secretary- general of the Royal Aero Club, said: "Sir Frederick was one of the greatest pioneers of aviation. He was a very great friend of the club and was one of the original members." Mr R. E. Hardingham, secretary and chief executive of the ARB (of which Sir Frederick had been vice-chairman for 20 years, having been a member of the committee that recommended the formation of the board in 1933), said: "many people regard him as the father of the Air Registration Board." Mr G. C. D. Russell, deputy managing director of Handley Page Ltd—now appointed chairman and managing director, as reported on page 678—said that his great experience and wisdom would be missed not only by the company that he formed 53 years ago but also by world aviation in general. Sir Frederick, whose wife died in 1957, is survived by three daughters. A leading article in this issue pays tribute to his work and character. NG EVENTS May 11 RAeS Man-powered Aircraft Group: "The Haessler- Villinger Man-powered Aircraft," by Dip! Ing Franz Villinger. May 23 RAeS Graduates' and Students" Section: "Flight Testing of Low Aspect Ratio Aircraft," by Fit Lt J. C. Henderson. May 24 RAeS: Fifth Wilbur Wright Memorial Lecture, "A Review of the Aero Engine Industry in the West Since the End of the Second World War," by J. D. Pearson. May 28-June 1 A1CA]AFRA\AFCALTI: Colloquium onModern Computation Techniques in Industrial Automatic Control, Paris.
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