Handley Page Halifax bomber

Ranked #1,122 in Education, #25,922 overall

About the Handley Page Halifax

The Halifax was one of the four engineed bombers that played a great part in the second World War. Overshadowed by the more famous Lancaster, it flew from the start of the war in 1939, and production ceased in 1946. Total production was recorded as over 6000 aircraft.

There are no functional survivors. Two fully restored versions, exist in museums as static displays, and one intact one was recovered from the bottom of a lake.

A short documentary about the Halifax

A newsreel from the time of its release

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Technical Specifications

The Abilities of the Halifax

Total production was 6175, including 2050 Marks I and II and 2060 Mark III's.

Type:

bomber and maritime patrol


Crew:

7


Max Speed:

282 mph


Service Ceiling:

24,000 feet


Range:

2000 miles


Engines:

4 x Bristol Hercules radial engines


Length:

71 ft 7 inches


Wingspan:

98 ft 8inches


Height:

20 ft 9 inch


Weight:

39,000lbs




Cutaway Diagrams
Cutaway diagrams are available from Amazon.co.uk.



Box Canvas Print of Handley Page Halifax II Cutaway Drawing from Flightglobal: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home
Box Canvas Print of Handley Page Halifax II Cutaway Drawing from Flightglobal: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home
10x8 Photograph (25x20cm) Handley Page Halifax Published 23/04/42 from Flightglobal: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home
10x8 Photograph (25x20cm) Handley Page Halifax Published 23/04/42 from Flightglobal: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home

Memorabilia and resources on Amazon

Resources about the Handley Page Halifax

There are surprisingly few resources, but a 1/72 scale model among others is available from Amazon.
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Surviving Halifaxes

Can you still see a Halifax?

There are none.

After the war, all the surviving Halifax bombers were destroyed.

The aircraft shown, an original Halifax, was retrieved from a lake it had crashed into and taken to RAF Museum, London. The decision was taken not to restore it, as it was too fragile and little would have been left of the original airframe. It cannot be moved due to the extreme fragility of the aircraft.

One other is preserved as a crash site.

Reconstructions
The only technically correct Halifax in the world is in Canada. A Restoration project in Canada at the RCAF Memorial Museum produced a full reconstruction of a Halifax - officially NA337.

NA337 was shot down over the fjords, but the Halifax Aircraft Association managed to raise it in 1995 and transport it to Canada. Unfortunately the original parts were rarely salvageable, so the engineers crafted replacements and used parts from other aircraft. As a result, there is very little of the original plane left, but if you want to see a Halifax as it was, this is your only chance.

For more details on their work, and pictures of the restoration, see Reconstructing 337

Important!

Virtual Halifax Cockpit

Yorkshire Air Museum have a partially intact Halifax.

Take a virtual Quicktime cockpit tour
Requires Quicktime plugin and opens in a new window.

Pilot's manual

How to fly the Handley Page Halifax

Both the pilot's and the flight engineer's notes for the Halifax are available online, which should give an full overview of how to fly the classic plane.
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Models of the Halifax

Assemble your own

There are a range of 1/72 scale kits of the Halifax available. There is also a Corgi diecast minature occassionally available, which has an interesting history. It is a model of a specific Halifax, and the description reads:

"On September 17, 1943, this aircraft, towing a Horse glider, was attacked by eight Ju 88s. Its pilot, Flight Officer Norman, refused to jettison his glider and skillfully evaded cannon and rocket fire from the Ju 88s. The glider crew released themselves to give Norman a better chance, and he made it to Sale on three engines following two rocket hits. His tail gunner, Sgt. Grant, received a DFM for shooting down one of the attackers, while Norman received a DFC. Measures 12in length and 17.25in width."
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A Halifax in flight

Rare footage of a Halifax in flight

This rare footage shows a Halifax in flight and performing basic manouvres.

Uploaded by Youtube usergunner17470
powered by Youtube

People talking about the Halifax

Blog posts from Google

Halifax Bomber embroideredshirt
Halifax Bomber by ZazzleEmbroidery
Browse other Airplane Embroidered Shirts

As a famous bomber among enthusiasts the Handley Page Halifax sparks a number of forums discussions and more. Here are the most recent blog posts from Google.
'Sacrifice trumps bombing decision'
The design of the roof is inspired by a Vickers Wellington aircraft and incorporates sections of aluminium recovered from a Handley Page Halifax III bomber shot down over Belgium on May 12 1944, killing eight crew. More than 5000 veterans and veterans' ...

Halifax memorabilia

Bargain hunting on eBay

A chance to see if any bargains or interesting memorabilia have come up on eBay.
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Other World War Two bombers

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There were a number of other contemporary aircraft flying at the same time who have their own dedicated lenses.
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Have an anecdote about the Halifax? Visited one in a museum (possibly the RAF London one)? Think I'm missing something off the lens? Please let me know here!

  • Marmillian Mar 8, 2011 @ 5:29 pm | delete
    Awesome! I have a 1/48 scale of this plane and would love to see it in 1/35 or larger. Drop by my site and drop me a note.

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