Type Heavy bomber

Manufacturer Handley Page

Maiden flight 10 October 1936

Introduced 1937

Retired 1945

Primary users RAF, Fleet Air Arm

Produced 1936-1937

Number built 100

The Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow was a British heavy bomber of the 1930s built by Handley Page and used by the Royal Air Force, being used for most of the Second World War as a transport. It was a twin-engine, high-wing monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage.

Development

The Harrow was designed by Dr. G.V. Lachmann in response to Air Ministry Specification B.3/34; it was a derivative of his earlier Handley Page H.P.51 design, which was itself a monoplane conversion of the three-engined Handley Page H.P.43 biplane. [1] While the competition for specification B.3/34 was won by the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, the Air Ministry ordered 100 “off the drawing board” as an interim type pending development of more advanced designs under Specification B.29/35. This required that the H.P.54 be capable of being adapted as a transport once no longer needed as a bomber [1].

Powered by Bristol Pegasus X engines of 830 hp, the first Harrow flew on 10 October 1936 from Radlett[2]. The Harrow was designed to have powered nose, dorsal and tail turrets, and carried a bomb load of 3,000 lb under the cabin floor.

Operational history

No. 214 Squadron at Feltwell was the first unit to receive Harrows, in January 1937, when the type began to replace Virginias, and by the end of that year four other squadrons had re-equipped with the new bomber: Nos 37 (Feltwell), 75 (Driffield), 115 (Marham) and 215 (Driffield). No. 115 had been disbanded in 1919, and was re-formed in June 1937 to receive the Harrow, while No. 37 was also reformed in April of that year from a nucleus of No. 214 Squadron. Harrow production terminated with the 100th example in December 1937, but aircraft remained in service until the late stages of World War 2.

The Fleet Air Arm ordered 100 Harrows but Handley Page lacked the production capacity to supply them[2].

Despite being fitted with cabin heating by steam boilers using exhaust heat, the Harrow gained a reputation of being a cold and draughty aircraft owing to the turret design.[1] As the delivery of more modern bombers increased, the Harrow was phased out as a front line bomber by the end of 1939, but continued to be used as a transport.

271 Squadron was formed on 1 May 1940 [3] with a mixture of Harrows, Bristol Bombays and impressed civil aircraft. While the other aircraft equipping 271 squadron were replaced by Douglas Dakotas[1], it retained a flight of Harrows (sometimes nicknamed “Sparrows” due to their new nose fairings to give a more streamlined fuselage[3]) as transports and ambulance aircraft until the end of the Second World War in Europe.

Harrows were used occasionally to operate risky flights between England and Gibraltar, two being lost on this route [1]. Harrows were used to support the Allied forces in there advance into Northwest Europe, being used to evacuate wounded from the Arnhem operation in September 1944[3][4] , while seven Harrows were destroyed by a low level attack by Luftwaffe fighters of JG 26 and JG 54 on Brussels-Evere airfield as part of Operation Bodenplatte, the German attack on allied airfields in North West Europe on 1 January 1945[1] [4], leaving only five surviving Harrows. These were eventually retired on 25 May 1945[1].

The Harrow also served in a novel operational role at the height of the German night Blitz against Britain in the winter of 1940-1941, with six Harrows equipping No. 93 Squadron RAF which used lone Harrows to tow Long Aerial Mines (LAM) into the path of enemy bombers. The LAM was an explosive charge on the end of a long cable. This unorthodox tactic was credited with the confirmed destruction of six German Bombers[1][4] The experiment was however judged of poor value and the planned deployment of Douglas Havocs in the LAM role cancelled.

Nine Harrows were also used by 782 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm as transports [5].

Variants

Harrow I (39 built)

Powered by two 830 hp Pegasus X engines, 19 built.

Harrow II (61 built)

Powered by two 925 hp Pegasus XX engines, 81 built.

Operators

United Kingdom

Royal Air Force

No. 37 Squadron RAF

No. 75 Squadron RAF

No. 93 Squadron RAF

No. 115 Squadron RAF

No. 214 Squadron RAF

No. 215 Squadron RAF

No. 271 Squadron RAF

Fleet Air Arm

782 Naval Air Squadron

Specifications (Harrow II)

Data from P Lewis, The British Bomber since 1914[2]

General characteristics

Crew: Five

Capacity: 20 fully equipped soldiers or 12 stretcher cases (used as transport) [3]

Length: 82 ft 2 in (25.05 m)

Wingspan: 88 ft 5 in (26.96 m)

Height: 19 ft 5 in (5.92 m)

Wing area: 1,090 ft² (101.3 m²)

Empty weight: 13,600 lb (6182 kg)

Loaded weight: 23,000 lb (10455 kg)

Powerplant: 2× Bristol Pegasus XX nine-cylinder radial engines, 925 hp (690 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 174 knots (200 mph, 322 km/h)

Cruise speed: 142 knots [3] (163 mph, 262 km/h)

Range: 1096 nm (1260 mi, 2029 km)

Service ceiling: 22,800 ft (6950 m)

Rate of climb: 710 ft/min (3.6 m/s)

Wing loading: 21.1 lb/ft² (103 kg/m²)

Power/mass: 0.0804 hp/lb (0.132 kW/kg)

Armament

Four 0.303-in (7.7-mm) Lewis machine guns

Up to 3000 lb bombs internally.

References

[1] Mason, Francis K (1994). The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical

Books. ISBN 0 85177 861 5.

[2] Lewis, Peter (1980). The British Bomber since 1914, Third Edition, London: Putnam. ISBN 0 370 30265 6.

[3] Thetford, Owen (1957). Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1918-57, 1st edition, London: Putnam.

[4] Mondey, David (1994). The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II. London: Aerospace Publishing. ISBN 1 85152 668 4.

[5] Fleet Air Arm Archive, Handley Page Harrow.