Handley-Page V/1500

From Wings of Linen
Handley-Page V/1500
Role Bomber
Manufacturer Handley-Page
First flight May 1918 [1][2]
Primary user U.K. (RFC/RAF)
Number built 64-214 [3][note 1]
Wingspan 38.4 m (126 ft) [3][5]
Engine 4×375hp Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII
Armament 1-2×flexible nose Lewis
1-2×dorsal Lewis
1-2×Lewis tail cockpit
30×110 kg (250 lb) bombs[1] or 1-2×1,500 kg (3,300 lb) bombs [3] (3,400 kg (7,500 lb)[5] total)
Crew 9 [3]
Max Speed 140 km/h (90 mph) [6][7] to
156 km/h (97 mph)[5] to
166 km/h (103 mph)[3]
Climb 1,500 m (5,000 ft) in 8:00[3]
2,000 m (6,500 ft) in 21:05[6]
3,000 m (10,000 ft) in 21:00[3]-41:25[6]
Service Ceiling 3,000 m (10,000 ft)[5] to 3,400 m (11,000 ft) [6][7]
Endurance 6:00 - 14:00 [6][7][5]

The Air Board wanted a plane that could bomb Berlin from England, and the Handley-Page V/1500 was the result. It was roughly based on the O/400, but the wings were 25% longer. Push-Pull Rolls-Royce engines were mounted in tandem, giving the V/1500 twice the horsepower of its predecessors. Flight testing of the prototype continued from May through June 1918, and it was only with delivery of the second plane in October 1918 that development resumed. Only three were flying at the time of the Armistice, though there were grand visions of sixty V/1500 squadrons to be flying in 1919. [1]

Two V/1500s stood ready and loaded to fly from Britain to Germany (and -- if possible -- Berlin) on 9 Nov 1918 when a two-day delay was taken to refit the engines. Again they stood ready to fly on 11 November when news of the Armistice arrived and their mission was cancelled. They were kept ready to fly for two further weeks in case the Armistice fell through. [8]

At least forty-one V/1500s were completed and flown and 23 delivered as ready-to-assemble spares, but they were expensive to fly and maintain. The last was retired from No. 24 Squadron in January 1920.[4]

For more information, see Wikipedia:Handley Page V/1500.

Timeline

Game Data

Wings of Glory

Preliminary Stats
Availability Maneuver Damage Dmg Points Max Alt. Climb
18Q4 XB special 34 9 8
Card Links

Miniatures and Models

1:144 Scale

1:200 Scale

1:285/6mm/1:288 Scale

1:600 Scale

1:700 Scale

Resources

Orthographic Drawings

References

Notes
  1. ≥41 were completed and flown and 23 completed as spares, out of orders of 214, but the final counts are uncertain.[4]
Citations
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bruce'69, p.280.
  2. Angelucci, p.80.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Owers, p.32.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Owers, p.28.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Angelucci, p.72.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Bruce'69, p.285.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Munson, p.75.
  8. Owers, p.12.
Bibliography
  • Enzo Angelucci, ed. The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, 1914-1980. New York: The Military Press, 1983 edition. ISBN 0-517-41021-4.
  • J.M. Bruce. British Aeroplanes 1914-18. Great Britain: Funk & Wagnalls, 1957, 1969. ISBN 0370000382
  • Kenneth Munson, Bombers: Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft, 1914-1919. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1968, Blandford Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0753721711
  • Colin A. Owers, Centenary Datafile 164: Handley Page V/1500. Great Britain: Albatros Publications Ltd, 2014, ISBN 978-1-906798-36-9
  • Ian Philpott, The Birth of the Royal Air Force. Great Britain: Pen & Sword Books Limited, 2013. ISBN 978-1-78159-333-2