Eastern Suburbs Scale Modelling Club

.: Bruce Pilkinton's 1/72nd Airfix Hampden

In September 1932 the Air Ministry issued Specification B.9/32 for a twin-engine bomber for which both Handley Page and Vickers tendered. Each was awarded a contract and the resulting prototypes, the Handley Page H.P.52 and the Vickers 271, flew within a week of one another, the former on 21st June 1936 and the 271, known later as the Wellington, on 15th June.

Considering they shared the same specification, the two types could hardly have been more different, Handley Page going for an extremely slim fuselage with three manually-operated gun positions, Vickers adopting a portly fuselage with power-operated turrets and manual beam guns.
In spite of an antiquated appearance the Hampden, as the bomber was subsequently named, had several remarkable characteristics. With the use of Handley Page leading-edge slats it was able to land at only 73 mph (117 km/h), while its maximum speed of 254 mph (409 km/h) was higher than that of either the Wellington or the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, and it could carry 4,000 lb (1814 kg) of bombs for 1,200 miles (1931 km), compared with the Wellington's 4,500 lb (2041 kg) bomb load over the same distance.

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