Handley Page Hermes IV
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G-ALDB with Airwork was piloted by my dad Colin Lovelock carrying troops to the Suez in 1952 when an outer prop broke up also smashing the inner engine. He brought it down at night in a field at Pithiviers in France and everyone got out with only a few minor injuries before the aircraft was destroyed by fire.
Met your father a few times in the offices at Blackbushe.
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Good Morning,
Just a small diversion. There are a couple of Hermes loses that I would think most posters are probably aware of. Whilst still with BOAC, I think it was G-ALDN, crashed in west Africa in 1952, after a rather odd detour! Then there was the accident at Stanstead in 1958 with a Captain named Rayment.... who was unrelated to the BEA Rayment who was in the Elizabethan Munich crash 3 or 4 months before! Odd coincidence.... from memory.. both ex RAF, Kenneth Gordon and Gordon.
Just a small diversion. There are a couple of Hermes loses that I would think most posters are probably aware of. Whilst still with BOAC, I think it was G-ALDN, crashed in west Africa in 1952, after a rather odd detour! Then there was the accident at Stanstead in 1958 with a Captain named Rayment.... who was unrelated to the BEA Rayment who was in the Elizabethan Munich crash 3 or 4 months before! Odd coincidence.... from memory.. both ex RAF, Kenneth Gordon and Gordon.
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The Stanstead crash was on April 1st 1958, The pilot was Capt G D Rayment. My Mother got a number of letters of condolance after the Munich Elizebethan crash, little knowing the future.
David Rayment
David Rayment
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Hello David, that's extremely eerie. As I remember there were quite a few similarities and coincidences.
Nice to see the old Hermes thread resurrected. The RAeS interviews with D.P. Davies have an interesting section on the Hermes (about 5 mins in to the Comet/707/Britannia episode).
He said it "flew like the Forth Bridge, it was terribly heavy". He recounts the story of doing engine out testing at Boscombe Down and after 3 circuits he had to have a rest as flying the test was so exhausting. He puts it down to the flying controls not being sufficiently balanced - huge aileron/elevator loads and rudder loads that were right up to the limits of the requirements.
He said it "flew like the Forth Bridge, it was terribly heavy". He recounts the story of doing engine out testing at Boscombe Down and after 3 circuits he had to have a rest as flying the test was so exhausting. He puts it down to the flying controls not being sufficiently balanced - huge aileron/elevator loads and rudder loads that were right up to the limits of the requirements.
