Handley Page Heyford accident?
It does, doesn't it; and #9 clearly shows a nose-gunner position. Or might it have been a bomb-aimer's place? I guess the little window might have been where the Nav. and/or the Wop sat.
"Mildly" Eccentric Stardriver
Would there have been two pilots in that era? Considering that the Lancaster was, at least at the beginning, single-pilot, I find it unlikely. Two extracts from Wiki:
It had a crew of four, consisting of a pilot, a bomb aimer/navigator/gunner, a radio operator and a dorsal/ventral gunner. Crew: four (pilot, co-pilot/navigator, bomb aimer/air gunner, wireless operator/air gunner.
I doubt it had dual controls. More likely the nav had some rudimentary training to enable him to land it, if he could get the pilot out of the seat.
It had a crew of four, consisting of a pilot, a bomb aimer/navigator/gunner, a radio operator and a dorsal/ventral gunner. Crew: four (pilot, co-pilot/navigator, bomb aimer/air gunner, wireless operator/air gunner.
I doubt it had dual controls. More likely the nav had some rudimentary training to enable him to land it, if he could get the pilot out of the seat.
Single pilot with a passageway for the bomb aimer/navigator/gunner position. Personally I would have given a DFC to any pilot who flew one at night with an open cockpit and those rudimentary instruments.
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That seems like a hell of a long tow rope connecting Heyford and Hotspur (would not have recognized the glider, but fortunately I had purchased the Frog kit of this all-but-forgotten aircraft when I was about ten/twelve for some reason!) And looks as though the glider pilot is trying pilot to kill off the Heyford crew too (or is it just the weight of that cable which is causing the poor old Heyford to rear up like that?) Anyway, a remarkable photograph, I have never seen that one before, nor did I know that Heyfords had been required to do hard work like this! Also I am in general agreement that the "man on the ground" is struggling to hook up something underground as already suggested, the stance of the body just looks right for a man attempting such a task to me.
David D
David D
Heyfords trialled enclosed cockpits, various types of gun turret, in flight refueling , catapult assisted take-off (!!), took part in the early radar trials, radio trials and glider towing
The Hotspur has the original long span wings, original bubble canopy and has jettisoned its undercarriage, so its as slippery as it ever could be. That sag in the tow shows its flying faster than the Heyford, and the maximum speed of the Hotspur was only 150 mph (which was a problem when they later tried Spitfires as tugs). The snatch when (if) the tow ever went taught again would have been interesting - for both pilots.
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Glider manufacturers having a better understanding of aerodynamics than powered aircraft manufacturers? After all you couldn't really make the Heyford LESS aerodynamic!
Thank you for posting that! I have convinced myself that my Dad was probably flying one of them; he was based at Mildenhall with 149(B) Sqn. But the date in the caption is wrong; I don't know when the Heyford was introduced, but (as per post above) his last flight in one was on March 3rd 1939. In February he flew both Heyfords and Wellingtons (as P/UT). From March 4th onwards he flew Wellingtons as P1. It must have been a welcome change from the Heyford............
Wiki:- The Heyford I entered service with No. 99 Squadron RAF, at RAF Upper Heyford in November 1933, and later with No. 10 Squadron and 7 Squadron, re-equipping with the Heyford IA and II in August 1934 and April 1935 respectively. As part of the RAF's expansion scheme, orders were placed for 70 Heyford IIIs in 1936, with steam condenser-cooled Rolls-Royce Kestrel VI engines. The delivery of these aircraft allowed the RAF to have nine operational Heyford Squadrons by the end of 1936.
These squadrons of Heyfords formed the major part of Bomber Command's night bomber strength in the late 1930s. Heyfords flew many long night exercises, sometimes flying mock attacks against targets in France. Disaster struck on one of these long-range exercises on 12 December 1936, when a flight of seven Heyfords of No. 102 Squadron RAF, flying from Northern Ireland, encountered fog and icy weather conditions as they approached their base at RAF Finningley, Yorkshire. Four crashed and two had to make forced landings resulting in three crewmen killed and three injured.
The Heyford started to be replaced in 1937, with the arrival in service of Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys and Vickers Wellesleys, finally being retired from frontline service in 1939. Some remained flying until 1940 as bombing and gunnery trainers, being declared obsolete in July 1939,[13] with two used as glider tugs until April 1941.[1] At least two examples found experimental use; one for airborne radar and the other for inflight refuelling, and it is reported that one was still stored as late as 1944.
These squadrons of Heyfords formed the major part of Bomber Command's night bomber strength in the late 1930s. Heyfords flew many long night exercises, sometimes flying mock attacks against targets in France. Disaster struck on one of these long-range exercises on 12 December 1936, when a flight of seven Heyfords of No. 102 Squadron RAF, flying from Northern Ireland, encountered fog and icy weather conditions as they approached their base at RAF Finningley, Yorkshire. Four crashed and two had to make forced landings resulting in three crewmen killed and three injured.
The Heyford started to be replaced in 1937, with the arrival in service of Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys and Vickers Wellesleys, finally being retired from frontline service in 1939. Some remained flying until 1940 as bombing and gunnery trainers, being declared obsolete in July 1939,[13] with two used as glider tugs until April 1941.[1] At least two examples found experimental use; one for airborne radar and the other for inflight refuelling, and it is reported that one was still stored as late as 1944.
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How did the Heyford get its name?
I know aircraft manufacturers liked 'alliteration' when naming aircraft types. Thus Handley Page had the Hampden, Hyderabad, Halifax, Hastings, Hinaidi etc ( all beginning with an aitch)
But what was the relevance of the name Heyford? Was it named after the RAF station in Oxfordshire which was technically UPPER Heyford?
Or was there some other relevance in the name?
I know aircraft manufacturers liked 'alliteration' when naming aircraft types. Thus Handley Page had the Hampden, Hyderabad, Halifax, Hastings, Hinaidi etc ( all beginning with an aitch)
But what was the relevance of the name Heyford? Was it named after the RAF station in Oxfordshire which was technically UPPER Heyford?
Or was there some other relevance in the name?
How did the Heyford get its name
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Actually since I asked that question I've just realised that another of those Handley Page aircraft I mentioned in a list ( # post 37 above ) was also probably also named after a specific RAF station rather than after a town or a city.
Hinaidi !!
Hinaidi was an RAF station in Iraq in the 1930's.
Are there any other examples of aircraft types that had a name dedicated to a specific RAF station?
