Handley Page Type O

Handley Page O/400
Description
Role	Bomber
Crew	three – pilot, co-pilot, observer/gunner
First flight	December 7 1915 (O/100)
Entered service	August 1916
Manufacturer	Handley Page
Dimensions
Length	62 ft 10 in	19.16 m
Wingspan	100 ft	30.48 m
Height	22 ft	6.71 m
Wing area	1648 ft²	153 m²
Weights
Empty	8,200 lb	3,719 kg
Loaded	13,000 lb	5,909 kg
Maximum takeoff	14,000 lb	6,350 kg
Powerplant
Engines	2x Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII
Power	720 hp	537 kW
Performance
Maximum speed	97 mph	156 km/h
Range	700 miles	1,120 km
Service ceiling	8,500 ft	2,590 m
Rate of climb
Armament
Guns	Up to 5 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis machine guns
Bombs	Up to 2,000 lb (909 kg) in internal bay and under wings

The Handley Page Type O was an early bomber aircraft used by Britain during World War I. At the time, it was the largest aircraft that had been built in the UK and one of the largest in the world. It was built in two major versions, the Handley Page O/100 and Handley Page O/400.

When Britain entered the War in August 1914, the threat posed by German Zeppelin bombers seemed very real, and the Admiralty had been given the task of defending Britain from air attack, something that it was completely unprepared for. Since the difficulty of intercepting the Zeppelins themselves was an unknown quantity, the Admiralty decided to focus on a strategy of attacking their bases and factories instead. In practice, this proved difficult, given the limitations in range of the aircraft of the day and the small bombloads they could carry. It was clear that in order to be effective, the Royal Naval Air Service needed a much larger aircraft, or, in the words of the Director of the Navy's Air Department Captain Murray Sueter, "a bloody paralyzer of an aeroplane". Thus, a specification was issued in December 1914 for a long-range patrol bomber.

Handley Page responded with an enormous biplane with a wingspan of 100 feet (30 m) (the original source of the O/100 designation). The first prototype flew on December 7 1915 and featured a glazed cockpit and extensive armour around the crew compartment and engines. The aircraft proved somewhat underpowered, so the glazing and armour were deleted on the second prototype that flew the following April and formed the basis for series production of the machine. In August, sufficient O/100s were available to form an operational squadron that was based in France by the end of 1916. Their first combat came on the night of March 16 1917 when they were sent in to bomb a railway junction. A total of 46 of the O/100s were built.

The success of the type prompted the development of an uprated version with more powerful engines and other refinements, designated the O/400. First flying in 1918, over 400 were supplied before the Armistice. Another 107 were licence-built in the USA by the Standard Aircraft Corporation (out of a total order of 1,500 by the air corps). In service, the O/400s could carry a new 1,650 lb (750 kg) bomb and were deployed in force, with up to 40 aircraft participating in a raid. A single O/400 also served with 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps in the Middle East.

After the war, O/400s remained in British service until replaced by the Vickers Vimy towards the end of 1919. About 10 war-surplus aircraft were converted for civilian use in the UK and India by Handley Page's pioneering airline, Handley Page Transport. A final few bombers were manufactured for China's army under the designation O/7.

The legacy of the aircraft was such that for many years after the war, any large aircraft came to be called a "Handley Page" in Britain.

Prior to 1924, Handley Page used an alphabetical system for aircraft designations and thus, the Type O followed the Type M and Type N. Nevertheless, the Type O aircraft are very frequently misnamed as "Handley Page 0/100" and "0/400" in publications, the numeral "0" replacing the letter "O". Curiously, Handley Page had previously conspicuously avoided using the designation "Type I", presumably to avoid confusion with the numeral "1" but apparently neglected to consider that "O" would create a similar problem.

Specifications (variant described)

General characteristics

• Crew:
• Capacity:
• Length: m ( ft)
• Wingspan: m ( ft)
• Height: m ( ft)
• Wing area: m² ( ft²)
• Empty: kg ( lb)
• Loaded: kg ( lb)
• Maximum takeoff: kg ( lb)
• Powerplant: Engine type(s), kN (lbf) thrust or
• Powerplant: Engine type(s), kW ( hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: km/h ( mph)
• Range: km ( miles)
• Service ceiling: m ( ft)
• Rate of climb: m/min ( ft/min)
• Wing loading: kg/m² ( lb/ft²)
• Thrust/weight: or
• Power/mass:

Related content
Related development	Handley Page W.8
Similar aircraft	Handley Page V/1500 - Gotha G.IV – Sikorsky Ilya Muromets – Caproni Ca.32
Designation series	Handley Page L/200 – Handley Page M/200 – Handley Page N/80 – Handley Page O/400 – Handley Page P/320 – Handley Page R/200 – Handley Page S/400 - Handley Page V/1500
Related lists	List of aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm - List of bomber aircraft

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