The Killer Plane That Nazis Were Really Scared Of

Amid the rapid technological maelstrom of World War 2, cutting-edge aircraft in 1939 found themselves obsolete by 1942, as the aviation industry churned out ever more fearsome and sophisticated warbirds.

Early trailblazers like the unique-looking Handley Page Hampden, taking to the skies in the conflict’s unpredictable and hazardous early days, faced immense challenges, often leaning on what swiftly became dated technology amidst the war’s relentless pace.

Yet, even when thrust into combat scenarios far beyond its original design parameters, the Hampden stood as a testament to resilience and adaptability. It etched its name in history by executing the first daring nighttime bombing runs deep into German territory – sorties often viewed at the time as journeys with no return.

While its modest armor and limited bomb capacity were evident drawbacks, the valiant pilots of this pioneering bomber leveraged its commendable speed, agility, and range. They daringly ventured further than any other Allied aircraft of the time, taking the fight straight to Germany’s core in some of the most dangerous and spectacular nighttime raids of World War 2…

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As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.

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[bobphil]

Please stop the background music. I find it is just noise and a distraction to the narration

[ericadams]

A plane that was in fact designed by a German, Gustav Lachman. He was arrested in January 1940 and contined to work for Handley Page from Lingfield prison. He bacame a British citizen in 1949.

[gord]

My grandad Eric, was a navigator, and he flew in Hampdens. One plane he flew in crashed on take-off, near Wolverhampton, I believe due to engine failure? All managed to escape the wreckage, except for the pilot who was too large to get out of the cramped aircraft, and he burned to death. My grandad also suffered burns to his hands and face, but would fly again later in the war. Always worth remembering how young these airmen were, and the awful things that they were put through.
Excellent to see this aircraft remembered on your channel.

[fucker]

5:50 Wilfred "Mike" Lewis is my grandfather. So damn proud right now....also he's Canadian, not British. Flew with the RAF at the beginning of the war. Oddly enough was shot down in a Manchester by a night fighter in Sept. '41 in northern Holland. Spent the rest of the war as a POW

[justgivemethetruth]

The design of these WWII airplanes have always seemed so beautiful.

[neilharbott]

My Grandfather was crew on the Hampden. One mission they developed engine trouble and were separated from the rest of the flight. Returning to England (outside of scheduled flights), the guns on the coast shot the plane down. My father has a photograph of the crew standing in front of the downed plane, with a couple of farmhands (with pitchforks) who'd come to investigate.

[williammorgan]

My father worked on them at "Fleet" in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. He always liked the Hampden and wrote articles about it for the National Archives but did comment on the lack of room inside. He understood the pace of advancement of aviation wartime design. Unfortunately, due to such pace, the longevity of many lovely designs was cut short, so we never really developed long-term love affairs with some pretty nice planes.

[aussie]

My uncle was an 18yr old Blenheim gunner.
As kids we were warned WWII was a taboo subject in his presence.

[TristanTzara]

I met a man who flew Hampdens on long range weather forecasting missions for RAF Coastal Command. The issue of relieving oneself came up and he revealed that there was a rubber tube in the pilot's cockpit for that purpose.

[mrjockt]

After withdrawal from bomber operations the Hampden was repurposed as a torpedo bomber and maritime reconnaissance aircraft until replaced by aircraft such as the Beaufort and Beaufighter, in September 1942 two Hampden TB.1 squadrons, 144 RAF and 455 RAAF were detached to Russia to provide cover for Arctic convoys from German surface ships, the personnel from both squadrons left in late 1942 but before leaving trained up Soviet aircrew of the Soviet VMF, Soviet Naval Aviation, to operate the Hampdens which the Russians did until mid 1943 when losses and a lack of spares finally stopped them.

[dp-srfd]

Because of the narrow fuselage they were often mistaken for the Dornier "Flying Pencil" and shot by their own side. I think the engines let them down also. Mark Felton has done an excellent video on the Dortmund Ems canal raid called the Bridge Busters, well worth watching.

[Rushmore]

It's interesting how 10 or so years later aeronautical engineers, in an effort to enhance airframe performance would essentially flip that wing design over in favor of a swept back leading edge.

[jonh]

A lot of young men lost their lives on these raids and I sometimes wonder if, in my early twenties, I could have gone through what these men did.

[RexStryker]

My dad trained on Hampden’s in Canada in 1943. As a navigator he loved the field of vision offered by the ‘greenhouse’ in the nose. Fortunately for him by the time he returned to England in early 1944 the aircraft was declared obsolete and he went on to carry out operations on Beaufighters!

[kentbarnes]

A truly "unique" airframe. Very distinct in the air. Thanks for giving some love to this...flying suitcase.

[brianartillery]

Excellent. I'm so glad, that at last, someone is giving the Hampden some love. Thank you.
If you want a real oddball aircraft used by the RAF in the last war, may I suggest the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle? Tricycle undercarriage, twin engined bomber. Mainly used for 'special duties', during the war.

[alanmoss]

Dammit! That's another classic Airfix kit I'm gonna have to buy!

[mikep]

In the mid 1980s I was a student at St Albans college...Radlett Aerodrome was ten miles away and accessible, we'd go there on weekends and nail our student cars and motorbikes up and down the runways. All that remained of Handley-Page was a control tower, everything else had gone. We had a lecturer, George Chapman, who was ex Handley-Page and always referred to them as "Handley-Page, makers of the finest aircraft in the world". Victor was amazing admittedly. According to Wikipedia they resisted merger into either Hawker-Siddeley or BAC, and died. But the merged companies also died, and that's the shame of it.

[patrickkavanagh]

An interesting video as always. Personally I find the background music in recent videos quite intrusive

[datamek]

Excellent plane... Forgotten polish PZL37 had similiar engines and size...and double bombload....and passage on side of pilot...and was outturning bf 110