A Bomber So Cramped It Was Called The 'Flying Suitcase' | Handley Page Hampden

Today we're taking a look at the Handley Page Hampden, often known as the 'flying suitcase' because of its very narrow fuselage.

Sources:
Barnes.C.H (1987), Handley Page Aircraft Since 1907.
Hall.A.W (2000), Handley Page Hampden and Hereford (Warpaint Series).
Meekcoms.K.J & Morgan.E.B (1994), The British Aircraft Specifications File.
Moyes.P.J.R (1965), The Handley Page Hampen (Aircraft Profile 58).
Postlethwaite.M (2003), Hampden Squadrons In Focus.

0:00 Intro
1:17 Design Origins
3:38 Developing The Prototype
6:01 A Question of Engines
8:16 First Flights
10:08 A Swedish Interlude
12:47 Final Changes Before Production
15:03 War Thunder Promo
16:46 Into Service! (at last)
18:40 The Handley Page Hereford Debacle
21:31 Early WW2 Operations
26:11 1940 - A Busy Year
30:40 Obsolete But Still Useful
33:39 Torpedo Bomber Variants
38:45 Reflections, plus VCs Earned by Hampden Crews

[nemilyk]

The Hampden's one of those planes you can't help but love, because it's just goofy yet actually "made it".

[TheDkeeler]

My best friend back in the late 60's said his dad flew Hampdens with the RCAF on torpedo missions off the coast of Norway where the pilot nearly flew the aircraft into the cliffs of Norway. Unfortunately, he turned the aircraft without banking and it pancaked into the water. He said his dad said he didn't even get his feet wet because all he did was walk down the wing and hopped into a life raft . They were then taken prisoner by the Germans. Thanks.

[knightowl]

Sadly, Sergeant John Hannah died of T.B. at the age of twenty-five in 1947. His doctor believed the wounds he received in the war weakened his immune system and left him prone to infection. Although in constant pain, after being honourably discharged by the R.A.F. he worked as a taxi driver for a while before he became too ill and was taken into the sanatorium where he later died.

[mikepowell]

My late father flew in Hampdens as an air-gunner before re-training as a pilot. About the leaflet raids, he considered that they would only be of use if they were dropped in their boxes and happened to strike someone important. He ended his war as an instructor, continuing that role with commercial airlines until retirement. He was an instructor on the original Comet 1.

[scottythedog]

My Grandfather was an instrument fitter on Hampdens during the early war before transferring to Blenheims in Singapore.
Guy Gibson's book, Enemy Coast Ahead gives a fascinating account of early War bombing in Hampdens.

[ericadams]

The designer of the Hampden (and earlier Harrow) was the German Gustav Lachmann who was later interned and continued to work for HP from prison.

[RyllenKriel]

I do love the Hampden bomber, though I never knew it's propellers could be detached and thrown at its enemies on the ground like giant shuriken. What an innovative design from Handley Page!

[maxart]

I highly value your research and as a non-native speaker I admire your narration, everything is so clear (and yet with a healthy touch of irony). Your videos are exemplary pieces of documentary that any TV corporation would be proud of. Are you by any chance lecturing at some university? (because if you aren't, you should).

[whtalt]

Thanks for adding the VC segment.
Too oft forgotten that Bomber Command did it's fair share of work during the Battle of Britain, and that Coastal Command pilots were drafted into Fighter Command.

[bigblue]

I must admit to being on of those who loved the Hampden along with the Blenheim. Great aircraft which served so well in the early part of the war.

[gort]

Interesting to see the changes in thinking about aircraft types in light of the progress in engine technology during this era. The Hampden was intended as a medium bomber optimized for performance, but just a few years later the Mosquito light bomber with a slightly smaller footprint lifted more weight and delivered the same bombload, with vastly superior speed and altitude.
One might even consider that more traditional medium bombers began their slide toward obsolescence at that point, but this was not recognized until later because the operational doctrine that had been built around their use kept them in production.

[roygriffiths]

I have a friend whose father piloted Hampdens in WW2. Unfortunately, he lost his life whilst on a raid over Germany. She was born shortly afterwards and so never met her father. In his memory, her mother used 'Hampden' as a second forename.

[kevintemple]

Honestly, the Hampden possibly my favorite early bomber in War Thunder. Decent load out and handles beautifully.

[jarmokankaanpaa]

The photo from 23:29 appears to show an American battleship, probably either USS Washington or USS Alabama (the stacks are obscured by the Oerlikon barrel) both of which were assigned for a period to the Home Fleet in 1942 primarily to protect convoys. At this stage Hampdens were being used by Coastal Command. The picture appears to have been taken from an American ship (the helmets!), possibly USS Wichita as the the cruiser in the background could be USS Tuscaloosa; both served with both American battleships in the Atlantic in 1942. The Oerlikons don't have their shields, which might suggest a recent installation (in place of the former quadruple 1.1 inch AA monts).

[masteronone]

I don't think any apology is needed for this video, all the way through I was impressed by your use of the models and the presentation of the period source material.
Really, so long as the quality of your output remains this high, I don't care how much agony you endure producing it. From my point of view your suffering is well worth it to keep me informed and entertained.
Seriously though, thank you for the effort you put into this and congratulations, I'm seriously impressed by the way you are able to continually able to improve on what was already high standard of work.

[panagiotispotamitis]

I just want to write this down, the 3d model presentations have to be the smoothest thing I've seen from any historical channel out there (especially the one on this episode)

[derekheuring]

I had the honor of having a small hand in helping Fred Gardham restore Canadian-built Hampden P5436 at the Museum of Flight and Transportation, first in Surrey, British Columbia and later at Langley Airport in Langley, B.C. Hampden P5436 was actually an amalgamation of three Hampdens recovered in B.C., one from Saltspring island, one from Vancouver Island and P5436 which sank in Pat Bay near Victoria, B.C. P5436 survived only 100 hours of flying time before crashing near Pat Bay in 1942 while performing torpedo dropping practice. The aircraft's nickname of "Flying Suitcase" is well deserved. I'm a pretty big guy and remember the difficulties climbing in and out of the aircraft while working on it.

[Temeluchas]

A few corrections regarding Hampdens in the USSR

1. The number of Hampdens received by the 24th mine-torpedo regiment (I know that it is clunky, but "anti-shipping wing" is a bit too loose of a translation =)) is a bit unclear. 17 is the number that the regiment still had by January 10, 1943, but it had suffered at least 2 losses by that time.
2. The number of german ships sunk by soviet Hampdens is exactly 1. On April 25, 1943, a transport ship "Leezee" was sunk near Kongsfjorden by the crew of captain Kiselev, flight leader in the 24th. Kiselev was shot down in this attack and the entire crew was killed. And on the photo used at 37:16, you can see "For Kiselev" being written on the torpedo.
3. The 24th regiment wasn't disbanded. In May 1943 it became a Guards regiment. Thus, its name was changed to the 9th Guards mine-torpedo regiment

Overall, the Hampden's reputation among the North Fleet pilots and command was controversial.
On the one hand, it was considered superior to Il-4 as a torpedo bomber, since it was more stable in flight at low altitudes.
On the other hand, soviet "mine-torpedo aviation" flew minelaying missions more often than torpedo strike missions. And conventional bombing missions against ground targets were even more common. Hampden was considered inferior to Il-4 for these types of missions. And in the spring of 1943 the North Fleet started receiving A-20s, which made both Hampden and Il-4 look bad.
Plus, it had huge problems with reliability due to the spare parts situation. This led to a saying that can be translated as "Are you my friend or a "Hampden"?". And unlike most such remarks - this one was actually documented in 1943.

[timgosling]

Thank you for mentioning the early 83 Sqn Hampden pilot, 20 year-old Pilot Officer G Gibson, later famous. Following his initial training on the aircraft he apparently was considering leaving the Service after only 2 years to go into civilian test flying. Whether this was because of his time with the Hampden or just coincident, it's as well he stayed in. I love the sketch (40:10) depicting Sgt Hannah fighting the fire on the way back from Antwerp; whoever drew it had clearly never squeezed himself into a Hampden! Incidentally, the Dagger-engined aircraft were named after the English city on the Welsh borders. It's therefore pronounced 'Heh-reh-ford', rather than 'hair-ford'.

[richardrichard]

I was an apprentice at Lucas CAV from 1979, in 1980 I was placed in the Rochester cutter grinders for work experience. One of the guys in there was just retiring....flew Hampden early part of Ww2, said it handled more like a fighter and although he flew pretty much everything with wings back then, it was his favourite ride.