TheHandley Page W.8, W.9 and W.10 were British two- and three-engine medium-rangebiplaneairliners designed and built byHandley Page.
TheW.8 (also known as the H.P.18) was the company's first purpose-built civil airliner although it was a development of the wartimeHandley Page Type O/400 bomber via the O/7, O/10 and O/11 transports. It had an enclosed cabin for (in most versions) 12 passengers, along with two crew in an opencockpit, and has the distinction of being the world's first airliner to be designed with anon-board lavatory. The prototype first flew on 4 December 1919, shortly after it was displayed at the 1919Paris Air Show atLe Bourget. The W.8 was subsequently revised to give the W.8b, W.8e (H.P.26), W.9 (H.P.27) and W.10 (H.P.30). It was also the basis for the W.8d (H.P.24), theHandley Page Hyderabad bomber.
Prototype, holding 15 passengers, powered by two 450 hp (336 kW)Napier Lion engines. The original company designation was to have beenHandley Page W/400.
To meet an Air Ministry ruling, the capacity was reduced to 12 passengers and the fuel tanks were moved from the engine nacelles to above the top wing. The engines were changed from the Napier Lion to the less powerful but more economicalRolls-Royce Eagle IX. In 1921 theAir Ministry ordered three aircraft, built as the W.8b, for use byHandley Page Transport, and later byImperial Airways, on services toParis andBrussels.[1][2] Another aircraft was delivered toSabena in 1924 and three more were license built bySABCA in Belgium.
Planned but unbuilt 1923 alteration of W.8b for 1923 with the same engines but seating 16 passengers in a cabin lengthened by removal of the radio compartment and a reduction of freight capacity. The fuel tanks would have been moved to the underside of the top wing andslotted ailerons fitted.[3]
To reduce the risks involved with engine failure, the W.8e was developed with one 360 hp (270 kW)Rolls-Royce Eagle IX in the nose and two 240 hp (180 kW)Siddeley Pumas in the normal position. The first W.8e was sold toSabena, which had 10 more built in Belgium bySABCA.[4]
One three-engine W.8f was built with cabin heating (derived from air circulated around the hot engine exhausts).The W.8f was modified in 1929 as the W.8g with an improvedtail and rudder design from the W.10 and the third engine was removed and the other two replaced with 480 hp (360 kW)Rolls-Royce type F.XIIA engines.[5][6][7]
Was a three-engined version with more powerful 385 hp (290 kW)Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IVradial engines. It was operated byImperial Airways and created a record on the London-Paris route of 86 minutes. In 1926, the engines were replaced by three 420 hp (310 kW)Bristol Jupiters. The aircraft was moved toAustralia but was destroyed in an accident after nine months.
When Imperial Airways introduced theHandley Page HP.42 in 1931, the W series aircraft were retired. Aircraft were used by private operators for display and joy riding, but the most important development concerned the two surviving W.10s which were converted totanker aircraft by SirAlan Cobham.
On 10 July 1923, W.8 G-EAPJDuchess of York ofHandley Page Transport crashed atPoix, Marne, France.[8] Flying fromCroydon toParis it made a forced landing due to engine problems, after landing it ran into a sunken road and was destroyed, the pilot and mechanic were thrown clear and none of the seven passengers were injured.[9]
On 21 October 1926, W.10 G-EBMS ofImperial Airways ditched in theEnglish Channel 18 nautical miles (33 km) off the English coast. All 12 people on board were rescued by FVInvicta.[10]
On 15 February 1928, W.8b G-EBBGPrincess Mary of Imperial Airways crashed atAbbeville, France.[8]
On 17 June 1929, W.10 G-EBMTCity of Ottawa of Imperial Airwaysditched in the English Channel while on a flight from Croydon to Paris with the loss of seven lives.
On 31 May 1930, W.9a VH-ULK of the Ellyou Goldfields Development Corporation crashed into a mountain nearSalamaua,Papua New Guinea.[8][11]
On 30 October 1930, W.8g G-EBIXCity of Washington of Imperial Airways developed engine trouble and crashed atNeufchâtel-Hardelot,Pas-de-Calais, France, when en route from Boulogne to Croydon.[8] Three people died and three were injured.[12]
On 14 May 1932, W.10 G-EBMR City of Pretoria was flying a party of 16 passengers, including mayor, mayoress, and a 102-year-old woman as part of Alan Cobham's Air Circus. As the machine was landing inMansfield, "its wheels sunk into the ground and were torn off".[13] There were no serious injuries, and the elderly passenger thought it was all part of the show and said she would happily go up again. Evidently the damage was quickly repaired as on 29 May carrying 15 passengers it made a forced landing at the Row Heath recreation ground in theBournville District ofBirmingham apparently due to a lack of fuel.[14]
On 22 September 1934, W.10 G-EBMMYouth of New Zealand (renamed fromCity of Pretoria according to the newspaper,[15] but registration indicates it wasCity of Melbourne) ofSir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Displays crashed atAston Clinton,Buckinghamshire,United Kingdom.[8] The airliner had recently been used for a mid-air refuelling of anAirspeed Courier aircraft being used by Cobham for an attempted non-stop flight to India. After this it returned to Ford Airfield (near Arundel) to have the extra fuel tank and piping removed,[15] it was then flying back via Portsmouth to Coventry and had stopped to refuel atHeston Aerodrome. About 30 minutes after take-off it crashed into a field, killing all four crew. The Inspector of Accidents concluded that the probable cause was a fracture of a main bolt that secured the bracing wires of the front spar to the tailplane. The failure of the bolt was probably metal fatigue, and would cause a loss of flight control. The aircraft had been involved in an early accident when the tailplane had been swapped with one from another aircraft, but after 50 hours of flying since the repair it was not thought that the bolt had been disturbed.[16]
^Gunston, Bill, ed. (1980).The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Propeller Airliners. New York: Exeter Books. p. 14.ISBN0-89673-078-6.... the W.8f Hamilton was brought up to W.10 standard under the designation W.8g, with two Rolls-Royce F.XIIA inlines.
Warner, Edward P. (May 2008). "Les avions de ligne au banc d'essai en 1921" [Airlines on the Test Bench in 1921].Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (462):44–55.ISSN0757-4169.
