Handley Page Halifax

Introduction of 1,390 hp (1,040 kW) Merlin XX engines and a twin .303 in (7.7 mm) dorsal turret instead of waist guns resulted in the B Mk II Series I Halifax.

The Mk II Series I (Special) achieved improved performance by removing the nose and dorsal turrets.

The Mk II Series IA had a moulded [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] nose (the standard for future Halifax variants), a four-gun [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-type
dorsal turret, Merlin 22 engines and larger vertical tail surfaces which solved control deficiencies (fin-[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] leading to rudder overbalance) in the early Marks.

Halifax IIs were built by English Electric and Handley Page; 200 and 100 aircraft respectively.

Due to a shortage in Messier-built [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and hydraulics, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] landing gear were used.

Being incompatible with the Messier equipment these gave Halifaxes with new designations.

A Mark II built with Dowty gear was the Mark V.

The use of castings rather than forgings in the Dowty undercarriage speeded production but resulted in a reduced landing weight of 40,000 lb (18,000 kg).

The Mark V were built by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and were generally used by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and for training.

Some 904 were built by the time Mark V production ended at the start of 1944, compared to 1,966 Mk II.

The most numerous Halifax variant was the B Mk III of which 2,091 were built.

First appearing in 1943, the Mk III featured the Perspex nose and modified tail of the Mk II Series IA but replaced
the Merlin with the more powerful 1,650 hp (1,230 kW) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] XVI radial engine.

Other changes included [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Hydromatic propellers and rounded wing tips.

The Mk IV was a non-production design using a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Hercules powerplant.

The definitive version of the Halifax was the B Mk VI, powered by the 1,800 hp (1,300 kW) Hercules 100.

The final bomber version, the Mk VII, reverted to the less powerful Hercules XVI.

However, these variants were produced in relatively small quantities.

The remaining variants were the C Mk VIII unarmed transport (8,000 lb/3,630 kg cargo pannier instead of a bomb bay, space for 11 passengers) and the Mk A IX [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] transport (space for 16 paratroopers and gear).

A transport/cargo version of the Halifax was also produced, known as the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Production


Total Halifax production was 6,176 with the last aircraft delivered in November 1946.

In addition to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], Halifaxes were built by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]) and the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Peak production resulted in one Halifax being completed every hour.

Operational service


The Halifax was originally intended to be used to bomb the Russian Caucasus oil fields.

The raids were carried out from Syrian and Lebanese territories. However, the first Halifax entered service with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in November 1940, while Syria and Lebanon were already ruled by Vichy.

Therefore its first operational raid was against [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] on the night of 11-12 March 1941.

In service with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], Halifaxes flew 82,773 operations, dropped 224,207 tons (203,397 tonnes) of
bombs and lost 1,833 aircraft.

In addition to bombing missions, the Halifax served as a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] tug, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] aircraft for [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and special operations such as [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] agents and arms into occupied [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Halifaxes were also operated by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] for [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] roles.

Postwar, Halifaxes remained in service with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] until early 1952.

The [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] which inherited the planes from the RAF continued to use the type until 1961.

A number of former RAF Halifax C8s were sold from 1945 and used as freighters by a number of mainly British airlines.

In 1948, the air freight market was in decline but 41 civil aircraft were used in the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] operating a total of 4,653 freight sorties and 3,509 sorties carrying bulk diesel fuel.

Nine aircraft were lost during the airlift but as the aircraft returned to England most civil Halifaxes were scrapped.

Variants

Pre-Halifax designs


H.P.55

Proposed twin-engine bomber aircraft, never built.


H.P.56

Proposed twin-engine bomber aircraft, fitted with two Rolls-Royce Vulture engines, never built.

H.P.57

H.P.57

The first Halifax prototype


Halifax Mk. I

The second prototype.


Halifax B.I Series I

Four-engined long-range heavy-bomber aircraft; the first production version. Armament consisted of nose turret with two guns, tail turret with four guns and two beam guns


Halifax B.I Series II

Stressed for operating at a higher gross weight.


Halifax B.I Series III

Re-engined with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] engines, introduced new upper turret in place of beam guns, with revised undercarriage
and additional centre-section fuel tanks.

Un B MK II

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H.P.58

Halifax Mk II

Projected variant with revised armament including 20 mm cannon and no tail turret. Due to problems with the new armament, the project was cancelled and the Mk II designation given to H.P.59.

H.P.59


Halifax Mk II

New variant with increased takeoff weight, fuel and weapons carriage.


Halifax B.II Series I

First series of the bomber variant; from March 1942 onwards, these were fitted with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] navigation aids.


Hailfax B.II Series I (Special), SOE

Special version for [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (SOE) used to drop supplies over Europe. Nose armament and dorsal turret removed, the nose being faired over, as well as changes to the fuel went pipes and exhaust shrouds.


Hailfax B.II Series I (Special)

Generally similar to the aircraft used by the SOE, these were employed in the bombing role.
These aircraft were more varied in appearance, especially concerning the fitting of dorsal armament with some
aircraft retaining the standard [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] "Type C" turret in different mounts with others mounting a "Type A" -turret.
There were also examples with no dorsal turret, similar to the SOE-aircraft.


Halifax B.II Series IA

Modified with new glazed nose section, new radiators and new "D" fin and rudder.
The dorsal turret was changed to a four-gun Boulton Paul Type A Mk VIII, and there were improvements to the bomb bay door sealing.
Some aircraft were fitted with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Opérateur d'un H2S

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Halifax B.II Series I, Freighter

A few Mk IIs were employed in the transport role in Great Britain (unmodified SOE-aircraft) and in the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (simple modifications to allow carriage of engines or [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] fuselages).


Halifax B.II Series II

Single aircraft (HR756) modified with three-blade [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] propellers and Merlin 22 engines. Rejected in favour of Mk III.


Halifax A.II

According to some sources, a handful of the airborne forces Halifaxes were converted into B.IIs. If this is true they might have been designated A.II or may have retained their bomber designations.


Halifax GR.II

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] variant of the Halifax B.II.


Halifax GR.II Series I

A handful of aircraft converted from Series I or Special to GR.II standard, having differences in dorsal armament.
The main difference was the fitting of a ASV.Mk 3 radar in an H2S type fairing.
Sometimes, a .50 in (12.7 mm) machine gun was fitted in the faired nose.


Halifax GR.II Series IA

Definitive Coastal Command variant of the GR.II with glazed nose mounting .50 in (12.7 mm) machine gun, Merlin XX or
22 engines, B-P A-type dorsal turret and extra long-range fuel tanks in fuselage. A ventral turret holding a single .50 in (12.7 mm) machine gun was mounted on most aircraft although some employed the ASV.Mk 3 radar in its place.


Halifax Met. II

Some sources suggest that there were a meteorological variant of the B.II, designated Met. II, but this is unlikely.