The Handley Page Halifax was one of the four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. The Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing. The Halifax was also operated by squadrons of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Free French Air Force, and Polish forces, and after the Second World War by the Royal Egyptian Air Force, the Armée de l'Air and the Royal Pakistan Air Force.
Back to Top
Development
An Air Ministry Specification P.13/36, which was for a new generation of twin-engined medium bombers for "worldwide use" was placed, the HP56 was offered for Specification P13/36 which called for a long-range medium-heavy bomber capable of cruising at 275mph at 15,000ft and defending itself with nose- and tail-mounted powered gun positions. A crew of four was specified (2 pilots (1 acting a navigator, bomb aimer and front gunner), wireless operator and rear gunner). Handley Page, like Avro, who were offering the Manchester against the same specification, chose the power the aircraft with two Rolls Royce Vulture engines. This revised design was known as the HP57 and two prototypes were ordered early in September 1937, although this subsequently increased to 500 aircraft in light of the planned expansion of Bomber Command. This first series operations highlighted several weaknesses in the Halifax design, namely a lack of speed, and so Handley Page revised the design, removing the mid-upper turret and exhaust fairings to reduce drag as well as the nose turret which, it was deemed, was underused. A revised nose with a perspex fairing in place of the turret was produced and these aircraft were known (somewhat confusingly) as the Halifax B.II Series 1 (Special). Despite this, it still suffered from a lack of power from its Merlins which adversely affected its bomb-carrying capability at higher altitudes and a restriction preventing Halifaxes attacking more hazardous targets was imposed in September 1943 until improvements had been made. The next version to enter Bomber Command service was the B.III fitted with Bristol Hercules radial engines, a retractable tailwheel to further decrease drag and either H2S or a mid-upper gun turret. These changes allowed an increase in altitude of some 2,000ft and the restriction on targets was lifted in February 1944. The most numerous Halifax variant was the B Mk III of which 2,091 were built.
Back to Top
Operational use
The first Halifax took to the air on 25 October 1939 from the RAF airfield at Bicester but it was to be almost a year before the second aircraft flew (August 1940). Within two months however, the first production aircraft had flown and barely five weeks later the first squadron to form on the Halifax, No 35, was receiving its initial aircraft at Leemingat RAF Linton-on-Ouse in November 1940 with its first operational raid was against Le Havre on the night of 11-12 March 1941. The following night saw the debut of the Halifax over Germany when two aircraft joined an attack on Hamburg. In June of 1941, No 76 Squadron became the second Halifax unit and within a year a further ten squadrons (all in No 4 Group) had converted to the type. At the peak of its service with Bomber Command some thirty-four squadrons operated the aircraft in Europe and four more in the Middle East. As the war progressed however, the Halifax became overshadowed by the Lancaster which appeared capable of carrying ever-increasing bomb loads without serious degradation of its performance and handling capabilities. Unlike its counterpart, the Halifax's bomb bay could not be effectively adapted to carry the 4,000 pound "Cookie" blast bomb which was an integral part of 'Bomber' Harris's fire-bombing tactics. It was progressively outnumbered in frontline service over occupied Europe as more Lancasters became available from 1943 onwards, with many squadrons converting to the Lancaster. The aircraft was still inferior to the Lancaster and this was reflected in the higher losses suffered by Halifax squadrons on operations throughout its service life. The final Halifax Bomber Command operation took place during the night of 2nd/3rd May 1945 when aircraft from Nos 171 and 199 Squadrons raided Kiel.
Back to Top
Removal from frontline duties
Halifax bombers were progressively relegated to secondary theatres such as North Africa and Italy, while many were converted to or built new as glider tugs, transports and maritime reconnaissance. Immediately after the war, the Halifax was withdrawn from Bomber Command and declared obsolete at the start of 1946. However,the aircraft did see service in other RAF Commands with Coastal Command. The Halifax was also operated by nine squadrons of the RAF's Coastal Command for anti-submarine, meteorological and shipping patrols, the aircraft being converted from standard bombers and specially equipped, taking the designations Halifax GR.Mk II, GR.Mk V or GR.Mk VI according to the bomber version from which they were derived. Similarly, RAF Transport Command acquired Halifax C.Mk III, C.Mk VI and C.Mk VII aircraft as casualty, freight and personnel transports where the Halifax soldiered on until March 1952 when No 224 Squadron finally retired its last aircraft with Transport Command. The Halifax was a sturdy and reliable aircraft and was generally well liked by its crews, very few of whom expressed any desire to swap their aircraft for the "superior" Lancaster.
Back to Top
Statistics
While in service with RAF Bomber Command, Halifaxes flew 82,773 operations and dropped 224,207 tons of bombs. 1,833 aircraft were lost. In addition to bombing missions, the Halifax served as a glider tug, electronic warfare aircraft for No. 100 Group RAF and special operations such as parachuting agents and arms into occupied Europe. Halifaxes were also operated by RAF Coastal Command for anti submarine warfare, reconnaissance and meteorological roles. Total Halifax production was 6,178 with the last aircraft delivered in April 1945. In addition to Handley Page, Halifaxes were built by English Electric, Fairey Aviation, and Rootes Motors (Rootes Securities Ltd) in Lancashire and by the London Aircraft Production Group.
Back to Top
Swordfish
Gladiator
Hurricane
Typhoon
Tempest
Spitfire
Mosquito
Beaufighter
Blenheim
Wellington
Lancaster
Stirling
Sunderland
Boomerang
Handley Page 'Halifax'
