Customer Reviews

Handley Page Aircraft Since 1907

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C H Barnes has written an number of titles in the Putnam Aeronuatical Books series. This edition was published in 1976 and reprinted in 1995. I have reviewed the same author's history of Shorts aircraft favorably and the same judgement prevails with this work. The treatment is chronological by Handley Page type numbers and is extremely detailed, being based on a deep dive into the Handley Page archives following the firm's dissolution in 1970. As in the Shorts volume, Barnes is quite good in explaining why things were done as well as what was done. He also is quite frank about discussing the failings and shortcomings of some design approaches. Running throughout the design history of Handley Page was a preoccupation with low speed aerodynamics and safe handling at low airspeeds. This seemingly was a personal affair with Frederick Handley Page himself. Indeed, this book makes quite clear that Handley Page was, from the very start at the time of the Wright brothers to Frederick's death in 1962, very much a creation and realization of one man. There were of course major contributions from others especially the long time collaboration of the German born aerodynamicist Dr. Gustav Victor Lachmann, a student of Prandtl's at Gottingen. Yet the product vision as well as the business direction stayed in H-P's hands and spanned an incredible range from barely functional wood and wire wing warpers to the highly efficient transonic cruiser, the Victor bomber.

Though less commited readers might welcome somewhat less detail on which serial aircraft was used for what phase of flight testing and so on, there is quite enough general technical material to trace design evolution and technology growth. In some cases a good deal of knowledge is assumed about some details of aircraft construction and the numerous and valuable contemporary photographs and drawings could have been well supplemented by a few original diagrams explaining some of the Handley Page structural and aerodynamic technology. For example, the history of the Handley Page leading edge slot is covered in considerable detail but the reader will have to go elsewhere to find out exactly the role of the "interceptor" in the device.

All in all, this author has done the two best histories in the series that I have read to date, and I look forward to acquiring and reading his work on Bristol aircraft.