The Handley Page W.8, W.9 and W.10 were British two- and three-engine medium-range

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ai ...

s designed and built by

Handley Page Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page (later Sir Frederick) in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidatio ...

. The W.8 (also known as the H.P.18) was the company's first purpose-built civil airliner although it was a development of the wartime

Handley Page Type O The Handley Page Type O was a biplane bomber used by Britain during the First World War. When built, the Type O was the largest aircraft that had been built in the UK and one of the largest in the world. There were two main variants, the Handl ...

/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 open

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls that e ...

, and has the distinction of being the world's first airliner to be designed with an on-board lavatory. The prototype first flew on 4 December 1919, shortly after it was displayed at the 1919

Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the Frenc ...

at Le 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), the

Handley Page Hyderabad The Handley Page H.P.24 Hyderabad was a twin-engine biplane heavy bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page. It holds the distinction of being the last wooden heavy bomber to be operated by the Royal Air ...

bomber.

Developments

W.8

Prototype, holding 15 passengers, powered by two 450 hp (336 kW)

Napier Lion The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept it in produ ...

engines. The original company designation was to have been Handley Page W/400.

W.8b

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 economical

Rolls-Royce Eagle The Rolls-Royce Eagle was the first aircraft engine to be developed by Rolls-Royce Limited. Introduced in 1915 to meet British military requirements during World War I, it was used to power the Handley Page Type O bombers and a number of oth ...

IX. In 1921 the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of Stat ...

ordered three aircraft, built as the W.8b, for use by Handley Page Transport, and later by

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers ...

, on services to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. Another aircraft was delivered to SABENA in 1924 and three more were license built by

SABCA SABCA (Sociétés Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques) is a Belgian aerospace company. Its main sectors of activity are civil aviation, space and defence. SABCA was established during 1920. Presently, it is owned by the French aircra ...

in Belgium.

W.8c

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 and slotted ailerons fitted.

W.8d

The W.8d was the initial designation for the

heavy bomber.

W.8e

To reduce the risks involved with engine failure, the W.8e was developed with one 360 hp (270 kW)

IX in the nose and two 240 hp (180 kW) Siddeley Pumas in the normal position. The first W.8e was sold to Sabena, which had ten more built in Belgium by

W.8f and W.8g Hamilton

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 improved tail and rudder design from the W.10 and the third engine was removed and the other two replaced with Rolls-Royce type F.XIIA engines.

W.9a Hampstead

Was a three-engined version with more powerful 385 hp (290 kW)

Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar The Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar was an aircraft engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley. The Jaguar was a petrol-fuelled air-cooled 14-cylinder two-row radial engine design. The Jaguar III was first used in 1923, followed in 1925 by the Jaguar ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...

s. It was operated by

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 Jupiter The Bristol Jupiter was a British nine-cylinder single-row piston radial engine built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Originally designed late in World War I and known as the Cosmos Jupiter, a lengthy series of upgrades and developments turn ...

s. The aircraft was moved to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

but was destroyed by an accident after nine months.

W.10

A twin-engined variant with the 450 hp (340 kW)

for Imperial Airways (four built).

Use

When Imperial Airways introduced the Handley 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 to

tanker aircraft This is a list of tanker aircraft used for aerial refuelling of another aircraft whilst in powered flight. Refueling methods ;Looped hose: The first commercial method employed a hose which was held slack in a trailing half-loop behind both air ...

by Sir Alan Cobham.

Accidents and incidents

*On 10 July 1923, W.8 G-EAPJ ''Duchess of York'' of Handley Page Transport crashed at Poix, Marne, France.Jackson 1973, pp. 524-525 Flying from

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...

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. *On 21 October 1926, W.10 G-EBMS of

ditched in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

off the English coast. All 12 people on board were rescued by FV ''Invicta''. *On 15 February 1928, W.8b G-EBBG ''Princess Mary'' of Imperial Airways crashed at

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

, France. *On 17 June 1929, W.10 G-EBMT ''City of Ottawa'' of Imperial Airways ditched 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 near Salamaua,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. *On 30 October 1930, W.8g G-EBIX ''City of Washington'' of Imperial Airways developed engine trouble and crashed at Neufchâtel-Hardelot,

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, "strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of ...

, France, when en route from Boulogne to Croydon. Three people died, and three were injured. *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 in

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market to ...

, "its wheels sunk into the ground and were torn off". 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 the

Bournville Bournville () is a model village on the southwest side of Birmingham, England, founded by the Quaker Cadbury family for employees at its Cadbury's factory, and designed to be a "garden" (or "model") village where the sale of alcohol was forb ...

District of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

apparently due to a lack of fuel."Birmingham Air Thrill", ''Birmingham Gazette'', 30 May 1932, p1 *On 22 September 1934, W.10 G-EBMM ''Youth of New Zealand'' (renamed from ''City of Pretoria'' according to the newspaper,"Air Disaster at Aston Clinton", ''Bucks Herald'', 29 Sept 1934, p11 but registration indicates it was ''City of Melbourne'') of Sir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Displays crashed at

Aston Clinton Aston Clinton is a historic village and civil parish in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The village lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, between the Wendover and Aylesbury arms of the Grand Union Canal. Surrounding towns i ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. The airliner had recently been used for a mid-air refuelling of an

Airspeed Courier The Airspeed AS.5 Courier was a British six-seat single-engined light aircraft that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Airspeed Limited at Portsmouth. It has the distinction of being the first British aircraft fitte ...

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, it was then flying back via Portsmouth to Coventry and had stopped to refuel at Heston 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.

Operators

; *Ellyou Goldfields Development Corporation ; * Sabena ; * Handley Page Transport *

* National Aviation Displays

Specifications (W.8f Hamilton)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Barnes, C. H. ''Handley Page Aircraft Since 1907''. London: Putnam & Company, Ltd., 1987. . * Clayton, Donald C. ''Handley Page, an Aircraft Album''. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd., 1969. . * Jackson, A.J. ''British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 2''. Putnam & Company, Ltd., 1973 (2nd Edition). * {{Handley Page aircraft 1920s British airliners Type W Air refueling Trimotors Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1919 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft