The Handley Page Hinaidi was one of two twin-engine bombers 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 ...

that served with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

between 1925 and 1935. The aircraft was developed from 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 ...

and named after Hinaidi, an RAF station in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Design and development

In 1923, Handley Page designed and built a new heavy bomber based on its W.8

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 ...

, the

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

. The Hyderabad was an all-wooden

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 ...

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.Jarrett 1993, pp. 19–20. Forty-five were built, entering service from 1925.Thetford 1993, pp. 19, 23. The Hinaidi was an improved version of the Hyderabad built to meet

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 ...

Specification 13/29. The first machine, the HP33 Hinaidi I -in fact an early production Hyderabad, J7745, with another engine and a change of fin and rudderClayton 1969, pp. 52–53.- first flew on 26 March 1927.Mason 1994, p.199. At least four Hyderabads were converted to Hinaidi Is, while six late-production Hyderabads were completed as Hinaidi Is, retaining the wooden airframe of the Hyderabads. The first true Hinaidi, the HP36 Hinaidi II, went into production after major structural modifications were implemented, the structure being changed from wooden to metal. A re-engined version with two 480 hp Siddeley Jaguars was proposed, the HP44 Hinaidi III, but not built.

Operational history

The first 33 aircraft came into service in 1929, and were issued to No. 99, No. 10 and No. 503 squadrons. Total production ended with 36 aircraft, with some being converted to transport aircraft on the North-West Frontier in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. The Clive II transport version operated out of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

Variants

*HP.33 Hinaidi I : Wooden airframe. Three built, one prototype, J7745, as a conversion of a Hyderabad, two from new, with seven Hyderabads converted. *HP.33 Clive I : One of the Hinaidi I prototypes, J9126, built using a W.10

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

as a transport design later converted to become Clive III though not entering service as such. Later as G-ABYX sold to

Sir Alan Cobham Sir Alan John Cobham, KBE, AFC (6 May 1894 – 21 October 1973) was an English aviation pioneer. Early life and family As a child he attended Wilson's School, then in Camberwell, London. The school relocated to the former site of Croyd ...

with his air circus and named "Youth of Australia" and later renamed "Astra".Clayton 1969, pp. 55–56. *HP.35 Clive II : Two transport aircraft built, all-metal structure, J9948 and J9949. *HP.36 Hinaidi II : All-metal airframe. 34 built, prototype J9478 and production K1063-K1078 and K1909-K1925. Approximately 20+ aircraft were converted into Clive II transport aircraft configuration in the early 1930s.

Operators

;: *

No. 10 Squadron RAF Number 10 Squadron is a Royal Air Force squadron. The squadron has served in a variety of roles (observation, bombing, transport and aerial refuelling) over its 90-year history. It currently flies the Airbus Voyager KC2/KC3 in the transport/tan ...

** No. 99 Squadron RAF **

No. 502 Squadron RAF No. 502 (Ulster) Squadron was a Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron that saw service in World War II. It was reformed in September 2013, and is the oldest of all the reserve squadrons, being formed in 1925. History Formation and early years ...

No. 503 Squadron RAF No. 503 (City of Lincoln) Squadron RAuxAF was an auxiliary squadron of the Royal Air Force. It operated as a bomber squadron in the 1920s and 1930s, but was disbanded before the outbreak of the Second World War. History The squadron was formed ...

** Heavy Transport Flight RAF – Handley Page Clive

Specifications (Hinaidi Mk II)

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. . * Jarrett, Philip. "By Day and By Night: Hyderabads and Hinadis". ''Aeroplane Monthly'', August 1993, Vol 21 No 8, Issue No 244. London: IPC. ISSN 0143-7240. pp. 18–24. * Mason, Francis K. ''The British Bomber Since 1914''. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994. . * Thetford, Owen. ''Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1918–57, 1st edition''. London: Putnam, 1957. * Thetford, Owen. "By Day and By Night: Hyderabads and Hinadis". ''Aeroplane Monthly'', September 1993, Vol 21 No 9, Issue No 245. London: IPC. ISSN 0143-7240. pp. 18–24

External links

Handley Page aircraft

Handley Page Hinaildi
– British Aircraft Directory

{{Handley Page aircraft 1920s British bomber aircraft Hinaidi Aircraft first flown in 1927 Biplanes