The Handley Page Hampden 

The H.P. 52 Hampden is the stable mate of the Vickers Wellington. Both were the response of the respective companies to a British requirement for a modern twin-engined medium bomber. To have the maximum performance, Handley Page chose a pod-and-boom type fuselage, which was extremely slender: 3 ft (0,91 m) wide at most. This reduced drag, but also made it impossible for the crew to switch place in-flight, and made the use of gun-turrets for defense impossible.

Versions:

• Handley Page Hampden Mk I
• Other Handley Page Hampden versions
• Handley Page Hereford versions

Further pictures:

Handley Page Hampdens on the construction line

Technical data on the Handley Page Hampden Mk I

Powerplant	2 × Bristol Pegasus XVIII radials, rated at 1000 hp (745.49 kW) each		Role during war	Medium Bomber Torpedo Bomber Mine-layer Reconnaissance Aircraft Trainer
Length	53 ft 7 inch		Height	14 ft 11 inch with the tail up
Empty weight	11780 lb		Operational weight	18756 lb typical, 21000 lb max
Wing Span	69 ft 2 inch		Wing Aspect ratio	7.16
Wing Area	668 sq ft		Service ceiling	22700 ft
Maximum speed	255 mph at 15500 ft		Cruising speed	167 mph at 15000 ft
Initial climb rate	980 ft per minute, Climb to 15,000 ft in 18 minutes, 54 seconds		Range	870 miles minimum, 1885 miles typical
Fuel capacity internal	654 Imp gal (785 US gal)		Fuel capacity external	-
Machine guns	1 × 0.303 inch Vickers or Browning fixed forward-firingon the port side of the upper nose 1 × 0.303 inch Vickers 'K' trainable forward-firing in the nose 1 or 2 × 0.303 inch Vickers 'K' trainable rearward-firing in the dorsal position 1 or 2 × 0.303 inch Vickers 'K' trainable rearward-firing in the ventral position.		Cannons	-
Bomb load	Up to 4,000 lb in a lower fuselage weapons bay rated at 4,000 lb, and on 2 underwing hardpoints rated 500 lb each. General loadout: 2 × 2,000 lb bombs, or 4 or 6 × 500 lb bombs or mines		Torpedoes/rockets	1 × 18 inch torpedo in stead of bombs in weapons bay
Crew	4: pilot, navigator/bombardier/gunner, radio operator/gunner, gunner		Naval or ground based	Ground
First flight (prototype)	21 June 1936		Operational Service	August 1938 - 1944
Manufacturer	Handley Page Ltd.		Number produced	1.432 + 152 Herefords total, 1.432 this version

Metric system

Length	16.33 m		Height	4.55 m with the tail up
Empty weight	5343 kg		Operational weight	8508 kg typical, 9526 kg max
Wing Span	21.08 m		Wing Aspect ratio	7.16
Wing Area	62.06 m²		Service ceiling	6919 m
Maximum speed	410 km/h at 4724 m		Cruising speed	269 km/h at 4572 m
Initial climb rate	299 m per minute, Climb to 4570 m in 18 minutes, 54 seconds		Range	1400 km minimum, 3034 km typical
Fuel capacity internal	2.973 liters		Fuel capacity external	-
Machine guns	1 × 7,7 mm Vickers or Browning fixed forward-firingon the port side of the upper nose 1 × 7,7 mm Vickers 'K' trainable forward-firing in the nose 1 or 2 × 7,7 mm Vickers 'K' trainable rearward-firing in the dorsal position 1 or 2 × 7,7 mm Vickers 'K' trainable rearward-firing in the ventral position.		Cannons	-
Bomb load	Up to 1.814 kg in a lower fuselage weapons bay rated at 1.814 kg, and on 2 underwing hardpoints rated 227 kg each. General loadout: 2 × 907 kg bombs, or 4 or 6 × 227 kg bombs or mines		Torpedoes/rockets	1 × 457 mm torpedo in stead of bombs in weapons bay

Here is a quick overview of all different versions, without the full technical specifications:

Remarks:

The Hampden (and Hereford) served as one of the front line bombers at the start of the war. Because of the design limitations, and the use of unevolving engines, the Hampdens development halted after the Mk I. It performed badly during daytime as reconnaissance aircraft, and during night time as medium bomber. After the surviving Hampdens were transferred to Coastal Command, a number were converted to act as a torpedo bomber. I do not know at the moment how well or bad it performed in this role
The Hereford was phased out very fast, after the unreliability of the Napier Dagger engines became known. They were used as trainer until scrapped.

Strengths:

• Good handling

Weaknesses:

• Vulnerable because of the slender fuselage. Wounded or dead crewmembers could not be replaced or taken care of.
• The inability to install defensive turrets, because of it's slender fuselage

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