Handley Page Hastings

Handley Page · United Kingdom · first flew 1946 · transport aircraft

The Handley Page HP.67 Hastings was a British four-engined troop-carrier and freight transport, the largest transport the RAF had operated when it entered service in 1948.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, straight
E — Engines	4 × piston, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	Tailplane mounted low on the fuselage, extended in span on later aircraft
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

All-metal low-wing monoplane with four Hercules radials
Retractable undercarriage with a tailwheel
Tailplane mounted low on the fuselage, extended in span on later aircraft

A large, four-engined, tailwheel transport with a conventional tail and a low wing.

Specifications

The Handley Page Hastings has a length of 24.89 m (82 ft).
It has a wingspan of 34.44 m (113 ft).
Its maximum speed is 560 km/h (348 mph).
Typical crew: 5.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

It was designed to Air Staff Specification C.3/44. The first prototype flew on 7 May 1946, and tests showed unfavourable flight characteristics that were cured by tail modifications.

Variants

The C2 had an extended-span tailplane mounted lower on the fuselage and extra fuel tanks in the outer wings. There was also a VIP transport version. The Hermes airliner was a related design.

Where you'll see it

It was rushed into service for the Berlin Airlift and became the RAF's standard long-range transport, replacing the Avro York. It served until 1977 and also flew with the Royal New Zealand Air Force. 151 were built.

Related aircraft

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