Handley Page Hermes
Handley Page · United Kingdom · first flew 1945 · airliner
The Handley Page Hermes was a British four-engined piston airliner developed in parallel with the Hastings military transport.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 4 × piston, wing-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Pressurised fuselage on later aircraft |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Low-wing monoplane airliner with four Bristol Hercules radials
- Nosewheel undercarriage on production aircraft, unlike the tailwheel of the related Hastings
- Pressurised fuselage on later aircraft
A low-wing four-engined airliner of conventional layout, closely related to the Hastings.
Specifications
- The Handley Page Hermes has a length of 29.51 m (97 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 34.44 m (113 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 575 km/h (357 mph).
- Typical crew: 5.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
The first prototype was lost on its maiden flight on 2 December 1945. Stability was then improved and capacity expanded, and the type entered airline service on 6 August 1950, a year late because early production aircraft were overweight.
Variants
The first two prototypes had a tailwheel undercarriage. The first prototype was an unpressurised bare shell, while the second was pressurised.
Where you'll see it
BOAC was the main operator, flying it for less than a decade before it was sold on, and second-hand aircraft were used by charter airlines. The final Hermes flight was around 1969.
Related aircraft
- Handley Page Hastings
- Handley Page Marathon
- Handley Page Halifax B.III
- Handley Page H.P.R.2 Basic Trainer
- Avro Tudor
- Ilyushin Il-12
- Short Sandringham
- Sud-Ouest SO.30 Bretagne
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