Handley Page W.8b
Handley Page / SABCA · United Kingdom · first flew 1922 · airliner
The Handley Page W.8b was a three-engined biplane airliner of the early 1920s, operated by Handley Page Transport on London–Paris routes and licence-built by SABCA in Belgium for Sabena.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 3 × piston, wing-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 18.06 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- 1920s trimotor biplane airliner
- Central engine in nose plus two wing-mounted engines
- Operated by Sabena on early European routes
A large three-bay biplane with equal-span wings, nose-mounted central engine, two smaller wing-mounted engines, and a fabric-covered fuselage with an enclosed passenger cabin.
Specifications
- The Handley Page W.8b has a length of 18.06 m (59 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 22.86 m (75 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 169 km/h (105 mph).
- Typical crew: 2, up to 12 passengers.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
The W.8 series evolved from Handley Page's wartime heavy bombers, and the W.8b refined the design with a third nose engine to improve reliability and performance; SABCA of Belgium produced the type for Sabena's nascent European network.
Variants
The W.8 family includes the W.8 (twin-engined), W.8b (three-engined), and the W.8f Hamilton; Belgian-built aircraft had slight airframe differences compared with Handley Page's own examples.
Where you'll see it
Operated by Handley Page Transport on the London–Paris route and by Sabena in Belgium; the type was a mainstay of early commercial aviation in north-western Europe in the first half of the 1920s.
Related aircraft
AircraftIQ — the aircraft field guide: 5,024 recognition guides, live overhead identification, works offline.