Photos of the Handley Page Hermes V (HP.82)

Will these do?

The Hermes IV was operated by quite a few airlines during it’s rather brief Career.
Off the top of my head hear is are the ones that come to mind.

BOAC, Airwork, Britavia/Silver City, Skyways/Bahamas A/W, MEA, Kuwait A/W, Falcon A/W, Air Safaris, Air Links.

29 Hermes were built. Only the prototype HP68 Hermes I and HP74 Hermes II were tail draggers.
Most Hermes had tricycle undercarriage, all the HP81 Hermes IVs were so equiped and were the only production version. The HP82 Hermes Vs were basically turbine powered IVs, sharing the same basic layout as the IVs.
It would be fair to say that the sole I was based on the Hastings, the sole II was presurized, lengthened and slightly different profile.
The IV differed quite a bit from the Hastings though.

HP Hermes

Could anyone advise me of the total no of Hermes built and who operated them Were they all taildraggers like the Hastings which I associate possibly erroneously, as a military Hermes ?

Britain built a lot speculative test aircraft after the war I think the Hermes V fits that category. The picture attached has a press release on the back announcing the first public demonstration of the type, it also claims world wide interest from airlines! I think this must be G-ALEU.

I bet that’s from the collection of a certain deceased person! I’ll be in touch, Chumpy, and I promise not to drag you – again – down some unexpected blind alley!

..How about this, scan from a small snapshot from my collection. Taken June 1953, so I presume G-ALEV at Farnborough?..though I am open to offers??

Cheers, Chumpy.

Hi Garry,

That’s correct, the Hastings and Hermes were developed from the Halifax, the Halifax wing was thick to accomodate the wing bomb cells and this was also a reason for some of the drag that was a problem on the Merlin engined Halifaxes at first. The wing centresection and outer wingpanels are almost Halifax with even the partnumbers being Halifax and the intermediate wingpanel being a bit wider. If the Hermes at Duxford could be fitted with hasting wings it would be a complete airframe again, There is a rumour that in a scrapyard in malta a Hastings centresection is rotting away.

Now that would be a good cause for it don’t you think

Cheers

Cees
(who likes anything Handley Page):)

I have often read the ahermes had an excessivily haevy wing to be economicl.it was basically a Halix wing.

BOAC were retiring then after a couple of years but the Comet crashes saw it return to the African routes.

Garry

Theseus was a 1942 concept for Vickers Windsor; in 1944 it was on various schemes to Brabazon Type III Empire, where Merlin/Tudors and Hercules/Hermes were funded 4/5 April to be Interim. In 1947 BOAC dumped any Tudor, as C-4M, DC-6, L-749 defined what civil air transport could be. P.Masefield’s Flight Path has him proving by slide rule that Hercules/Hermes could never breakeven. Theseus lost its Windsor early-1946; Bristol retained R&D funding for a licenced L-849, which lapsed in the £ crisis of July,1947. Theseus then drifted: Blake/Hooks,40 Years at FN,Foulis,1990,P.42: “the numerous faults that plagued (it)“. Re-defined as Medium Range Empire, Brabazon III became Centaurus/Bristol T.175 on 14/7/47, ordered by BOAC 7/49, changed to Proteus/Britannia 100 in 1950; on 28/7/47 Avro and HP were chosen by RAE for the Medium Bomber, soaking all wit. Before 1949 FN Show, BOAC, enraptured with C-4M, L-049/749, B.377, tried to dump Hermes 4; Hermes 5 was an unwanted test bed for an unwanted engine.

Funny old thing, I requested exactly the same a few months ago (and posted a pic), but had no responce.
I probably haven’t got anything that you wouldn’t have, ie stock pics etc.
Have you seen the Farnborough shows Vid/DVD, it shows the Hermes V doing a very low flypast, a great sight and sound!
Be interesting to know why as a large turboprop airliner it wasn’t put into production?

Pagen, you are a star!:) I have not seen the Farnborough DVD but it is on my to do/procurement list.

I suspect two reasons for the type not entering production, the Hermes in general does not seem to have had a great reputation and with Bristol working on the Britannia it would probably have been squeezed out?:confused:

Funny old thing, I requested exactly the same a few months ago (and posted a pic), but had no responce.
I probably haven’t got anything that you wouldn’t have, ie stock pics etc.
Have you seen the Farnborough shows Vid/DVD, it shows the Hermes V doing a very low flypast, a great sight and sound!
Be interesting to know why as a large turboprop airliner it wasn’t put into production?