A lovely and very rare period  model of the Handley page Hampden. A very rare and beautifully made period model. 
The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the early years of World War II. Operating alongside the Wellington and the Whitley, it was part of the RAF's trio of twin-engine bombers at the outbreak of the war. However, its distinctively cramped and unusual shape quickly earned it the famous nicknames "The Flying Suitcase" and "The Flying Panhandle".
Unique & Restrictive Design
The Hampden was developed in response to the 1932 Air Ministry Specification B.9/32. Designed by a team led by Dr Gustav Lachmann at Handley Page, the aircraft featured a radically streamlined layout intended to maximize speed and climb rates:The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the early years of World War II. Operating alongside the Wellington and the Whitley, it was part of the RAF's trio of twin-engine bombers at the outbreak of the war. However, its distinctively cramped and unusual shape quickly earned it the famous nicknames "The Flying Suitcase" and "The Flying Panhandle".
Unique & Restrictive Design
The Hampden was developed in response to the 1932 Air Ministry Specification B.9/32. Designed by a team led by Dr Gustav Lachmann at Handley Page, the aircraft featured a radically streamlined layout intended to maximize speed and climb rates:
  • Slender Fuselage: The main body was deep but remarkably narrow—measuring barely three feet wide—before tapering sharply into a slim tail boom.
  • Cramped Crew Quarters: A crew of four (pilot, navigator/bomb aimer, wireless operator, and gunner) were strung out nose-to-tail. The interior was so narrow that crew members were entirely isolated and could not change places or assist each other in an emergency.
  • Advanced Aerodynamics: Despite interior limitations, it boasted cutting-edge wings equipped with flush-riveted stressed metal skins and Handley Page slot systems. This gave it an impressively low landing speed of just 73 mph.
Combat History & Role Shift
The Hampden entered official service in August 1938 with No. 49 Squadron. While it proved highly maneuverable and faster than its peers, its operational life was plagued by severe tactical vulnerabilities:
  • Daylight Vulnerabilities: Designed around the outdated military assumption that fast day bombers could defend themselves without escort, the Hampden carried a weak, hand-held defensive armament. It lacked powered gun turrets, creating massive blind spots that Luftwaffe fighters easily exploited.
  • Transition to Night Operations: Following heavy losses during daylight raids early in the war, the RAF quickly reassigned the Hampden to night bombing missions and coastal minelaying.
  • Coastal Command: By April 1942, many Hampdens were transferred to Coastal Command to act as torpedo bombers, successfully attacking enemy shipping before being fully retired from active service in late 1943.
Aircraft Specifications
A total of 1,430 production models were built between 1936 and 1941, manufactured by Handley Page, English Electric, and under license in Canada.
FeatureSpecification
Powerplant2 × Bristol Pegasus XVIII radial engines (1,000 hp each)
Maximum Speed247 mph (some early variants reached up to 265 mph)
Range1,720 miles
Max Payload4,000 lbs of bombs OR 1 torpedo
Defensive ArmamentFixed forward .303 Browning, plus 3 to 5 flexible Vickers K machine guns
Note: A variant built with Napier Dagger inline engines was designated the Handley Page Hereford, but its engines proved highly unreliable, and most were eventually converted back into standard Pegasus-powered Hampdens.
Surviving Aircraft
No fully functional Hampdens fly today, but long-term restoration projects preserve their memory:
  • The Canadian Museum of Flight: Houses a largely complete Hampden reconstructed from recovered crash remains.
  • RAF Museum Hendon: Displays a partially restored bomber version in London.
  • Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre: Currently undergoing a massive, multi-decade restoration of Hampden AE436, which originally crashed on a mountain in Sweden in 1942
  • Slender Fuselage: The main body was deep but remarkably narrow—measuring barely three feet wide—before tapering sharply into a slim tail boom.
  • Cramped Crew Quarters: A crew of four (pilot, navigator/bomb aimer, wireless operator, and gunner) were strung out nose-to-tail. The interior was so narrow that crew members were entirely isolated and could not change places or assist each other in an emergency.
  • Advanced Aerodynamics: Despite interior limitations, it boasted cutting-edge wings equipped with flush-riveted stressed metal skins and Handley Page slot systems. This gave it an impressively low landing speed of just 73 mph.
Combat History & Role Shift
The Hampden entered official service in August 1938 with No. 49 Squadron. While it proved highly maneuverable and faster than its peers, its operational life was plagued by severe tactical vulnerabilities:
  • Daylight Vulnerabilities: Designed around the outdated military assumption that fast day bombers could defend themselves without escort, the Hampden carried a weak, hand-held defensive armament. It lacked powered gun turrets, creating massive blind spots that Luftwaffe fighters easily exploited.
  • Transition to Night Operations: Following heavy losses during daylight raids early in the war, the RAF quickly reassigned the Hampden to night bombing missions and coastal minelaying.
  • Coastal Command: By April 1942, many Hampdens were transferred to Coastal Command to act as torpedo bombers, successfully attacking enemy shipping before being fully retired from active service in late 1943.
Aircraft Specifications
A total of 1,430 production models were built between 1936 and 1941, manufactured by Handley Page, English Electric, and under license in Canada.
FeatureSpecification
Powerplant2 × Bristol Pegasus XVIII radial engines (1,000 hp each)
Maximum Speed247 mph (some early variants reached up to 265 mph)
Range1,720 miles
Max Payload4,000 lbs of bombs OR 1 torpedo
Defensive ArmamentFixed forward .303 Browning, plus 3 to 5 flexible Vickers K machine guns
Note: A variant built with Napier Dagger inline engines was designated the Handley Page Hereford, but its engines proved highly unreliable, and most were eventually converted back into standard Pegasus-powered Hampdens.
Surviving Aircraft
No fully functional Hampdens fly today, but long-term restoration projects preserve their memory:
  • The Canadian Museum of Flight: Houses a largely complete Hampden reconstructed from recovered crash remains.
  • RAF Museum Hendon: Displays a partially restored bomber version in London.
  • Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre: Currently undergoing a massive, multi-decade restoration of Hampden AE436, which originally crashed on a mountain in Sweden in 1942