Aeroplane Magazine Halifax Special Issue

ONE OF THE three British four-engine heavy bombers which
took the night war to Hitler’s heartland, the Handley Page
Halifax contributed in no small way to the destruction and
ultimate surrender of the Third Reich. Unlike its Short Stirling
and Avro Lancaster companions, the Halifax proved a more versatile
design, taking on roles additional to its principle mission with RAF
Bomber Command. Yet its comparatively short period in service and
a production run of 6,176 machines was not without problems.
In its early years from service entry in March 1941, little good could
be said about the Halifax. Its in-built faults found it underpowered, its
performance was lamentable, it suff ered from a vicious swing on
take-off causing inherent undercarriage collapses, and rudder stall
problems often gave fatal results. All round it was a poor design from
Britain’s most famous builder of big bombers! In fact, so bad was the
aircraft that ‘Bomber’ Harris wanted it withdrawn from service and
production switched in favour of the Lancaster. Indeed, his opinion of
owner Frederick Handley Page bordered on the murderous!
Given Britain’s emergency war production such a radical move was
unthinkable. Across the nation, hundreds of factories large and small
were heavily committed to a massive programme supplying Halifax
parts to four huge construction plants laid down to produce this
heavyweight for the RAF. There was simply no time or money to
switch to building a new machine. Instead, Handley Page designers
struggled to improve their unfortunate off spring and it was a good
two years before they succeeded.
To the public, the Halifax was the highly capable stablemate of the
Lancaster and together, the two four-engine machines were hailed as
the fearsome harbingers of doom aimed at laying waste all that was
evil within the Third Reich. But the day of the Halifax proved worth
waiting for.