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H.P.69 Hastings B.2



The third Hastings bomber prototype was to be fitted with turbo-supercharged Hercules engines as the Hastings B.2.
Although the Hastings B.1 prototypes remained on order with the shift to produce Halifax A.IX aircraft, the Hastings B.2 was cancelled at that point.

These are really great. I don't usually like to join the "AWESOME WORK" crowd but in this case it's deserved

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USN components, camouflage colors, & reference links (World War II only)

H.P.64 Transport "C"

Initially presented in 1943 as the "Transport C", the H.P.64 was planned as both a post-war airliner and a military transport.



The H.P.64 was designed in three variants; a pressurised civil airliner, a civil freighter, and a military variant with external stores capability. The design was based heavily on the Halifax, with the new fuselage mounted on top of the wing to maximise cabin capacity.

Great additions!

H.P.68 Hermes

In 1944, the H.P.64 design was revised to use the H.P.66 wing and the aerodynamics cleaned up to use a single fin rather than the Halifax twin tail. At the same time the Air Ministry issued specification C.3/44 for a military transport to combine the roles of both the Halifax C.VIII and A.IX, which HP tendered for with the updated H.P.67. As the H.P.66 prototypes were cancelled, the name Hastings C.1 was transferred to the H.P.67.



As the Hastings C.1 would take more time to produce as a fully equipped military transport than a simple "empty shell" prototype for a civil transport, a similarly updated design as the H.P.68 "Hermes" was developed in parallel and two prototypes planned to be flown first.
Due to a serious shortage of draughtsmen at HP, the design of the new tail section of the H.P.67/H.P.68 was outsourced to Blackburn aircraft - a decision that was to have disastrous consequences.
The new H.P.68 was announced with a model in "Flight" magazine in October (with a fanciful registration for Handley Page Transport).
The first prototype was completed on the 1 December 1945, but with the Avro Tudor and Bristol Freighter having already flown the Hermes was rushed into the air the next day. Due to aerodynamic failing of the tail unit, the aircraft crashed immediately after take-off killing both pilots.
Work now stopped on the Hermes, and all effort went in to correcting the instability problems with the Hastings.

H.P.67 Hastings Mk.1

After the disaster of the Hermes, the Hastings was used to correct the fatal problems. The tailplane span was increased by 8ft, the vertical fin slightly increased in size and the trim and balance tabs modified. With these modifications, and with the cockpit setup for the RAF, the first Hastings flew six months later.



The initial Hastings aircraft were used for additional testing, and the Hastings C.1 was only released for service in June 1948. With the Berlin Airlift starting almost immediately after, further work on the Hastings was cut short to enable the aircraft to be pushed in to operational use.
After the first 100 aircraft were built, a second batch with extended fuel tankage were built as the C.2. To increase the range of the already built aircraft, a modification to add an underwing fuel tank upped the range and the aircraft so modified became Hastings C.1A's.
The Hastings gained extensive use with the RAF in the Far East, with some aircraft operating without prop spinners for additional cooling airflow in the tropics.
As well as transports, ten aircraft served as meteorological reporting aircraft as Hastings Met.1's. These aircraft served until replaced by satelite weather observations.

Excellent, very well done!

Keep up the good work!

H.P.67 Hastings C.2

The scond production batch of Hastings' incorporated changed to increase range and weight, with increased fuel capacity and the only external change being the adopting the wider, lower of the tailplane. A small enough modification that HP kept the same model number for the C.2.



Cyprus-based Hastings aircraft were used in active service for Operation Musketeer, the Anglo-French action to seize the Suez Canal. Hastings aircraft involved wore yellow and black theatre identification bands, and were involved in both paradropping and airfield insertions.
Two Hastings were involved mapping the north pole, being painted in a bare metal and red scheme to make the aircraft more visible in the event of a forced landing in the snow.
One C.2 was specially fitted with electronics and radio monitoring equipment for use by IRIS, the Inspectorate of Radio Service.
Tha Hastings was finally withdrawn from squadron service in January 1968, being replaced by the Lockheed Hercules.
Once completed with squadron service, several Hastings C.2 aircraft remained in use with the RAE, both as test aircraft and as unit "hacks".

H.P.90 Hermes IA

With the aerodynamic problems of the initial Hermes now resolved, HP looked at certifying the Hermes airliner.



As the Hermes as a civil airliner required a full civil certification process, one of the initial Hastings was set to be modified to Hermes standard as the prototype Hermes IA. With minimum modifications the aircraft embarked on a marketing tour through to New Zealand, and then returned to Britain to commence the certification. The process was started and initial modifications were made, but when it became apparent that no civil orders would be forthcoming, the process was halted, and the aircraft returned to Hastings standard.
However the process was not a waste, as New Zealand then became the only other operator of the Hastings, and an airliner-style VIP transport version of the Hastings was developed.