The Halifax Bomber
Discussion
Thread inspired by the Lancaster thread.
I'm reading a book at the moment on Bomber Command - not great but has lots of interesting personal accounts. I hadn't realised that in a lot of respects the Halifax was a better bomber than the Lanc - as described by an ex-pilot "it was the unsung hero; kind of like the bomber equivalent of the Hurricane" Said pilot went on to say that many of the crews prepared flying the Halifax as it a better aircraft to be shot down / crash in.
So why does it not have the fame of the lanc and why no Halifax in the BoB flight?
I'm reading a book at the moment on Bomber Command - not great but has lots of interesting personal accounts. I hadn't realised that in a lot of respects the Halifax was a better bomber than the Lanc - as described by an ex-pilot "it was the unsung hero; kind of like the bomber equivalent of the Hurricane" Said pilot went on to say that many of the crews prepared flying the Halifax as it a better aircraft to be shot down / crash in.
So why does it not have the fame of the lanc and why no Halifax in the BoB flight?
Possibly because there are very few left, none of which are flying. So they dont capture the imagination with newer generations like the Lancaster has.
Neither of them was around with the Batle of britain, so if they could get a Wellington back into the air that would be very nice, thank you
Neither of them was around with the Batle of britain, so if they could get a Wellington back into the air that would be very nice, thank you
There are only 3 Halifax left - 2 in good condition and 1 being restored.
I don't think the Halifax was a better bomber than the Lancaster, although they did derive from the same air ministry specification. It had much less range than the Lancaster largely due to less efficient aerodynamics, and was underpowered especially in the early versions.
I found a quote regarding this on another site:
I don't think the Halifax was a better bomber than the Lancaster, although they did derive from the same air ministry specification. It had much less range than the Lancaster largely due to less efficient aerodynamics, and was underpowered especially in the early versions.
I found a quote regarding this on another site:
quote said:
"Some of the Merlin Halifax's problems were caused by the way the engines were installed by Handley Page. Avro had designed the twin-Vulture instalation for the manchester, but when the Merlin Lancaster alternative was agreed in August 1940, Avro wisely accepted the advice of Rolls-Royce and installed the Merlins well forward and below the leading edge of the wing. The nacelles for the Merlins on the Halifax were shorter, and sited higher bringing the propellers very close to the leading edge of the wings. The high thrust line disturbed the airflow over the wing, causing loss of lift, whilst the proximity of the propellers to the wing's leading edge interfered with the efficiency of the propeller blades, causing heavy vibration, and reduction gear failures.
Plenty of Hercules would be available stirling bomber production stopped, so Hecules VI, and later Hercules XVI engines were fitted on Halifax IIIs and VIs, installed with a lower thrust line in longer nacelles. The subsequent re-design of the Hercules supercharger and re-timing of the engine raised the ceiling, and maximum and cruising speeds of the later Halifax VIs significantly, and some crews found that they easily outclimbed Lancasters."
The other factor was that the Lancaster had taken part in some extremely famous raids like the Dambusters and sinking of the Tirpitz, whereas the Halifax had a reputation for relatively high loss rates.Plenty of Hercules would be available stirling bomber production stopped, so Hecules VI, and later Hercules XVI engines were fitted on Halifax IIIs and VIs, installed with a lower thrust line in longer nacelles. The subsequent re-design of the Hercules supercharger and re-timing of the engine raised the ceiling, and maximum and cruising speeds of the later Halifax VIs significantly, and some crews found that they easily outclimbed Lancasters."
Those who flew the Halifax will never say a bad word against it. In some ways, it was inferior to the Lanc but, in others, it was actually better.
Nearly all the original heavies built to the 1936 Air Ministry specification had massive problems. Only one entered service as originally envisaged (the Short Stirling). Both the Halifax and Manchester were supposed to be powered by two Rolls Royce Vultures. Handley Page realised that the Vulture was actually a Turkey - and switched to the Merlin before finalising their design. Avro perserverd and built the Manchester - which was a disaster.
Any smugness Handley Page might have felt was wiped away because early Halifaxes had problems of their own - mainly down to inadequately profiled tailfins. Also, the Merlins (for the reasons mentioned above) were not providing the benefit hoped for so alternative engines were sought. In the end, the Halifax standardised on the Bristol Hercules air cooled radial - and the tailfins were enlarged, curing the lateral stability problems.
During WW2, Lancasters were almost entirely devoted to the bombing campaign against Germany. This meant that Halifax production was "freed up" to enable other roles to be allocated. As a result, Halifaxes ended up with Coastal Command, Transport Command and operating in various roles in the Middle and Far East. In fact, the Hercules engined versions were deemed to be superior to the Lancaater in hot climates which is why they ended up being allocated to overseas units. It was only with the defeat of Germany in May 1945 that it was decided to switch Lancaster operations to the far east (the Tiger Force). The war ended before any Tiger Force squadrons had been deployed.
Halifaxes were rapidly retired after the end of WW2. Lancasters soldiered on in non-bombing areas - such as maritime patrol and as company test beds. The two lancasters that survived in airworthy state are an ex-Canadian maritime patrol aircraft and an ex-test bed aircraft (the BOBMF example).
By the early 1960s, all Halifaxes had been scrapped. The wreck on display at the RAF Museum Hendon was dredged off a Norwegian lake bed in 1972. The fantastic Canadian restoration also came out of a lake. The other restored example (here in the UK) is a hybrid using genuine Halifax fuselage sections, recreated sections and wings and engines from a Hastings transport.
Nearly all the original heavies built to the 1936 Air Ministry specification had massive problems. Only one entered service as originally envisaged (the Short Stirling). Both the Halifax and Manchester were supposed to be powered by two Rolls Royce Vultures. Handley Page realised that the Vulture was actually a Turkey - and switched to the Merlin before finalising their design. Avro perserverd and built the Manchester - which was a disaster.
Any smugness Handley Page might have felt was wiped away because early Halifaxes had problems of their own - mainly down to inadequately profiled tailfins. Also, the Merlins (for the reasons mentioned above) were not providing the benefit hoped for so alternative engines were sought. In the end, the Halifax standardised on the Bristol Hercules air cooled radial - and the tailfins were enlarged, curing the lateral stability problems.
During WW2, Lancasters were almost entirely devoted to the bombing campaign against Germany. This meant that Halifax production was "freed up" to enable other roles to be allocated. As a result, Halifaxes ended up with Coastal Command, Transport Command and operating in various roles in the Middle and Far East. In fact, the Hercules engined versions were deemed to be superior to the Lancaater in hot climates which is why they ended up being allocated to overseas units. It was only with the defeat of Germany in May 1945 that it was decided to switch Lancaster operations to the far east (the Tiger Force). The war ended before any Tiger Force squadrons had been deployed.
Halifaxes were rapidly retired after the end of WW2. Lancasters soldiered on in non-bombing areas - such as maritime patrol and as company test beds. The two lancasters that survived in airworthy state are an ex-Canadian maritime patrol aircraft and an ex-test bed aircraft (the BOBMF example).
By the early 1960s, all Halifaxes had been scrapped. The wreck on display at the RAF Museum Hendon was dredged off a Norwegian lake bed in 1972. The fantastic Canadian restoration also came out of a lake. The other restored example (here in the UK) is a hybrid using genuine Halifax fuselage sections, recreated sections and wings and engines from a Hastings transport.
Edited by Eric Mc on Sunday 9th August 22:50
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