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| Handley Page Hinaidi | |
|---|---|
| Name | Handley Page Hinaidi |
| Type | Medium bomber |
| Manufacturer | Handley Page Ltd |
| First flight | 1922 |
| Introduced | 1923 |
| Retired | 1930s |
| Primary user | Royal Air Force |
| Produced | 20–30 |
Handley Page Hinaidi was a British twin-engine biplane developed in the early 1920s as a successor to an earlier Handley Page design for the Royal Air Force. It served with No. 10 Squadron RAF, No. 58 Squadron RAF, and other units during the interwar period, bridging the transition from First World War types to later Vickers Virginia and Avro Anson successors. The aircraft reflected contemporaneous advances in Aviation in the United Kingdom, linking designers at Handley Page Ltd with procurement at the Air Ministry.
The Hinaidi emerged from Handley Page's response to Air Ministry specification changes after the First World War. Design work at Cricklewood and later Handley Page works led by engineers influenced by Frederick Handley Page integrated lessons from the Handley Page Hyderabad and Handley Page Hampstead concepts. Early prototypes were evaluated alongside types from Armstrong Whitworth and Gloster, with testing at Royal Aircraft Establishment and trials at RAF Martlesham Heath. The aircraft used twin Napier Lion engines or alternatives such as the Rolls-Royce Eagle in some trials, mounted on a wooden-and-fabric biplane airframe with steel-tube fittings influenced by structural practice at de Havilland and Bristol Aeroplane Company. The undercarriage and empennage reflected lessons from operations with No. 70 Squadron RAF and No. 100 Squadron RAF, while the dorsal and ventral guns were sited to meet requirements from Air Council directives and tactical doctrines influenced by Sir Hugh Trenchard.
Several versions appeared during development and production. The prototypes incorporated different powerplants and airframe changes tested at Windermere and Felixstowe. Production Hinaidi Is fitted standardized engines similar to those used on contemporary Vickers Virginia batches ordered by RAF Middle East Command. A limited Hinaidi II conversion featured revised radiators and revised crew accommodation influenced by designs seen on Handley Page Hyderabad conversions. Experimental conversions trialed alternative propellers from de Havilland Propellers and instrumentation linked to avionics supplied by companies used on Airco types. Performance variations were compared directly with contemporaries like Sopwith-derived designs and later interwar bombers evaluated at Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment.
Operational deployment placed Hinaidis in RAF home defence and colonial stations, supporting units including No. 10 Squadron RAF and No. 58 Squadron RAF based at RAF Boscombe Down and RAF Upavon. The type served on routine night-bombing exercises linked to doctrine discussions at Staff College, Camberley and was involved in search-and-rescue support missions coordinated with Royal Navy aviation elements operating from bases such as Hal Far and HMS Furious trials. Crews included pilots and navigators who later served with squadrons in the Air Defence of Great Britain and staff who transferred to training establishments like RAF College Cranwell. Mechanical reliability issues with early engines prompted support from workshops at Aston Martin-trained fitters and overhaul schedules aligned with policies from the Ministry of Defence predecessors; lessons learned influenced procurement for later types such as the Handley Page Heyford and Handley Page Halifax lineage.
Crew, dimensions and performance were typical of light-to-medium interwar bombers ordered by the Air Ministry. Powerplants varied across prototypes and production machines with Napier Lion and Rolls-Royce options. Armament normally included multiple Lewis guns in dorsal and ventral positions and a moderate internal bomb load comparable to contemporaries evaluated alongside the Fairey Hendon and Hawker Hart in later policy reviews. Operational ceiling, range and speed placed it between First World War-era heavy types like the Handley Page V/1500 and later monoplane bombers emerging in the 1930s, informing debates at Air Ministry staff meetings and papers circulated to units including No. 1 Group RAF.
No complete Hinaidi airframes survive in museum collections at institutions such as the Imperial War Museum or the Royal Air Force Museum, though archival material and parts exist in collections at universities and private collections associated with Brooklands Museum and regional aviation archives. The design influenced subsequent Handley Page projects and contributed engineering experience later applied to the Handley Page Heyford and the strategic designs of the 1930s, informing designers who later worked on Handley Page Halifax. Its operational history is documented in squadron records held at The National Archives (United Kingdom) and in periodicals archived by the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Category:Handley Page aircraft Category:1920s British bomber aircraft