The Handley Page HP 67 Hastings was a troop-carrier and freight transport of the Royal Air Force. At the time it was the largest transport plane ever designed for the RAF, and it replaced the Avro York as the standard long-range transport. It had all-metal tapering dihedral wings and a circular fuselage suitable for pressurisation up to 5.5 lbf/in² (38 kPa).

The two squadrons equipped with Hastings flew intensively during the Berlin Airlift, and a Hastings made the last sortie of the airlift on October 6, 1949. 100 Hastings C1 and 41 Hastings C2 were built, and they served on Transport Command's long-range routes until the arrival of the Bristol Britannia in 1959.

19 Hastings were later converted for weather reconnaissance, and 8 were converted to Hastings T5 radar trainers for bomb-aimers.

Handley Page Hermes

The Handley Page HP 81 Hermes was a civilian airliner of identical outward appearance to the Hastings. It was intended to introduce the Hermes before the Hastings, but production was delayed after the prototype DH 68 Hermes I crashed on its maiden flight December 2, 1945. The production model HP 81 Hermes IV was fitted with 2,100 hp (1,570 kW) Bristol Hercules 763 engines, had a tricycle undercarriage instead of a tail-wheel and could carry up to 82 passengers. 25 of these were built, and they were used by BOAC on routes in West and South Africa.

Specifications