The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers Wellington. The newest of the three medium bombers, the Hampden was often referred to by aircrews as the "Flying Suitcase" because of its cramped crew conditions. The Hampden was powered by Bristol Pegasus radial engines but a variant known as the Handley Page Hereford had in-line Napier Daggers.
The Hampden served in the early stages of the Second World War, bearing the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-bomber raid on Cologne. When it became obsolete, after a period of mainly operating at night, it was retired from RAF Bomber Command service in late 1942. By 1943, the rest of the trio were being superseded by the larger four-engined heavy bombers such as the Avro Lancaster.
Crew: 4 (pilot, navigator/bomb aimer, radio operator/dorsal gunner, ventral gunner)
Length: 53 ft 7 in (16.32 m)
Wingspan: 69 ft 2 in (21.09 m)
Height: 14 ft 11 in (4.55 m)
Wing area: 668 sq ft (62.1 m2)
Empty weight: 12,764 lb (5,789 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 22,500 lb (10,206 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Bristol Pegasus XVIII 9-cylinder radial engine, 1000 hp (754 kW)at 3,000 feet (910 m) each
Maximum speed: 247 mph (215 knots, 397 km/h) at 13,800 ft (4,210 m)
Cruise speed: 206 mph (179 knots, 332 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,580 m)
Range: 1,720 mi (1,496 nmi, 2,768 km) (Max fuel and 2,000 lb (910 kg) bombs, 206 mph (332 km/h))
Service ceiling: 19,000 ft (5,790 m)
Rate of climb: 980 ft/min[41] (300 m/min)
Guns:
1 × fixed forward firing .303 in (7.7 mm) M1919 Browning machine gun in nose
3–5 Vickers K machine guns: one flexibly mounted in the nose, one or two each in dorsal and ventral positions
Bombs: 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) bombs or 1 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo or mines
