Jones, Tony M. Handley Page Hermes

A very British Airliner

The Hermes was developed for use on post-war international routes and was an attractive challenger, but suffered from a number of problems that hampered its success. The loss of the prototype on its maiden flight in 1945 delayed the programme, and when the production version was launched, a change to the landing gear to a nose wheel configuration and Sir Frederick Handley Page's insistence that all components should be of British origin led to further delays. Nevertheless, in July 1950, BOAC introduced the commercial aircraft that was to take over the African routes from the Short Solent flying boats. BOAC ordered 25 aircraft, although several heavy aircraft were rejected by the company. Extensive research at the British Airways Heritage Centre has revealed BOAC's extraordinary efforts to improve the aircraft's performance. Retired from service as early as 1954, a few Hermes aircraft were given a short reprieve by BOAC after the Comet was decommissioned, but at the end of that year the entire fleet was put up for sale. Airwork, which had taken over several heavy aircraft in 1952, was assisted by Britavia and Skyways in the troop flights for which the Hermes became famous. Later operators included Silver City, Air Safaris, Falcon Airways and Air Links, as well as leasing contracts with Kuwait Airways and Middle East Airlines abroad. All of these airlines' services are covered in detail. The author has compiled a remarkable number of excellent photographs, many of which have never been printed before, as well as correspondence between BOAC, Handley Page and the government about the problems with the Hermes. There are six impressive colour photographs of Hermes operators from the 1950s. As is customary with Air-Britain books, there is a complete production history, a comprehensive bibliography and a detailed analysis of the accidents that have occurred with this type of aircraft. This book covers all variants, including the turboprop-powered Hermes 5 and the development work on the Hermes 2, which was the last Hermes to fly.