Handley Page H.P.42

HP.42 / HP.45
Handley Page H.P.42 G-AAUD Hanno
General information
Type	Civilian airliner
Manufacturer	Handley Page
Designer	George Volkert and Harold Boultbee
Primary users	Imperial Airways Royal Air Force
Number built	4 HP.42, 4 HP.45
History
Introduction date	June 1931
First flight	14 November 1930
Retired	1940 (all lost)

The Handley Page H.P.42 and H.P.45 were four-engine biplane airliners designed and manufactured by British aviation company Handley Page, based in Radlett, Hertfordshire. They held the distinction of being the largest airliners in regular use in the world on the type's introduction in 1931.^[1]

The H.P.42/45 were designed in response to a specification issued during 1928 by the British flag airline Imperial Airways. The two models are very similar, with the H.P.42 optimised for range at the expense of payload while the H.P.45 carried more passengers over shorter distances. Imperial Airways approved Handley Page's proposals and ordered four aircraft of the two variants to serve as the new land-based long-distance flagships of its fleet.

On 14 November 1930, the prototype, named Hannibal made its first flight. Following their introduction into Imperial Airways service, they formed the backbone of the airliner's land-based fleet through most of the 1930s and, along with the company's numerous flying boats. Eight aircraft were built, four of each type and all had names beginning with the letter "H". Three survivors were pressed into Royal Air Force (RAF) service at the outbreak of the Second World War. By the end of 1940, all of the aircraft had been destroyed.