Science Fair Project Encyclopedia Handley Page Aircraft Company
The Handley Page Aircraft Company was founded by Frederick
Handley Page in 1909 as the United Kingdom's first publicly
traded aircraft manufacturing company. It filed for bankruptcy
and ceased to exist in 1970. The company, based at Radlett
Aerodrome in Hertfordshire, was noted for producing heavy
bombers and large airliners. World War I During the First World
War Handley Page produced a series of bomber for the Royal Navy
to bomb the German Zeppelin yards, with the ultimate intent of
bombing Berlin in revenge for the Zeppelin attacks on London.
These aircraft included the O/100, the O/400 and the four
engined V/1500 with the range to reach Berlin. The V/1500 only
just reached operational service as the war ended in 1918. In
the immediate post-war years, Handley Page modified a number of
O/400's to passenger use, which they flew on the London-Paris
route as Handley Page Transport. The V/1500 was considered too
large to be practical at the time, b