Handley Page Ltd
Just north of the M25 at Radlett, Hertfordshire, lies a site that was once covered by aircraft hangars, towers and runways. This was Radlett Aerodrome, opened in 1929 for Handley Page Civil Aircraft and where, after 1939, the company’s Halifax bombers and airliners were produced.
Handley Page Ltd started business in Barking before, in 1912, setting up an aircraft factory in Cricklewood (now the Cricklewood trading estate). One of its earliest commissions was to produce bombers for the Royal Navy during the first world war. In the 1920s, its main source of income wasn’t aircraft production, but the licensing fees from other companies to use the Handley Page Slat, a small channel cut into the leading edge of the wing that improved airflow.
Sadly, the company went bankrupt in 1970, and the Radlett aerodrome’s buildings were demolished, hardly the fate that this pioneering venture deserved.
Photo: Jules Marshall
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On 17 June 1909, Mr (later Sir) Frederick Handley Page registered Handley Page Ltd as the first English limited company formed solely to design and manufacture aircraft. The company became well known for its large aircraft including the O/400 and V/1500 in World War I, the HP42 airliner for Imperial Airways in the 1930s, the Halifax bomber in World War II and the Victor jet bomber during the Cold War.
David Lang
