Handley Page Herald Timelines

Description

A very British airliner which had the potential to be a great success, but ultimately fell short of the mark because of the wrong design. Learn the history of the Herald in this wonderful aviation book.

Following World War II the Douglas DC-3 was king and many war surplus examples had found their way into the fleets of airlines around the world. Airlines soon started looking to new technology to provide more comfort, prestige, and greater profits. Handley Page saw the opportunity, along with other aircraft manufacturers, to develop a replacement airliner for the DC-3 and other wartime piston aircraft. However, unlike other manufacturers, a like-for-like piston engine option was chosen whilst competitors such as Fokker looked to the turboprop in a bid to woo airlines.

Handley Page realised too late that the path they had chosen would not yield customers and backtracked to re-develop the Herald as a twin turboprop aircraft, but despite the quality of the finished product, orders would never be as significant as the Dutch rival s F-27.

The Herald nevertheless soldiered on with a variety of airlines worldwide until the 1990s, with a significant fondness from crews, passengers and those who had been involved in the aircraft s development.

This book looks back at the development and life of the Herald and the people who flew it.

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