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                          Photo Album (3 photos) |
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RAF P5436 Manufactured: 1942 2 1000 hp Bristol Pegasus XVIII engines Maximum speed: 254 mph Empty weight: 11,780 lbs. Loaded weight: 18,756 lbs. P5436 was one of the Canadian-built Hampdens. It survived only 100 hours of flying time before crashing near Patricia Bay, on November 15th, 1942, while engaged in torpedo dropping practice. The pilot made the error of turning at low speed and altitude, causing the aircraft to fall into a "stabilized yaw", a known Hampden flaw. The aircraft quickly sank 600 feet to the bottom. The 4 man crew was more fortunate, as the pilot of a passing Stranraer flying boat had seen the mishap, and they were plucked out of the water, with very minor injuries, within minutes. In the 1980's, CMF salvaged the remains of Hampden AN136 from Mt. Tuam on Saltspring Island, and a later N132 from a mountaintop near Ucluelet. Our underwater recovery crew was aware of P5436, but the exact location continued to elude SONAR and underwater cameras. In 1985, some detective work into wartime RCAF files pin pointed the depth of the wreck, and this was almost immediately rewarded by some beautiful SONAR views of a complete Hampden! Although fairly complete and mostly intact, the aircraft was badly corroded, damaged, and very fragile, making for a difficult salvage operation that was carried out by a remote controlled submarine aided by video camera. Considering that more than 44 years were spent in salt water, some small components were in magnificent shape. The compass worked, there was air in the tires and greased bearings and drive chains moved freely. The difficult and costly salvage operation was carried out by Jerry Olsen and his crew of C-LOST (Canadian Lake and Ocean Salvage Team), the Thompson Family of Tillicum Towing of Pender Harbour and International Submarine Engineering who loaned the tech equipment. Restoration work has been moving along, driven mainly by volunteer Fred Gardham, who worked on Hampdens in the local aviation industry during WWII... and who had even logged one flight in P5436 following repairs. The fuselage tailplanes and outer wing panels have been rebuilt, using in addition some vital components from the other two Hampden crash sites. Up to 1985, there was no Hampden's preserved for future generations to see. Now, not only has CMF nearly completed the cosmetic restoration of one, but also in mid-1991 a second airframe in reasonable condition, was recovered from a crash site in Russia, and returned to the U.K. for restoration. What of the 4-man crew of the P5436? We have traced down members of the RCAF and RAAF, who died in Canada and Australia in recent years. The other two were RAF, and one is thought to have visited Pat Bay in the mid-1980's. We are still searching for them. General Information The Handley Page Hampden was not a great aircraft, however, it served Bomber Command with Distinction during the dark early days of WWII, after which it was relegated to Coastal Command and as a crew trainer at various Operational Training Units. At the end of the war, no complete or partial Hampden aircraft were retained for museum display. Of 1430 Hampdens manufactured, 160 were built in Canada by the "Victory Aircraft" consortium of 3 Ontario and 3 Quebec aircraft companies as an "educational project" to build up the Canadian aircraft industry and expertise for building the 4-engined Short Stirling bomber. Of the 160 built, 84 were shipped by sea to Britain, while the remainder came to Patricia Bay (Victoria Airport) B.C., to set up No.32 OTU (RAF). Due to heavy attrition from accidents, a number of "war weary" Hampdens were later flown from the U.K. to Pat Bay as replacements. Typical exercises at 32 OTU consisted of patrolling up the West Coast of Vancouver Island at night or flying out into the Pacific to a navigational map coordinate, often in adverse and unforecast weather. The four-seat Hampden was the last of the twin-engine medium bombers to go into service during the expansion of Bomber Command in the late 1930's. Of all-metal construction, the fuselage had a distinctive deep fore-body housing the crew, and a relatively slender tail-boom carrying the tailplane and twin fins and rudders, a configuration that lead to the nicknames "Flying Panhandle" and "Flying Suitcase". Maximum bomb load was 4,000 lb., stowed internal in the fuselage beneath the wings. The prototype was powered by two Bristol Pegasus PE.55a engines, but production Hampdens had two 1,000 hp Pegasus XVIIIs. The went into service in August 1938 with No. 49 Squadron (RAF). During operations, the Hampden proved to have serious deficiencies, particularly in its defensive armament, which consisted of five 0.303 inch machine guns. The fixed forward firing gun proved almost useless and the single guns in the nose, dorsal and ventral positions had limited transverse, leaving a number of blind spots. In addition, the cramped conditions led to crew fatigue on long flights, and it was almost impossible for crew members to gain access to each others cockpit in an emergency. Losses during early daylight raids were very heavy. To improve the defensive armament, the dorsal and ventral positions were each fitted with twin Vickers K machine-guns. In addition, armor plate was installed and flame-damping exhaust pipes were fitted for night flying. Thus modified, the Hampden did useful work in Bomber Command's night offensive from 1940 to 1942, taking part in the RAF's first raid on Berlin and in the famous 1,000 bomber raid on Cologne. A variant of the Hampden was the Hereford, powered by two 1,000 hp 16-cylinder H-type Napier Dagger engines. It went into service in 1940, was relegated to bomber crew training duties. Several overseas RCAF squadrons flew the Hampden, as a bomber and torpedo-bomber. Photo: John Inksater | |
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