Looking like a dummy from some early sci-fi movie, this small aircraft was real and flyable.
First known as the “Tailless Research Aircraft” the Handley Page HP.75 was designed by Dr. Gustav Victor Lachmann to investigate the problems associated with tailless aircraft. The airframe was build by Dart Aircraft of Dunstable, England, the aircraft was finished at Radlett, England.
There were serious issues encountered early in the development phase that caused a delay in the testing program. After it was delivered in 1939, redesigns had to be made because the Manx was too heavy (4000 lb fulle loaded), and there were also structural integrity issues with the main spar.
An unorthodox aspect of the Manx design incorporated into the aircraft was that the main undercarriage was retractable, while the nose gear remained fixed.
During taxi trials on September 12, 1942, the aircraft (powered by a pair of de Havilland Gipsy Major 140hp engines) flew unintendedly at an height of 12 ft (3.66 m) and was subsequently damaged while landing. Marked with the ‘Class B’ markings H-0222 the Manx flew for the first time on June 25, 1943. In 1945 it was designated H.P.75 for the first time. A total of 31 flights were made till April 3, 1946 (total flight time 17 hr 43 min) when the aircraft was stored and subsequently scrapped in 1952.
H. Cowin wrote in the X-Planes: “If the Manx added anything to the fund of tailless aircraft handling knowledge, it remains well hidden. ”
Info: 1000aircraftphotos.com (Bernhard C.F. Klein collection), Wikipedia
Images: Flight Global Archive
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