The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engine heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing. The Halifax was also operated by squadrons of the Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force and Polish Air Force.

The Halifax entered service with No. 35 Squadron RAF at RAF Linton on Ouse in November 1940 and its first operational raid was against Le Havre on the night of 11-12 March 1941. In service with RAF Bomber Command, Halifaxes flew 82,773 operations, dropped 224,207 tons of bombs and lost 1,833 aircraft. (Wings Encyclopedia of Aviation, Orbis, 1979) In addition to bombing missions, the Halifax served as a glider tug, electronic warfare aircraft for No. 100 Group RAF and special operations such as parachuting agents and arms into occupied Europe. Halifaxes were also operated by RAF Coastal Command for anti submarine warfare, reconnaissance and meteorological roles.

Total Halifax production was 6,176 with the last aircraft delivered in November 1946. In addition to Handley Page, Halifaxes were built by English Electric, Fairey Aviation, Rootes Motors and the London Aircraft Production Group. Peak production resulted in one Halifax being completed every hour.

Post-WWII, Halifaxes remained in service with the RAF Coastal Command and RAF Transport Command and the Armee de l'Air until early 1952. The Pakistan Air Force which inherited the planes from the RAF continued to use the type until 1961. A transport/cargo version of the Halifax was also produced, the Handley Page Halton.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a RCAF Handley Page Halifax B.VII heavy bomber nicknamed "Vicky The Vicious Virgin", that was attached to No.408 "Goose" Squadron, No.6 (RCAF) Group, then deployed to Linton-on-Ouse during 1945. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 17-1/4-inches
Length: 12-inches

Release Date: September 2016

Historical Account: "The Dirty Old Man" - As far as WWII Bomber Command aircraft nose artwork is concerned, Handley Page Halifax VII PN230 "Vicky the Vicious Virgin" has to be considered as one of the most elaborate of the war. he distinctive artwork was created by bomb aimer Bert "Scratch" Evans, when he was posted to No.408 "Goose" (RCAF) Squadron, at Linton-on-Ouse and assigned to Halifax PN230. The name "Vicky the Vicious Virgin" was painted on both sides of the aircraft, with an additional pin-up artwork added to the port side of the fuselage. Each crew station also carried their respective nickname painted on the fuselage, with pilot Ron Craven earning the unfortunate title of "The dirty old man". Despite this lighthearted artistic distraction, this crew went on to complete 21 missions over enemy territory, the last 13 of which were in "Vicky".

The Handley Page Halifax was the second of Britain's four-engined heavy bombers to enter RAF service and the first to drop bombs on German soil. Often regarded as an inferior aircraft to the more famous Avro Lancaster, there is no doubting that the initial introduction of the Halifax was troublesome and operational loss rates were unacceptably high. Successive upgrades resulted in a much better aircraft, which was to shoulder a significant responsibility in the bomber offensive against Germany and served right through to the end of the war. Operating at lower altitudes than the Lancaster, many crews learned to love their Halifax and over the years, there has been heated debate amongst former aircrew as to which aircraft was the best heavy bomber of WWII - we should leave this discussion to the experts, the brave aircrew who flew both the Lancaster and the Halifax.