The Handley-Page Hampden was an aircraft that was very nearly obsolete when it went into service. One of the first British bombers to see service in World War, it carried a payload similar to the Wellington and Whitley, but was much faster and more maneuverable. It was the newest design of these three, sporting a very slender fuselage and fixed guns. It was indeed faster and more agile but the defensive armament was inadequate and was later updated. Known as the "Flying Suitcase" due to its narrow fuselage and cramped crew positions, the Hampden was nearly as fast as the Blenheim but carried 4 x the load twice as far. It was initially used in daylight raids until combat losses dictated an improvement in defensive armament as well as a switch to night ops. At night, the Hampden continued with success in raids on Germany and particiapted in the first "1,000 bomber" raid before being withdrawn in 1942.
Aircraft variants included :
- Hampden B. Mk. 1 :
1) 185 Sqn. , RAF Cottesmore, 1939. Early version, has leading edge slats, short exhausts. 2) 144 Sqn. , RAF North Luffenham, 1942. Long exhausts, full night bomber camo. 3) 1404 (Met) Flight, RAF Coastal Command, 1943. Long exhausts, sea grey over white, unarmed Meteorological unit. 4) P5, C/n 810, Swedish Air Force, 1942. Short exhausts, unarmed trials aircraft.
- Hampden TB. Mk. 1 :
5) 415 Sqdn, Royal Canadian Air Force, 1943. Short exhausts, sea grey/slate grey camo over sky. 6) 489 Sqdn, Royal New Zealand Air Force, 1944. Long exhausts, sea grey over sky. 7) 24 MTAP, Soviet Naval Air Force, 1943. Short exhausts, early RAF night bomber camo repainted with Soviet red stars.
Features :
- VR ready. Yoke latch-on enabled. - Wwise sounds package with 3-stage engine sounds, canopy muting, switch clicks and other unique cockpit sounds - very detailed cockpit with numerous animations and mousable controls, rain fx on glass - in-game checklist - working Automatic Controls (ALT/HDG hold only) - working Lorentz Instrument (uses DME/NAV1 LOC) - animated automatic leading edge slats (1 variant only) - togglable realistic crew figures - seperate animated front and rear canopies, animated ventral hatch and bomb bay doors - animated cowl flaps with rotary handle control in cockpit - authentic flight model - 28-page illustrated User Operating Manual