Only 16% of Pilots Had a Chance to Survive this Plane
It was a bold leap into uncharted territory for aviation design. The Halifax’s blueprints scrapped the traditional two-engine configuration of British bombers in favor of four powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. This dramatic shift aimed to give the new aircraft unparalleled range, speed, altitude, and, most importantly, payload capacity.
The ambitious Handley Page prototype took to the skies for the first time on September 25, 1939, just in time for the opening stages of World War 2.
With very few four-engine bombers available and the Avro Lancaster still in development, the Halifax quickly became a pillar of Britain’s Bomber Command. However, it proved to be a disaster.
She was slow, vulnerable, and flew at lower altitudes than expected. Most concerning of all, she was a flying coffin. As this four-engine bomber became the backbone of British bombing operations, the survival rate of her crews plummeted.
Out of every 100 airmen aboard a bomber, 45 were lost, six were seriously wounded, and eight became prisoners of war. Halifax airmen had a mere 16 percent chance of surviving a tour. The situation was so dire that Canadian Pilot Murray Peden noted: (QUOTE) “On a single night, Bomber Command suffered more losses than did Fighter Command during the entire Battle of Britain.”
Yet, with no alternative and no intention of letting the Germans win the war, the flow of volunteers for Halifax never faltered. Brave men like Captain John Emilius “Johnny” Fauquier, against all odds and despite all of the bomber’s flaws, would rewrite history aboard the Halifax.
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