Sir Frederick Handley Page CBE FRAeS (15 November 1885 – 21 April 1962) was an English business leader who played an important role in the development of the aircraft industry. He is often called the father of the heavy bomber because of his contributions to this area.

His company, Handley Page Limited, became famous for designing large aircraft, including the Handley Page 0/400, Halifax bombers, and the H.P.42 airliner. The H.P.42 was the main airplane used by Imperial Airways during the time between World Wars I and II. It was notable because no passengers were ever killed during its flights.

Sir Frederick is also credited with inventing, along with Gustav Lachmann, the leading edge slot. This invention helped improve how airplane wings perform when flying at slow speeds. He was also the uncle of Geoffrey Page, a skilled pilot during World War II.

Early life

Handley Page was born in Cheltenham, the second child of Frederick Joseph Page, who worked as a furniture maker and was part of the Plymouth Brethren. He attended Cheltenham Grammar School. In 1902, despite his parents' objections, he moved to London to study electrical engineering at Finsbury Technical College.

Career

In 1906, after passing an exam, he was named chief designer at Johnson & Phillips Ltd, an electrical engineering company located in Charlton, southeast London. In 1907, he joined the Royal Aeronautical Society, where he met José Weiss, an artist and aviation pioneer. Weiss was testing gliders using a wing design inspired by the seed-pods of the Zanonia macrocarpa, a design he later patented in 1908. However, Handley Page began conducting unauthorized experiments at Johnson & Phillips, which the company’s board viewed as fraud. As a result, he was dismissed, leaving his assistant, A.R. Low, in charge. Low later became an aircraft designer for Vickers.

Handley Page quickly started his own business, setting up an office in Woolwich. He accepted a commission to build an aircraft for G.P. Deverall-Saul. After searching for a suitable location, he rented a small area of marshland and a shed in Creekmouth, Essex, where he built his first aircraft. It was a glider with a canard configuration, a tricycle undercarriage, and a wing based on Weiss’s design. Handley Page agreed to use Weiss’s patents in exchange for improving the wing for his next glider. He planned to display his work at the 1909 Aero Exhibition at Olympia. In June 1909, he officially formed his business as a limited company with an authorized capital of £10,000.

The glider and the aircraft built for Deverall-Saul, which used a 7 hp (5.2 kW) engine, did not perform well. However, Deverall-Saul ordered a second aircraft, and two other commissions were received. Handley Page also designed and built his first powered aircraft, the Bluebird, named for its blue-gray rubber fabric covering. He intended to display it at the 1910 Aero Exhibition. In addition to building complete aircraft, his company produced metal parts for aircraft and propellers, two of which were used by one of the Willows airships. After the Bluebird was shown at Olympia, Handley Page tried to learn to fly using it. On May 26, 1910, he achieved a short straight flight, but his first attempt to turn ended in a crash. The aircraft was rebuilt with a more powerful engine and wing-warping for control, but it still failed. Work then began on a new, larger monoplane.

At the same time, Handley Page worked to improve the Royal Aeronautical Society. He earned extra income through journalism and lectures, teaching electrical engineering in Finsbury and later becoming a lecturer in aeronautics at the Northampton Polytechnic Institute in Clerkenwell, London, in 1911. He built a wind tunnel there and sold the Bluebird to the Institute for use as a teaching tool.

First World War

After the start of World War I in 1914, Handley Page was asked by Murray Sueter to meet at the Admiralty to talk about the navy's need for airplanes. This led to a plan for a large airplane with two engines that could carry 600 pounds (270 kilograms) of bombs and was bigger than any plane built before. The result was the Handley Page 0/100, which first flew in December 1915 and marked the beginning of the company's reputation for making large aircraft. During the war, this plane was improved into the 0/400 and 0/1500 bombers.

Development of leading-edge slots

In 1917, Handley Page and his aerodynamic expert R.O. Bothwell began wind-tunnel experiments to combine the benefits of two types of wings. High aspect ratio wings have low drag, while low aspect ratio wings stay effective at high angles of attack. Early tests used wings divided into square panels by slots running along the wing's length, but these did not work well. Next, they tried dividing wings into two sections with a narrow slot across the wing's width. The first test, using a slot at 25% of the wing's length on an RAF 15 wing, increased lift by 25%. Researchers found that the shape and position of the slots were very important. Between 1918 and 1919, many wind-tunnel tests were conducted in secret because Handley Page wanted to keep the idea private until he could patent it. He delayed filing a patent until he could design a device that allowed the pilot to open and close the slot. This patent was granted on 24 October 1919. At the same time, Gustav Lachmann, a German pilot and engineer, independently developed a similar idea. He tried to patent it a few weeks before Handley Page, but his application was first rejected. Later, his patent was approved, and he contacted Handley Page. Instead of fighting legally, the two men agreed to share the patents. Lachmann accepted a position as a consultant for Handley Page and later became the company's head of design and director of research.

Post-war

After World War I, the aviation industry faced many challenges, and Handley Page Ltd was one of the companies affected. During the war, the company grew quickly: it had only 12 employees at the start of the war, but by 1918, it employed over 5,000 people. In early 1919, the company became a public limited company. On June 14, 1919, it created a new company called Handley Page Transport Services. This company began using modified airplanes to deliver newspapers on May 1, 1919, the first day civil aviation was allowed under new air rules.

After the war, the government had to deal with a large number of unused military planes, engines, and parts. A government group, the Aircraft Disposal Board, was responsible for this task. However, a political scandal led to a decision to sell these items. Handley Page successfully bid to buy the materials for £1 million plus half of any profits. This included over 10,000 planes, 30,000 engines, and other supplies, such as 1,000 tons of ball bearings. A new company, the Aircraft Disposal Company, was formed to manage the sale, and Handley Page Ltd was chosen as its only agent.

Handley Page’s involvement with the Aircraft Disposal Company caused serious financial problems. By April 1919, the value of shares in Handley Page Ltd had dropped to one shilling. The company was accused of using £400,000 from the Aircraft Disposal Company to fund failed civil aviation projects. This same amount was also owed to the Royal Bank of Scotland. The bank helped resolve the situation by allowing Handley Page to stay as managing director, but only if two board members were chosen by the bank and two more by the Aircraft Disposal Company. This agreement cost Handley Page £179,000 in royalties but helped the company survive and remain under his control.

In 1942, Handley Page was knighted for his work during the war. In 1946, he and Sir Roy Fedden helped create the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield, and he served as chairman of its governing body until his death.

In 1960, he was honored with the Ludwig-Prandtl-Ring by the German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics for his achievements in aerospace engineering. He died on April 21, 1962, in Grosvenor Square, Westminster, London, at the age of 76. His home at No. 18 Grosvenor Square now has a blue plaque.

In 1987, Handley Page was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. A road named Sir Frederick Page Way was created in BAE Systems’ Enterprise Zone at the site of the old Samlesbury Aerodrome.

Personal life

He married Una Thynne (1890–1957) in 1918. They had three daughters. His nephew was Geoffrey Page, a World War 2 fighter ace.

His positions included:

• President of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors (SBAC) (1938–39) – he also served as honorary Treasurer and chairman;
• President of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) (1945–47) – and a member of its Council for many years;
• Vice Chairman of the Air Registration Board (for 20 years);
• President of the Institute of Transport (1945–46); and
• Chairman of the board of Governors of the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield.
• Master of the Worshipful Company of Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers (1943–44)
• Deputy lieutenant (1954–56) and later lieutenant (1956–60) of the county of Middlesex
• Chairman of Council of the City and Guilds of London Institute (1949–61)