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 RAF Handley Page Halifax B.III heavy bomber nicknamed "London's Revenge / L for Lana", that was attached to No.427 Squadron, then deployed to RAF Leaming, England, during 1943. Pre-order! Ship Date: January 2026.

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

Release Date: ?

Historical Account: "London's Revenge" - With Bomber Command operations intensifying considerably towards the latter end of the Second World War, attempts were made to both boost the morale of aircrews engaged in this dangerous work and raise the profile of the herculean effort they were contributing towards eventual Allied victory.

One such attempt involved the men and machines of No.427 Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force, who christened the unit 'The Lion Squadron', and invited the film company Metro Goldwyn Mayer to adopt them -- their famous lion was shown at the beginning of their movies.

In a high profile event, which was covered by a national film unit, the managing director of MGM (UK) Mr Samuel Eckman Jr. accepted the invitation and presented the squadron with an impressive bronze lion for luck, also giving smaller versions of the lion to all members of the unit's air and ground staff, along with the offer of free entry into MGM studios.

For the crews, the most interesting aspect of the day was a draw to see which MGM star individual crews would draw, with their name to be carried on the side of their bomber. Handley Page Halifax Mk.V DK186 / ZL-L was already named 'London's Revenge', but was further embellished with distinctive flying lion artwork (based on the MGM logo), and subsequently drew the most sought after star, Lana Turner -- 'L for Lana', whose name they proudly took to war.