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The 'Handley Page (Reading) H.P.R.1 Marathon' was a British civil 20-passenger light transport produced by Handley Page (Reading) Limited of Woodley Aerodrome, Reading, England.

Contents

Design and development

Operational history

Variants

Operators

Civil operators

Military operators

Specifications (M.60 Marathon)

References

External links

Related content

Design and development

The Marathon originated as a design to meet the requirements of the Brabazon Committee. It was designed by Miles Aircraft Limited as a high-wing cantilever monoplane with four engines and all-metal construction. It was capable of carrying two crew and up to 20 passengers. The aircraft was designated the 'Miles M.60 Marathon' with the first of three prototypes (registered U-10) flying on 19 May 1946. A total of 25 aircraft were ordered by the Ministry of Supply and 25 by British European Airways, but Miles had financial problems and needed orders for over 100, not helped when the prototype aircraft crashed and the power shortages led to the loss of plywood components already produced. When the Miles company went bankrupt, Handley Page bought the assets, including the factory and design rights to the Marathon.
The new company, known as 'Handley Page (Reading) Limited', started producing the Marathon wih 40 aircraft built over the next three years with the new designation 'Handley Page (Reading) H.P.R.1 Marathon 1'. A twin-engined prototype turbine powered version (using the Armstrong Siddeley Mamba) was flown in 1949.

Operational history

The first production Marathon 1 aircraft (registered ''G-ALUB'') left Woodley on 14 January 1950 for a sales tour of Australia and New Zealand. During acceptance tests for British European Airways it was decided that the Marathon was not suitable to replace the de Havilland Dragon Rapide and the order was reduced to seven aircraft. Never really happy with the Marathon, the seven aircraft were soon returned to Handley Page. The returned and unsold aircraft were then diverted for use by the Royal Air Force as navigation trainers with the designation 'Marathon T11'. One aircraft was delivered to Jordan in September 1954 for the personal use of King Hussein.
The Marathon's military career was short; after one crashed in 1954, they were only in limited service until they were all retired in 1958 and sold. The Mamba-powered Marathon was later fitted with the Alvis Leonides Major radial engines and used as a testbed for the projected Herald.
No surviving airframes are known to exist but the upper fuselage section of Marathon M.60 HPR 118/G-AMEW/XA265 was stored at Woodley, United Kingdom as part of the Miles Collection c. 2000 ^[1].

Variants

;M.60 Marathon
:Miles-built prototypes, two built.
;Miles M.69 Marathon II
:Miles-built version powered by Mamba engines created for British European Airways, only one prototype built.
;Marathon
:Miles M.69 re-engined by Handley Page and used as an engine testbed.
;Marathon I
:Handley Page-built production aircraft, 40 built.
;Marathon T.11
:Military navigation trainer version, 28 modified.

Operators

Civil operators

;

★ Union of Burma Airways
;

★ Far East Airlines
;

★ West African Airways Corporation
;

★ British European Airways

Military operators

;

★ Royal Jordanian Air Force
;

★ Royal Air Force

★ Royal Aircraft Establishment

Specifications (M.60 Marathon)

References

1. M.60 Marathon 1 and T.Mk.11


★ ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985)''. London: Orbis Publishing.

★ Jackson, A.J. ''British Civil Aircraft Since 1919, Volume 2''. London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-10010-7.

External links

★ British Aircraft Directory

★ M.60 Marathon 1 and T.Mk.11

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