Valom 72117 Handley-Page Sparrow Mk.II (No.271 Squadron RAF)

The Handley Page HP54 Harrow was a British solid-undercarriage high-wing strategic bomber from the interwar period and World War II. The Mk. II was provided by two Bristol Pegasus XX engines with 925 HP each. The prototype flight took place in 1936. During serial production, which lasted only in the years 1936-1937, about 100 copies of this aircraft were made. They were armed with 4 7.7mm Lewis machine guns and up to 1,360 kg of bombs.

The Handley Page Harrow was created as a successor to the Vickers Virginia airplanes in the 1930s. When designing it, emphasis was placed on possibly high load capacity of the bombs and low production costs. To shorten the analytical and implementation work, many components from other Handley Page airplanes: HP51 and HP43 were used. Two versions of the Harrow were produced in the course of serial production: the Mk. And powered by Bristol Pegasus X engines with 830 HP each and - more numerous - Mk II powered by Bristol Pegasus XX engines with 925 HP each. Handley Page Harrow machines began to enter RAF units in 1937, gaining generally rather positive feedback from pilots, but with the introduction of much more modern Vickers Wellington bombers into service, production of Harrow aircraft was stopped, and their role in World War II was reduced to the role of primarily all transport aircraft. In 1945, all aircraft of this type were decommissioned.