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C Mk VIII (HP 70)
The C Mk VIII was a dedicated cargo carrying version of the Halifax. It used the Hercules 100 engine, and could carry ten stretchers or eleven passengers. The bomb bay doors were replaced by a cargo pannier, which could carry up to 8,000 lbs of freight (the point of the pannier being to create extra space in the fuselage). The Mk VIII appeared very late in the war, first flying in June 1945. The RAF retained the C Mk VIII until 1948.
C Mk VIII Halton
A number of C Mk VIII Halifaxes entered civilian service. Twelve were employed by BOAC as cargo aircraft, as Handley Page HP 70 Haltons. The Halton had a short civilian career, starting late in 1946 and ending in May 1948.
Forty-one privately owned Halifax cargo planes were used in the Berlin airlift, carrying 54,000 tons of supplies to the city they had so often visited before.
Halifax Squadrons of World War II , Jon Lake. This is a very good book on the combat record of the Handley Page Halifax. It covers much more than just its role as a front line bomber, with chapters on the Halifax with Coastal Command, the Pathfinders and SOE, amongst others. [see more]
