Handley Page Manx

The Handley Page HP.75 Manx was a British experimental aircraft built to study how a tailless aeroplane behaves in flight. Its twin-engine pusher layout had partially swept wings carrying the twin fins, with elevons handling pitch and roll. The Manx was meant to inform possible transport, bomber and fighter designs, and its main undercarriage retracted while the nose wheel stayed fixed. Construction was subcontracted to Dart Aircraft of Dunstable. The prototype was delivered in 1939 but needed redesign because it was too heavy and had a weak main spar, and taxi tests in 1940 revealed deteriorated wing structures that needed extensive repair. The first flight came in June 1943 and ended early when the canopy was lost, though the pilot landed safely. About 17 hours over roughly 30 flights were logged before testing ended in April 1946, and the only example built was scrapped in 1952.