W.8 Prototype, holding 15 passengers, powered by two 450 hp (336 kW)
Napier Lion engines. The original company designation was to have been
Handley Page W/400.
W.8b To meet an Air Ministry ruling, the capacity was reduced to 12 passengers and the fuel tanks were moved from the engine nacelles to above the top wing. The engines were changed from the Napier Lion to the less powerful but more economical
Rolls-Royce Eagle IX. In 1921 the
Air Ministry ordered three aircraft, built as the W.8b, for use by
Handley Page Transport, and later by
Imperial Airways, on services to
Paris and
Brussels. Another aircraft was delivered to
Sabena in 1924 and three more were license built by
SABCA in Belgium.
W.8c Planned but unbuilt 1923 alteration of W.8b for 1923 with the same engines but seating 16 passengers in a cabin lengthened by removal of the radio compartment and a reduction of freight capacity. The fuel tanks would have been moved to the underside of the top wing and
slotted ailerons fitted.
W.8d The W.8d was the initial designation for the
Handley Page Hyderabad heavy bomber.
W.8e To reduce the risks involved with engine failure, the W.8e was developed with one 360 hp (270 kW)
Rolls-Royce Eagle IX in the nose and two 240 hp (180 kW)
Siddeley Pumas in the normal position. The first W.8e was sold to
Sabena, which had 10 more built in Belgium by
SABCA.
W.8f and W.8g Hamilton One three-engine W.8f was built with cabin heating (derived from air circulated around the hot engine exhausts). The W.8f was modified in 1929 as the W.8g with an improved
tail and rudder design from the W.10 and the third engine was removed and the other two replaced with
Rolls-Royce type F.XIIA engines.
W.9a Hampstead Was a three-engined version with more powerful 385 hp (290 kW)
Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IV
radial engines. It was operated by
Imperial Airways and created a record on the London-Paris route of 86 minutes. In 1926, the engines were replaced by three 420 hp (310 kW)
Bristol Jupiters. The aircraft was moved to
Australia but was destroyed in an accident after nine months.
W.10 A twin-engined variant with the 450 hp (340 kW)
Napier Lion for Imperial Airways (four built). ==Use==