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Does anyone have any details on the Hindustan HCP-25 utility transport of the mid-50s?
The HCP-25 is a bit of a mystery. An image of the sole HCP-25 was posted on Bharat Rakshak's IAF history thread forum by "Harry" (same "B Harry" who writes for the Air Combat Information Group?). This is the only photo that I've seen.
I haven't found any other on-line information about the HCP-25 except that only a single prototype was flown. So, not a "secret project" but certainly rare.
The similarities between the HAL HCP-25 and the earlier Noorduyn Norseman are striking. Is this simply a question of convergent evolution? Or is the Bangalore aircraft a descendant of Bob Noorduyn's classic? I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that direct access to the Norseman provided Hindustan with a short-cut to a sturdy utility aircraft design.
I'm not inferring that the HCP-25 was beyond contemporary Indian design capabilities. The Norseman was a simple, perhaps even obvious, design. However, HAL had direct contact with the more than 100* UC-64A Norseman shipped to India during WWII by the USAAF. More on that in my next post ...
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* I counted 127 UC-64As shipped to Calcutta or Karachi between Oct 1943 and April 1945 (if anyone wants a list, PM me). I may have missed some c/ns and certainly more were planned (the May 1945 shipments were all redirected to USAAF bases in the 'lower 48').
The HCP-25 is a bit of a mystery. An image of the sole HCP-25 was posted on Bharat Rakshak's IAF history thread forum by "Harry" (same "B Harry" who writes for the Air Combat Information Group?). This is the only photo that I've seen.
I haven't found any other on-line information about the HCP-25 except that only a single prototype was flown. So, not a "secret project" but certainly rare.
The similarities between the HAL HCP-25 and the earlier Noorduyn Norseman are striking. Is this simply a question of convergent evolution? Or is the Bangalore aircraft a descendant of Bob Noorduyn's classic? I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that direct access to the Norseman provided Hindustan with a short-cut to a sturdy utility aircraft design.
I'm not inferring that the HCP-25 was beyond contemporary Indian design capabilities. The Norseman was a simple, perhaps even obvious, design. However, HAL had direct contact with the more than 100* UC-64A Norseman shipped to India during WWII by the USAAF. More on that in my next post ...
____________________
* I counted 127 UC-64As shipped to Calcutta or Karachi between Oct 1943 and April 1945 (if anyone wants a list, PM me). I may have missed some c/ns and certainly more were planned (the May 1945 shipments were all redirected to USAAF bases in the 'lower 48').