On Thursday 23 January 2025 at 6pm, Bruce Hudson (Arctic Convoy Museum) and Darren Priday (RAF Museum)  will examine the role of the Handley Page Hampden in protecting the arctic convoys during the Second World War. This presentation is a collaboration between the RAF Museum and the Arctic Convoy Museum; to find out more about the Arctic Convoy Museum, visit: Russian Arctic Convoy Museum in Birchburn

The Artic Convoys of World War Two were an important part of the war, which provided aide to the Soviet Block in the war against Hitler.  Sailing from allied ports into Northern Russia, they were part of Agreements and Lend-Lease between the East and West.

Convoy PQ17 was one of the great tragedies of WW2, so in preparation for PQ18 the Air Ministry decided to send Handley Page Hampden TB1 (Torpedo Bombers) to Russia to protect the convoy in the deadly waters of the Barents Seas.

This joint talk, between the Arctic Convoy Museum and RAF Museum will start out by covering the story of the convoys, and Operation Orator. The second part of the talk will cover the recovery and restoration of Hampden P1344."

Since 1991 the RAF Museum has been restoring one of the Hampden’s of 144 Sqn.  This section of the talk will start by giving an introduction to the Hampden, followed by its last journey and what happened to the crew on board.  The talk goes on to cover the aircrafts restoration and finishes with a few Hampden crew stories.

Bruce Hudson is a volunteer at the Arctic Convoy Museum, on the shores of Loch Ewe, Highland Scotland. Born in London he joined the RAF in 1964 by way of RAF Halton and a 3 year technical apprenticeship. Served for a further 7years including 5 with the Red Arrows. On leaving the RAF he joined British Aerospace and worked on the HS125 executive jet, including a 3 year period in Central America. On return from there he helped to bring the BAE 146 airliner into commercial airline service and became a manager within the Customer Support department, travelling the world. Ending up in Toulouse before early retirement in 1997. Moved to the West Coast of Scotland and became a Civilian Instructor with the local ATC Squadron for 16 years. Association with the Arctic Convoy Project stemmed from the ATC providing assistance to some of the large events staged from 2012 onwards. When he left the ATC his volunteering seamlessly transferred to that Project and he has been part of it ever since, holding a number of roles within it as the project evolved.

After serving in the Royal Air Force for over 26 years as an Aircraft Airframe Engineer, working on VC10, Phantom, Jaguar and Hawk, following discharge in 2005, Darren was fortunate to join the RAF Museum’s Michael Beetham Conservation Team, where he started his love affair with the Hampden.  Since 2013, Darren has been the Manager of the Centre, overseeing the Large Object engineering at all three Museum sites.

The Arctic Convoys and a Handley Page Hampden: An Unlikely Pairing