Handley Page / Miles M.60 Marathon — Primary-Source Documentation Archive

The Handley Page (Reading) H.P.R.1 Marathon — originally designed as the Miles M.60 Marathon — was a post-WWII British four-engined short-range civil transport aircraft, developed to meet the Brabazon Committee's Type 5A specification for a high-density regional feeder liner. Miles Aircraft's first all-metal, four-engined design, it entered service with British European Airways and West African Airways Corporation, and served as a navigation trainer (T.11) with the RAF.

This archive brings together the surviving original manufacturer documentation across both the airframe and its powerplant — the de Havilland / Rolls-Royce Gipsy Queen Series 70 — in a single primary-source collection.

Document Manifest

Airframe — Handley Page (Reading) Ltd / Miles Aircraft Ltd

• The Marathon I — Flight Handling Notes | Tech Publication HP(R)2 | AL.4 | Handley Page (Reading) Ltd, The Aerodrome, Reading, Berkshire | Verified and approved by the Air Registration Board under Sub-Section A15 of British Civil Airworthiness Requirements | Covers Marathon I (M60) aircraft
• Marathon I — Maintenance, Overhaul & Repair Manual | Tech Publication HP(R)4 | Handley Page (Reading) Ltd, The Aerodrome, Reading, Berkshire | Verified and approved by the Air Registration Board under Sub-Section A15 of British Civil Airworthiness Requirements
• Marathon 1A Series 100 — Detailed Type Specification | Tech Publication HP(R)12 | October 1951 | Four-Engined Civil Transport Aircraft for British European Airways | Designed by Miles Aircraft Ltd, Constructed by Handley Page (Reading) Ltd, Reading, Berkshire
• Marathon 1A Series 104 — Flight Handling Notes | Tech Publication HP(R)32 | Prepared for Far Eastern Airlines Ltd | Covers Marathon 1A (M60) aircraft | Verified and approved by the Air Registration Board under Sub-Section A15 of British Civil Airworthiness Requirements
• Miles Marathon — Specification | Original Miles Aircraft Ltd sales specification brochure | Covers aerodynamic configuration, performance data, and cabin layout of the M.60 prototype and production variant
• The Marathon — Handley Page Bulletin, Special Issue | Vol. 18, No. 194, January 1952 | Trilingual (English / French / Spanish) | Covers High-density Feederliner, Freighter, Executive, Showroom, and Trainer variants
• Marathon T.11 — Pilot's Notes | A.P.4480A–P.N. | Prepared by Direction of the Minister of Supply | Promulgated by Order of the Air Council | RAF navigation trainer variant

Powerplant — de Havilland / Rolls-Royce / Bristol Siddeley Gipsy Queen Series 70

• Gipsy Queen Series 70 — Maintenance Manual | Rolls-Royce Limited, Small Engine Division, Leavesden, Watford WD2 7BZ, England | © Rolls-Royce Limited 1963 | Complies with British Civil Airworthiness Requirements, Section A, Chapter A6-2 | ARB Design Approval No. AD/1005/38 | Signed by Chief Design Engineer R.M. Leathcote
• Gipsy Queen Series 70 — Modification and Technical News Sheets | © Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited 1963 | Leavesden, Hertfordshire | Contents: Introduction, Categories of Modifications, Classified Index of Modifications, Numerical Index of Modifications, Modification News Sheets, Technical News Sheets
• Gipsy Queen Series 70 — Leading Particulars & Modification Standard | Pages iv–ix | Covers sub-variants 70-3, 70-4, and Mk. 2 as fitted to Marathon and Sealand aircraft installations | Includes full comparative specification tables and modification standard lists (Mods G.1169–G.1829) | Revised by Amendment No. 18, June 1954 | Explicitly references Marathon and Sealand aircraft installations

Aircraft Technical Overview

Configuration: High-wing cantilever monoplane, all-metal construction, triple-fin vertical tailplane assembly for directional stability and engine-out asymmetric control. Wide-span Miles auxiliary flaps for low-speed handling and short-field performance.

Powerplant (Marathon I): Four de Havilland Gipsy Queen 70-3 or 71 inline inverted 6-cylinder air-cooled piston engines, 330–340 hp each. Three-bladed constant-speed feathering de Havilland propellers. Centralized oil cooling matrix.

Performance Data (production variant):

• Maximum Take-Off Weight: 18,000 lb (8,165 kg)
• Maximum Cruise Speed: 201 mph (323 km/h) at 8,000 ft
• Range (max fuel): 935 miles (1,505 km)
• Service Ceiling: 18,000 ft (5,486 m)
• Capacity: 2 flight crew + up to 20 passengers

Variants

Civil & Experimental Prototypes

• Miles M.60 Marathon I — Original prototype built by Miles Aircraft. Powered by four 330 hp de Havilland Gipsy Queen 70-2 engines. First flight: 19 May 1946.
• Miles M.69 Marathon II / Handley Page H.P.R.5 — Single experimental turboprop testbed. Re-engined with two 1,010 shp Armstrong Siddeley Mamba turboprop engines in place of the four pistons. First flight: 23 July 1949. Provided structural load data informing the later H.P.R.3 Herald programme.

Production Civil Transports

• H.P.R.1 Marathon 1 — Primary production airliner variant. Four 340 hp de Havilland Gipsy Queen 70-3 or 70-4 engines. Total production: 40 aircraft.
• H.P.R.1 Marathon 1A — Specialized regional passenger variant with upgraded 340 hp Gipsy Queen 70-4 inline engines. Delivered to Union of Burma Airways.

Military Training Variant

• H.P.R.1 Marathon T.11 — Navigation trainer developed for the Royal Air Force. 28 civilian airframes modified. Key modifications: two rear-facing navigation training stations with full instrumentation; blister windows for ground-observation visibility; upgraded de Havilland Gipsy Queen 71 engines.

Survival Status

No complete Marathon airframe survives anywhere in the world — not in flight, not as a static museum display. The type was fully retired from both civil and military service by the mid-1960s, and all remaining aircraft were subsequently scrapped.

The sole surviving artefact is a preserved upper fuselage section from civil Marathon I registration G-AMGW, held in storage by the Miles Collection, Woodley, United Kingdom. The documentation in this archive therefore represents one of the most significant remaining records of the type's engineering and operational history.

Intended Use

This collection is intended for aviation historians, museum restoration teams, flight simulation developers, and serious researchers of post-war British civil aviation. It documents the engineering and operational heritage of one of Britain's most distinctive regional airliners of the early jet age.

⚠️ Regulatory Notice: Under FAA 14 CFR § 43.13 and EASA Part-M, any mechanic performing maintenance on an active aircraft must use current, manufacturer-approved revision-controlled data. This archival document does not satisfy that requirement.

This is an archival, static-copy edition fixed at its original publication date. Intended for historical reference, flight simulation, museum restoration, and educational use only. Not approved for active airworthiness maintenance under FAA 14 CFR § 43.13, EASA Part-M, or equivalent international regulations. Operators of active aircraft must use current, revision-controlled publications from the Type Certificate holder or an authorised distributor.

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