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'Hannibal' in Art
The airliners of the HP42 type appear in many artistic renditions.
Usually shown at Croydon Airport or flying near the pyramids. Famously the box
art of the Airfix 1/144 scale plastic model kit.
Geoff Bennett is an aviation artist. His
'Hannibal' is in orbit around Mars. Lost in space. His artwork sums up the enduring mystery of the disappearance.
'Hannibal' hangs suspended. The
passenger door open.....
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“Hannibal Found!” by Geoff Bennett
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Geoff is a founding member of the CAAA
and long-serving CAAA Atlantic Regional
Coordinator. Geoff is one of Canada's
premier aviation artists - a fact
attested to by his prolific contribution
of artwork on display in many aviation
museums and at Air Force venues across
Canada. A former RAF and RCAF pilot and
Ministry of Transport aviation inspector
Geoff has had a passion for aviation and
aviation art his whole life. Geoff
resides in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.
Copyright Canadian Aviation Artists
Assoc. Used with permission.
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www.aviationartists.ca
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| 'Hannibal' in
Rumour During the course of investigation and
the
website, a number of letters were received that spoke of rumours
among aircrew operating in the Arabian Gulf region during the
1960's and '70's. It was said that a large silver four engine
biplane lay on the side of a remote mountain in the Musandam.
Aircrew were determined to identify the location as they flew
over the region. After all, silver ought to glint in the
constant sunshine.
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| This correspondent consulted a mystic. I read your website about the Hannibal with great interest, in
fact I am spellbound.
I did a lot of research on the HP 42 some years ago, became a
member of the Handley Page Association and met a number of the
old boys. My aim was to explore the possibility of building a
flying replica (yes, another one...)to find out more about this
fascinating airplane and answering the open questions about the
Hannibal.
In 2004 I spent quite some time in Delhi digging around in the
archives of the major newspapers because, like yourself , I had
a feeling that things did not add up, in particular the timings
of the radio transmissions.
I am in India at the moment and I don't have my notes with me
but I remember that the timings were mentioned in at least one
or two reports. Somehow I came to the conclusion that the
Hannibal was on land when that last garbled transmission was
received..
Now bear with me, here comes a 'only in India' story.
I used to work for the Tibetan Govt. in
Exile and the Dalai Lama. I am neither very religious nor overly
fond of mystical mumbo jumbo. However, I have spent 30 years in
India and cannot dismiss the possibility that some Indians and
Tibetans possess some kind of ESP or whatever one wants to call
it. In 2004 there lived an old Tibetan Lama in Dharamsala who
was famous for divinations and finding lost objects. He was from
Amdo and was known as the Amdo Lama. I went to see him and gave
him a picture of the Hannibal. I told him only that this plane
was lost a long time ago and asked whether it went down on land
or at sea. He did his ritual, looked at the picture for a long
time and then told me this : the plane went down on land, north
west from the place it last took off from, it is still there, in
bad shape but if you go looking for it you will find it.
Where would that place it, in your opinion ?
Make of this what you will, I know it sounds odd and funny
peculiar but should it turn out one day that the old Lama was
right I would not be surprised at all.
Due to commitments and time constraints I have not been able to
follow things up and do more research but that may change. The
HP 42 has a way of following me around.... |
The results obtained in
consulting the Lama are quite remarkable. (Was he
an aviation enthusiast of long standing and knew the
plane was scheduled to go north and west?) If as
suggested it went on a bearing of 315 degrees from Jiwani that would put it in vicinity of Bam in Iran and
would explain why the radio was so garbled at the end. Flying over Iran was strictly off limits at the time and
the three mile limit was observed.
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Harry Fraser-Mitchell (AHFM) of HP
told me that he was once contacted by a Sheik who had a keen interest
in the 42. He even had a large model made of pure silver, He disappeared
after a visit to London. After reading your site I wonder why.
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The chances of Amdo Lama being an aviation buff are
about the same as the Hannibal being hijacked by aliens and taken to the
Sombrero Galaxy.
If you go looking you will find it, said the Lama.....
What the Lama failed to mention was the degree of difficulty when
looking...
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| Inter-dimensional
correspondence.
A correspondent advised that he had been contacted by one
of the passengers said to have been on the aircraft. In 2009!.
Far fetched? Perhaps, yet the correspondent genuinely
understood his story to be the truth.
His own interests about flying had put him in 'contact' with the
passenger. It was revealed to him that this passenger had been
given and accomplished a highly secret mission for which he was
eternally regretful. A regret which may have had a significant
role in the "outbreak" of World War Two.
The correspondent was unaware of the 'Hannibal' story until
he searched online and found this website. |
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