4. Handley Page Halifax (UK)
The Handley Page Halifax was a heavy bomber introduced in 1940 by the RAF. In addition to the RAF, the quad-engined bomber was used by the Canadian, Australian and French Air Forces at the time. A total of 6,176 bombers were produced.
At the time of introduction, the Halifax wasn’t appreciated by the head of Bomber Command, compared to Avro Lancaster, which was a British masterpiece. But their production efficiency forced the High Command to rethink their decision and the Halifax was produced throughout the war.
It carried out bombing raids in North Africa and Italy, dropping a total of 224,207 tons of bombs. Almost 2000 Halifaxes were lost, but the bomber lived over its expectations and was frequently converted into an electronic warfare and special operations aircraft in occupied Europe.