First heard in aviation a few years before the 1914-18 war, the name of Handley Page became one to conjure with when strategic bombing of Rhineland armament factories began in 1917. Handley Page pioneered commercial air transport services across the English Channel, and in China, India and South Africa. A new generation of twin- and four-engined monoplane bombers - Hampden and Halifax - emerged to challenge Hitler's ambition between 1935 and 1945, giving rise in turn to the Hastings and Hermes transport bomber, which remained in service for a time as the RAF's flight refuelling tanker. A new line of small civil transports began with the acquisition in 1948 of Miles Aircraft Ltd, and from the Reading factory stemmed the Dart-Herald airliner.