SOLVED: WTH # 373 - 1961 Handley Page Model B Jumping Jeep for Prodigal project

[sixtee5cuda]

What can this strange device be?

To earn one point, specify the approximate year, make, and model of this vehicle:

[sixtee5cuda]

As the Rookies seem to be asleep, perhaps the Experts know this one?

Up!

[gilescooperuk]

No idea but is it meant to be flying, looks like folded wings at the back

[sixtee5cuda]

There are wings folded on the side of this vehicle.  "Flying" might not be the correct word to use.  Airborne trips would be extremely short.

[Majeko]

Russian?

[sixtee5cuda]

Not Russian, or from any part of the former Soviet Union

[Majeko]

British?

[fyreline]

Those tires make me think "military"?

[sixtee5cuda]

British and Military are both correct

[fyreline]

Hmmmmm. OK then, your comments on the vehicle's limited flying ability and the fact that there's a military connection makes me think . . . air-dropped?  Must have used those wings for SOMEthing . . .

[sixtee5cuda]

I don't believe this would have been air-dropped.  I think it is too big and heavy for that.

[gilescooperuk]

Jumping gaps?

[Majeko]

Amphibious?

[fyreline]

OK, I'll have to give the whole "airborne" thing another think. Can you tell us - are we looking for an auto manufacturer, or an aircraft manufacturer - or neither one?

Hmmmmm. . . . likely not air-dropped . . . incapable of sustained flights . . . but it has wings.  Interesting.

[sixtee5cuda]

Jumping or hopping are definitely words which accurately describe the capabilities of this vehicle.  I just did more research, and some documents indicate an airspeed of up to 200MPH, but that may have been wishful thinking.

You are looking for an aircraft manufacturer.

Not amphibious.

[Majeko]

Vickers?

[fyreline]

As unlikely as it seems, "Jumping Jeeps" was the search term that was the magic key to the magic door.

This vehicle was Handley Page's submission for the British Military's "Project Prodigal" . . . an attempt to produce a jeep-sized vehicle that could jump or hop a fairly considerable distance on the battlefield, through the use of either ducted fans, jet assist, or a combination of both (depending on the company). Short Brothers also submitted design proposals. The puzzle vehicle is Handley Page's "Model B" design - their "Model A" appeared to use a rotor system to provide lift. All of this silliness appears to have taken place in the late 1950s-early 1960s. There is actually a decent amount of material on the internet about it.

[sixtee5cuda]

And the point goes to Fyreline for the correct answer.

I saw this when searching for another type of vehicle, and knew it should be a puzzle.

"jeep-sized" would be stretching it a bit.  6500 pounds unladen, capable of carrying a total of 2 people.

And silliness is definitely a word which applies here.

[fyreline]

I swear, I don't know where you find these. I hate to think what you were actually looking for when you came across this.

I would have to guess that smaller and lighter helicopters did away with the necessity (if there ever truly was one) for these types of vehicles.
Still, there were apparently still prototypes being made and proposals being submitted well into the 1960s.

Mad dogs & Englishmen, I suppose.