HisStory during the Air-Battle of Berlin

General characteristics
Crew: 7 pilot, navigator, bomb aimer, wireless operator, mid upper and rear gunners, flight engineer
Length: 70 ft 1 in (21,36 m)
Wingspan: 98 ft 8 in[8] (30,08 m)
Height: 20 ft 9 in (6,32 m)
Loaded weight: 60.000lb (27.215 kg)
Powerplant: 4 x Rolls Royce Merlin XX 1220hp engines
Performance
Cruising speed: 190 mph (306 km/h) at 15.000 ft (4.572 m)
Maximum speed: 254 mph (409 km/h) at 12.750 ft (3.887 m)
Range: 1,900 mile (3.058 km) combat
Service ceiling: 22,000 ft (6.706 m)
Armament
Guns: 8 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns (4 in dorsal turret, 4 in tail turret)
Bombs: 13,000 lb (5,897 kg) of bombs

Mark II Halifaxes were very sturdy and strong aircraft able to sustain a considerable amount of damage and still maintain controlled flight. However the MK II's did have flaws, several of them serious. Fitted with 4 Rolls Royce Merlin engines the aircraft was under powered and this coupled with trouble caused by its pointed Delta shaped twin rudders led to the MK II gaining a reputation as a difficult aircraft to fly.

Perhaps the most serious flaw of the MK II Halifax was the pointed delta shaped twin rudder. This design made it difficult to keep the aircraft straight on take off. It could also lead to the aircraft overbalancing at low speeds or when a prop was feathered and during tight turns. This last was especially true during the corkscrew manoeuvre the crews used to try to evade enemy fighter aircraft. This rudder overbalancing led to the aircraft entering a deadly spin from which it was nearly impossible to recover. These flaws were a major contributor to the high aircraft loss and casualty rates Halifax squadrons suffered during this part of the war.