The U/500 was produced to meet a British Air Board 1917 requirement for a large night bomber capable of reaching deeper into Germany than the Handley Page O/100 which had recently entered service, carrying a 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) bombload. This implied the ability to bomb Berlin from bases in East Anglia. or patrol sea areas near the German naval bases around Kiel
While the U/500 had a similar fuselage to that of the O/400, it was fitted with two placed side by side, with the port side fitted with a large radio set, and the starboard with flying controls, it had also a longer-span, biplane wings and was powered by four 375 hp (280 kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engines mounted in three nacelles, so two engines were pulling in the conventional manner and pushing on the centerline, rather than the two Eagles of the smaller bomber. Construction was of wood and fabric materials.
Owing to pressure of work at Handley Page's Cricklewood factory, and to ensure security, the first prototype was constructed by Harland and Wolff at Belfast, Northern Ireland, being assembled at Cricklewood and first flying on 22 January 1918. Orders were placed for use by the Royal Naval Air Service with a number of companies (including Harland and Wolff, Beardmore, Handley Page, Grahame-White and Alliance Aircraft for a total of 210 u/500s, although only 14 aircraft were completed, with a further 2 produced as spares, before all further contracts were cancelled because the end of the war.
Three aircraft were delivered to No. 166 Squadron at Bircham Newton (Norfolk), (as part of the independant Royal Air Force which replace both the RNAS and the Royal Flying corps on the 1st April 1918), during October 1918. The squadron commander did not get clear orders for his mission until November 8, due to debate at high level on the merets of such a mission. A mission finaly scheduled for that night (bomb Berlin, fly on to Prague as the Austro-Hungarian forces had surrendered by then, refuel, re-arm, bomb Düsseldorf on the way back). No mission was flown - a technical expert insisted that all the engines on one aircraft be changed. The same happened the following day (but with a different aircraft). The three aircraft were about to taxi out after the second set of engine changes when an excited ground crew member ran out to stop them — the Armistice had just been declared.
The Handley Page u/500 aircraft Atlantic was shipped to Newfoundland in early 1919 to attempt the first non-stop Transatlantic flight. However, the prize was won by Alcock and Brown in a Vickers Vimy in June 1919. The crew departed for New York but was forced to land in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia on 5 July 1919 where it was repaired over the course of the summer. The Atlantic continued to New York on 9 October 1919 carrying with it the first Airmail from Canada to the United States of America.
All the airframes were scraped in september 1920 because of lack of spares
