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Armstrong Whitworth Whitley

The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three British twin engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the Second World War.

Alongside the Vickers Wellington and the Handley Page Hampden, the Whitley was developed during the mid-1930s according to Air Ministry Specification B.3/34, which it was subsequently selected to meet.

In 1937, the Whitley formally entered into RAF squadron service, it was the first of the three medium bombers to be introduced.

Following the outbreak of war in September 1939, the Whitley participated in the first RAF bombing raid upon German territory and remained an integral part of the early British bomber offensive.

In 1942 it was superseded as a bomber by the larger four-engine “heavies” such as the Avro Lancaster.

Its front line service included maritime reconnaissance with Coastal Command and the second line roles of glider-tug, trainer and transport aircraft.

The aircraft was named after Whitley, a suburb of Coventry, home of one of Armstrong Whitworth’s plants.

At the start of the war, No. 4 Group, equipped with the Whitley, was the only trained night bomber force in the world.

Alongside the Handley Page Hampden and the Vickers Wellington, the Whitley bore the brunt of the early fighting and saw action during the first night of the war, when they dropped propaganda leaflets over Germany.

Unlike the Hampden and Wellington, which had met Specification B.9/32 for a day bomber, the Whitley was always intended for night operations alone and thus escaped the early heavy losses received during daylight raids carried out upon German shipping.

As the oldest of the three bombers, the Whitley was effectively obsolete by the start of the war, yet over 1,000 more aircraft were produced before a suitable replacement was found.

A particular problem with the radar-equipped Mk VII, with the addition of the drag producing aerials, was that it could not maintain altitude on one engine.

Whitleys flew a total of 8,996 operations with Bomber Command, dropped 9,845 tons (8,931 tonnes) of bombs, and 269 aircraft were lost in action.

In late 1942, the Whitley was retired from service as a frontline aircraft for bomber squadrons and was shifted to other roles.

The type continued to operate delivering supplies and agents in the Special Duties squadrons until December 1942, as well as serving as a transport for troops and freight, a carrier for paratroopers and a tow aircraft for gliders.

No. 100 Group RAF used Whitleys as an airborne platform to carry airborne radar and electronic counter-measures.

In February 1942, Whitleys were used to carry the paratroopers who participated in the Bruneval raid, code named Operation Biting, in which German radar technology was captured from a German base on the coast of France.

Long range Coastal Command Mk VII variants, were among the last Whitleys remaining in front line service, remaining in service until early 1943.

The first U-boat kill attributed to the Whitley Mk VII was the sinking of the German submarine U-751 on 17 July 1942, which was achieved in combination with a Lancaster heavy bomber.

Having evaluated the Whitley in 1942, the Fleet Air Arm operated a number of modified ex-RAF Mk VIIs from 1944 to 1946, to train aircrew in Merlin engine management and fuel transfer procedures.

Specifications

Crew

5

Length

70 ft 6 in (21.49 m)

Wingspan

84 ft 0 in (25.60 m)

Height

15 ft 0 in (4.57 m)

Wing area

1,137 sq ft (105.6 m2)

Empty weight

19,300 lb (8,754 kg)

Max take off weight

33,500 lb (15,195 kg)

Powerplant

2 × Rolls-Royce Merlin X, liquid cooled V12 engines,

1,145 hp (854 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed

230 mph (370 km/h, 200 kn) at 16,400 ft (5,000 m)

Range

1,650 mi (2,660 km, 1,430 nmi)

Ferry range

2,400 mi (3,900 km, 2,100 nmi)

Service ceiling

26,000 ft (7,900 m)

Rate of climb

800 ft/min (4.1 m/s)

Armament

Guns

1 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine gun in nose turret

4 × .303 in Browning machine guns in tail turret

Bombs

Up to 7,000 lb (3,175 kg) of bombs in the fuselage and 14 individual cells in the wings, typically including

12 × 250 lb (113 kg)

&

2 × 500 lb (227 kg) bombs

 

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