Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
| Armstrong Whitworth Whitley | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | bomber |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
March 17, 1936 |
| Commissioning: |
1937 |
| Production time: |
1936 to 1943 |
| Number of pieces: |
1814 |
The Armstrong Whitworth AW38 Whitley was a twin-engine heavy bomber produced by the British Sir WG Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Company . From March 1937 to February 1946 the model was used by the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm . The British Overseas Airways Corporation used some machines as airliners .
history
After the military demand in 1934 and the order in June 1935, the first prototype took off on March 17, 1936 from the company's Whitley airport near Coventry . The first 160 copies flew with radial engines of the Armstrong Siddeley Tiger IX (or VIII) type; later variants were equipped with Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12 engines or their US American license builds Packard Merlin V-1650 , which increased the speed by 84 km / h. The Whitley Mk V, of which around 1500 aircraft were built, reached a top speed of 357 km / h at an altitude of 5400 m. In June 1943, the production of machines built after 1814 was stopped.
In the early part of the war, some Whitley bombers were involved in the dropping of propaganda material over German territory. From 1940 they flew night bomber raids against German cities and took part in the first bombing raid on Berlin in August of that year .
146 Whitley were converted to Mk VII and equipped with search radar for hunting submarines . In 1942 and 1943 Whitley crews succeeded in sinking a total of five German submarines. This also included U 665 in March 1943 . The Whitley also flew several special operations, such as the discontinuation of agents with parachutes behind enemy lines.
Alongside the Short Stirling , Handley Page Hampden and the Vickers Wellington , the Whitley was one of the most important bombers in the Royal Air Force during the early stages of the war.
Versions
- Mk I
- Version with 795 HP radial engines Armstrong Siddeley Tiger IX, one 7.7 mm machine gun each in manually rotating turrets in the bow and stern. Two prototypes and 34 series aircraft were built.
- Mk II
- Version with 920 hp Tiger VIII engines, 46 were built.
- Mk III
- Version with retractable machine gun turret in the floor with two 7.7 mm machine guns and a larger bomb bay, 80 were built.
- Mk IV
- Version produced from 1938 with 1030 hp Rolls-Royce Merlin IV and increased fuel supply. 33 were built.
- Mk IVA
- Version with 1145 hp Merlin X engines, seven were built.
- Mk V
- Version with electrically powered Nash & Thompson turrets with four 7.7 mm Browning machine guns each. In order to achieve a better field of fire, the stern was lengthened by 381 mm. The wing leading edges could be de-iced. 1,466 were built between 1939 and June 1943.
- Mk VI
- Proposed version with radial engines from Pratt & Whitney or with the Merlin XX, not built.
- Mk VII
- Long-range version for sea surveillance (3,700 km range) for the RAF Coastal Command with radar and a six-man crew. 146 were built.
Production numbers
The Whitley was only built by Armstrong Whitworth in Great Britain.
| year | number |
|---|---|
| 1937 | 31 |
| 1938 | 101 |
| 1939 | 156 |
| 1940 | 387 |
| 1941 | 504 |
| 1942 | 540 |
| 1943 | 93 |
| total | 1,812 |
Military use
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Dates (Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V) |
|---|---|
| Type | heavy bombers, scouts, submarine fighters |
| crew | 5 |
| span | 25.6 m |
| length | 21.5 m |
| height | 4.57 m |
| Empty mass | 8,766 kg |
| Takeoff mass | maximum 15,196 kg |
| drive | two V12-cylinder Rolls-Royce Merlin X with 1,145 PS (842 kW) each |
| Top speed | 357 km / h |
| Marching speed | 297 km / h |
| Rate of climb | 244 m / min |
| Service ceiling | 5,400-6,400 m |
| Range | 756 km with maximum payload 2,650 km with 1,361 kg bombs |
| Armament | a 7.7 mm Vickers K in the bow, four 7.7 mm Brownings in the stern, up to 3,175 kg bombs in the bomb bay and on the inner wings |
literature
- Leonard Cheshire: Leonard Cheshire VC Bomber Pilot. Mayflower, St. Albans 1975 (reprint of 1943 edition), ISBN 0-583-12541-7 .
- William Green, Gordon Swanborough: WW2 Aircraft Fact Files. RAF bombers. Part 1. Macdonald and Jane's, London 1979, ISBN 0-354-01230-4 .
- Bill Gunston: Classic World War II Aircraft Cutaways. Osprey Publishing, Botley 1995, ISBN 1-85532-526-8 .
- Francis K. Mason: The British Bomber since 1914. Putnam Aeronautical Books, London 1994, ISBN 0-85177-861-5 .
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sinking five submarines
- ^ National Archives, Kew, inventory AVIA 10/311; Halley, James J .: The K File. The Royal Air Force of the 1930s, Tunbridge Wells, 1995, p. 413 ff.