Great Britain's Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Bomber

Photos
Design
Prototype
Production
Variants
Usage
Specifications

Photos

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber:	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber:	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber:	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber:
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber:	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber:
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk I bomber:
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk II bomber in 1938:
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk III bomber: Aeronautics Aircraft Spotters' Handbook	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk III bomber: Aeronautics Aircraft Spotters' Handbook
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk V bomber: Aeronautics Aircraft Spotters' Handbook	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk V bomber: Aeronautics Aircraft Spotters' Handbook	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk V bomber:	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk V bomber:
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk V bomber, crash landed on December 21, 1940:	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk V bomber, crash landed on October 13, 1942 at Cranwell:
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber:	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber:

Design

In 1934 a requirement, Specification B.3/34⁵, was given that the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley was designed to meet.^1,2,4 It was to replace the Handley Page Heyford biplane bomber.⁵

The Whitley was an all-metal plane.⁴

Fuselage

The box like shape was for ease of manufacturing.¹ The Whitley was distinctive in flight as it looked like it was always flying nose down because of its positive incidence.^3,5

Wings

The wing had a small amount of dihedral on the outer wing.¹

Prototype

The prototype first flew on June 4, 1935 / March 17, 1936^3,4,5.²

It flew on March 17, 1936 and was powered by Armstrong Siddeley Tiger radial engines.¹

Production

An initial order of 80 Whitleys was placed before the prototype flew.⁴

Prototypes: 2³
Whitley Mk I: 34^3,4,5
Whitley Mk II: 46^3,4,5
Whitley Mk III: 60⁵, 80^3,4
Whitley Mk IV: 33³, 40⁴, 50¹
Whitley Mk IVA: 7³, 40⁵
Whitley Mk V: 1,466^3,4, 1,476⁵, 1,500¹
- Production: 1939 - 1943¹, 1939 - summer 1943⁴, ? - June 1943⁵
Whitley Mk VII: 146¹
Whitley Mk VIII: 146³
Whitley Mk I, II, III: 160¹
Total: 1,476², 1,814³
- Manufacturer: Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Ltd.⁴

Variants

AW.38: Prototype.³
Whitley Mk I: Armstrong Siddeley Tiger IX radial engines (795 HP/ 920 HP⁵).^2,3,4 Entered service in March 1937.³ By September 1939 relegated to training.² Did not have dihedral in the outer wings.⁵
Whitley Mk II: Tiger VIII radial engines (920 HP).^2,3,4,5 By September 1939 relegated to training.²
Whitley Mk III: Radial engines, Tiger VIII⁵, (920 HP).^1,3 Had first power operated nose turret.³ Became operational in August 1938.⁵ In the nose and tail were gun turrets.⁶ Bombs were carried internally.⁶
Whitley Mk IV: Powered turret in tail.¹ Had Merlin IV engines (1,030 HP).^3,5
Whitley Mk IVA: Had Merlin X engines (1,145 HP).^3,5 Had powered Nash or Thompson four machine gun tail turret.⁵
Whitley Mk V: Longer fuselage to extend tail gunner's field of fire.^1,4,5 Rolls-Royce Merlin X engines.² Had new vertical tail surfaces.³ Larger fuel tanks installed to increase range.⁴ In the nose and tail were power operated turrets.⁶
Whitley Mk VII: Used by Coastal Command with long range search radars.^1,2,3,4 First use was in March 1941 over the Atlantic.^1,2 A crew had the first kill on November 30, 1941.^1,2 It had ASV radar installed.^3,4 Crew of 6.

Usage

In the early years of the war the Whitley's were used for leaflet raids.^1,2 In 1940 they joined in the night bombing.^1,2

The Whitleys were withdrawn from frontline service in the spring of 1942.¹

Whitleys were also used as paratroop trainers and glider tugs starting in 1940.¹

Twelve Mk Vs were converted to freighters and used by British Airways.¹

First Squadron

The Whitley Mk I became operational with the No. 10 Squadron in March 1937.⁵

Beginning of War

The Whitleys equipped six squadrons when World War II started in September 1939.³

In their first raid over Germany the No. 51 and No. 58 Squadrons dropped leaflets on the night of September 3 and September 4, 1939.⁵

Bombing raid on Berlin

Whitley Mk Vs of the No. 51 and 78 Squadrons took part in the first raid on Berlin on the night of August 25 and August 26 1940.^1,2,4 The squadrons dropped leaflets.^3,4,5

First Raid on Italy

On June 11, 1940, Whitleys bombed Genoa and Turin, which was the first bombing of Italy.^4,5

Airborne raids

On February 10, 1940, Whitleys were used on paratroop raids against the Italian viaduct at Tragino.²

On the night of February 27 and February 28, 1942, Whitleys were used in the Bruneval raid.^2,5 This raid was led by Wing Commander P. C. Pickard.⁵

Whitleys were also used as tugs for the Horsa glider.²

Winner of the DSO

On the night of November 12 and 13, 1940 Leonard Cheshire was awarded the DSO.⁵

RAF Coastal Command

The No. 502 Squadron was the first to use the ASV Mk II radar equipped Whitley Mk VIIs.² They had their first success on November 30, 1941 by sinking U-206 in the Bay of Biscay.²

Last bombing raid

The last raid conducted by the Whitley was on Ostend on the night of April 29 and April 30, 1942.^2,5

	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
Type	Heavy night bomber³
Crew	5³
Engine (Type)
Cylinders
Cooling
HP
Propeller blades
Dimensions
Span	84'³ 25.6 m³
Length	70' 6"³ 21.48 m³
Height	15'³ 4.57 m³
Wing area
Weight
Empty
Loaded
Max loaded
Performance
Speed
Cruising speed
Climb
Service ceiling
Range
Armament	5: 0.303" MG³
Bombs	7,000 lb³ 3,175 kg³

	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk I, Mk II
Type
Crew
Engine (Type)	2: Armstrong Siddeley Tiger¹
Cylinders	Radial¹
Cooling
HP
Propeller blades
Dimensions
Span
Length
Height
Wing area
Weight
Empty
Loaded
Max loaded
Performance
Speed @ 17,700' / 5,395 m	176 mph¹ 286 kph¹
Cruising speed
Climb
Service ceiling
Range
Armament

	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk III
Type
Crew
Engine (Type)	2: Armstrong Siddeley Tiger¹ 2: Armstrong-Siddeley Tiger VIII⁶
Cylinders	Radial^1,6
Cooling	Air⁶
HP	845 each⁶
Propeller blades
Dimensions
Span	84'⁶
Length	69' 3"⁶
Height	15'⁶
Wing area
Weight
Empty
Loaded	24,000 lb⁶
Max loaded
Performance
Speed	215 mph⁶
Speed @ 17,700' / 5,395 m	176 mph¹ 286 kph¹
Cruising speed
Climb
Service ceiling
Range	1,300 miles⁶
Armament

	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk. V
Type	Bomber^1,2,4,5, Reconnaissance¹, Anti-submarine¹
Crew	5^2,4,5
Engine (Type)	2: Rolls-Royce Merlin X piston^1,2,3,4,5,6
Cylinders	Inline^1,2, V 12^3,4,5
Cooling	Liquid^4,6
HP	1,145 each^2,3,4,5,6, 1,200 each¹
Propeller blades	3³
Dimensions
Span	84'^1,2,4,5,6 25.6 m^1,2,5
Length	69' 3"^2,5, 70' 6"^4,6, 72' 6"¹ 21.11^2,5, 22.1 m¹
Height	15'^1,2,4,5,6 4.57 m^1,2,5
Wing area	1,137 ft² ^1,2,5 105.63 m² ^1,2,5
Weight
Empty	19,310 lb¹, 19,330 lb², 19,350 lb^3,5 8,759 kg¹, 8,768 kg², 8,777 kg^3,5
Loaded	25,000 lb⁶, 28,200 lb^3,4 12,790 kg³
Max loaded	33,431 lb¹, 33,500 lb^2,3,5 15,164 kg¹, 15,195 kg³, 15,196 kg^2,5
Performance
Speed	240 mph⁶
Speed @ 16,400' / 5,000 m	230 mph⁵ 370 kph⁵
Speed @ 17,000 ' / 5,180 m	222 mph^2,4 357 kph²
Speed @ 17,700' / 5,395 m	228 mph¹ 367 kph¹
Speed @ 17,750' / 5,410 m	228 mph³ 367 kph³
Cruising speed	185 mph³ 298 kph³
Climb	800'/min^1,2,3 244 m/min^1,2,3
Climb to 15,000' / 4,570 m	16 minutes⁵
Service ceiling	17,600'^2,3,4, 17,700'¹, 26,000'⁵ 5,364 m³, 5,365 m², 5,395 m¹, 7,925 m⁵
Range	1,500 miles^1,5, 1,600 miles³, 1,650 miles⁴, 1,900 miles⁶ 2,415 km⁵, 2,540 km¹, 2,655 km³
Range - with 3,000 lb / 1,361 kg bombs	1,650 miles² 2,655 km²
Range with maximum load	470 miles³ 756 km³
Armament	5: MG⁴ 5: 7.7 mm MG¹
Nose turret	1: 7.7 mm MG^2,5
Tail turret	1: 7.7 mm MG² 4: 7.7 mm MG⁵
Bombs	6,985 lb¹, 7,000 lb^2,4,5 3,168 kg¹, 3,175 kg^2,5 Usually 14: 500 lb^1,2 Usually 14: 227 kg^1,2

Sources:

Aircraft of WWII, General Editor: Jim Winchester, 2004
Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Editor: Karen Leverington, 1995
Aircraft of WWII, Stewart Wilson, 1998
World War II Airplanes Volume 1, Enzo Angelucci, Paolo Matricardi, 1976
The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, Chris Bishop, 1998
Aeronautics Aircraft Spotters' Handbook, Ensign L. C. Guthman, 1943

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