Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Heavy Bomber - History, Specs and Pictures

Authored By Staff Writer | Last Updated: 8/7/2012

The unattractive Whitley was nonetheless a workhorse performer for the RAF from 1937 to 1942.

Follow Military Factory on Facebook:

Trending on Military Factory:

Compare Aircraft
You Know You Want To

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles of the World Listing

UAVs
Eyes in the Skies

Top 10 Fighters
The Best of the Best

World War 2 Aircraft
Age of the Metal Monoplane

World War 1 Aircraft
Of Canvas and Wood

Vietnam War Aircraft
Last of the Gunfighters

Korean War Aircraft
Dance of the Jets

Recent Articles:

The BAe Systems Mantis Unmanned Aerial Vehicle serves as an important technology demonstrator for Europe

Lightweight by no means, the 7.58cm Minenwerfer was the most portable of the German trench mortars of WW1

Amidst budget constraints, the French Navy has managed to lease the all-modern L'Adroit P725 patrol vessel

The M108 of 1952 preceded the more famous M109 Paladin self-propelled gun series and saw action in Vietnam

Born as the M1 during World War 2, this howitzer became the M114 in 1962 and saw widespread use around the globe

The German invasion of 1941 was eventually undone with Soviet artillery such as the 100mm M1944 dual-role series

The EX 41 from Naval Ordnance Station Louisville became an abandoned multi-shot grenade launcher project

Whether known as the Blooper, Bloop Tube, Thumper or Thump-Gun, the M79 grenade launcher proved its worth

Temporarily unable to net itself F-16s or F-20s, Taiwan moved on to develop its own F-CK-1 "Ching-Kuo" fighter

When losses to IEDs started to mount, the US military turned to such MRAPs as the Navistar MaxxPro

Continuing in the tradition of ugly yet robust and reliable heavy bombers, the British Armstrong Whitworth Whitley was the heavy bomber of choice during the early war years and up through 1942. The massive unappealing design offered the Royal Air Force a versatile heavy hitter to damage the internal workings of the German war machine. Though obsolete by the war's mid-years, the Whitley would never the less fulfill the projected role it was designed for and provide the RAF with a much-needed offensive punch.

The Whitley began as a derivative of the A.W.23 transport/bomber design, with the first prototype Whitley flying in 1936. Operational models would follow by 1937 in the form of the first two marks - Mk I and Mk II - split between an initial order of 80 aircraft (34 and 46 respectively). Minor differences distinguished the two but more prominent was the use of varying powerplants - Tiger IX radial engines in the Mk I and Tiger VIII radial engines in the Mk II. The Mk I would nearly be removed from service in its entirety by the time aggression had broken out over Europe. The Mk III would appear shortly after the initial batch, introducing a ventral gun position that was retractable. The Mk IV would come along with differing radial powerplants of the Rolls-Royce brand. A subvariant of the Mk IV would appear with a newly-configured powered tail turret housing quad 7.7mm machine guns. The definitive bomber variant of the Whitley series would have to wait until the appearance of the Mk V model, to which the system would take on the brunt of high-level deep-strike bombing missions in enemy-held territory.

The Armstrong Whitworth Whitley design was a basic twin engine aircraft with a heavy bomber classification. One of the most identifiable features of the series lay in the interesting angled-down format of the nose and cockpit section, which in itself contained a very obvious protruding "chin" fixture. Crew accommodations amounted to five personnel positioned in various parts of the aircraft, manning systems or defensive weaponry. Standard armament of the Mk V model consisted of a single 7.7mm machine gun in a nose gunner position complimented by a 4 x 7.7mm machine gun array in a powered-turret assembly at the tail of the plane. The addition of this Nash & Thompson product offered up the removal of a retractable ventral gun position seen in earlier models. Internal bombload was limited to 7,000lbs of varying ordnance.

Whitley's, though becoming obviously outperformed and vulnerable to ever-improving enemy attack at day or night, plodded along as required in a frontline operational capacity up until early to mid 1942 - though production continue up until 1943. In the end, the Whitley would be replaced by the next generation of British and American-made bombers, designed to take on more in the way of long-range heavy strike and designed with better defensive capabilities in mind. Nevertheless, the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley would go down as a capable performer. Text ©2003-2013 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • No Reproduction Permitted
MilitaryFactory.com does NOT sell equipment/weaponry. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance or general operation. Please consult manufacturers for such information. Our disclaimer. Email corrections / Comments to MilitaryFactory at Gmail dot com.

View All Images (1)

Specifications for the
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
Heavy Bomber

Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Manufacturer: Armstrong Whitworth - UK
Initial Year of Service: 1937
Production: 1,656

Focus Model: Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk V
Crew: 5

Length: 69.26ft (21.11m)
Width: 83.99ft (25.60m)
Height: 14.99ft (4.57m)
Weight (Empty): 19,350lbs (8,777kg)
Weight (MTOW): 33,501lbs (15,196kg)

Powerplant: 2 x Rolls-Royce Merlin X V-12 piston engines generating 1,145hp each.

Maximum Speed: 230mph (370kmh; 200kts)
Maximum Range: 1,501miles (2,415km)
Service Ceiling: 26,001ft (7,925m; 4.9miles)
Rate-of-Climb: 938 feet per minute (286m/min)

Hardpoints: 0
Armament Suite:
1 x 7.7mm machine gun in nose turret
4 x 7.7mm machine guns in tail turret

Up to 7,000lbs of bombsheld internally.

Variants:
A.W.23 - Armstrong Whitworth bomber/transport design on which the Whitley is based on.

Mk I - Initial Production Version; powered by two Armstrong Siddeley Tiger IX radials generating 920hp each; 34 examples produced.

Mk II - Fitted with Tiger VIII radial engines; 46 such produced.

Mk III - Fitted with Tiger VIII radials; fitted with retractable ventral gun position; 60 produced.

Mk IV - Powered by 2 x Rolls-Royce Merlin IV V-12 radial engines.

Mk IVA - Fitted with Merlin X engines generating 1,145hp; featured Nash and Thompson power-operated four gun rear tail turret negating the need for the earlier retractable ventral gun position; 40 examples produced.

Mk V - Main and Final Production Model; extended fuselage with straight leading wing edges; powered by Merlin X engines.

Operators:
the United Kingdom

ALL AIRCRAFT CATEGORIES

BY DECADE:

• 1900 to 1909
• 1910 to 1919
• 1920 to 1929
• 1930 to 1939
• 1940 to 1949
• 1950 to 1959
• 1960 to 1969
• 1970 to 1979
• 1980 to 1989
• 1990 to 1999
• 2000 to 2009
• 2010 to 2019
• 2020 to 2029
• VIEW ALL
• Compare Aircraft