The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three twin-engine, front-line medium bombers in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of World War II. Along with the Handley Page Hampden and the Vickers Wellington, it bore the brunt of the early fighting, seeing action on the first night of the war, dropping leaflets over Germany. Along with Hampdens, the Whitley made the first raid on German soil, dropping bombs on the night of March 19-20, 1940. Whitleys also carried out the first RAF raid to Italy in June, 1940.

As the oldest of the three bombers, the Whitley was obsolete by the start of the war yet over 1,000 more were produced before a suitable replacement was found. By 1943 the Whitley had been relegated to transport roles. A total of 1,737 Whitleys were produced.

Designed to Air Ministry Specification B.3/34 and manufactured by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, the Whitley first flew on March 17, 1936 and entered service with No. 10 Squadron in March, 1937. Thirty-four of the Mk I and 46 Mk II Whitleys were built, powered by two 795 hp Armstrong Siddeley Tiger IX radial engines. The 80 Mk III aircraft received the 920 hp Tiger VIII engine and a retractable ventral turret aft of the wing root. In 1938 the powerplant was altered to use the Rolls Royce Merlin inline liquid-cooled engine, resulting 33 Mk IV aircraft powered by the 1,030 hp Merlin IV and seven Mk IVA using the 1,145 hp Merlin X.

At the outbreak of the war the RAF had 207 Whitleys in service, ranging from Mk I to Mk IV types. The Mk IV became the basis for the main wartime production mark, the Mk V, which first flew in December 1938. Powered by the Merlin X, the Mk V had a longer fuselage and a modified tail. A total of 1,466 were built before production ceased in June 1943.

The final Whitley variant was the Mk VII, designed for service with Coastal Command. The Mk VII was capable of longer range flights and equipped with an ASV radar for anti-shipping patrols. A Mk VII Whitley achieved the first Coastal Command sinking of a German U-boat, the U-206 , in November 1941.

The Whitley was retired from all front-line service in late 1942 but it continued to operate as a transport for troops and freight (including service with BOAC) as well as towing gliders. No. 100 Group RAF used Whitleys to carry airborne radar and counter-measures.

Specifications (Mk V)

General characteristics

• Crew: 5
• Length: 70 ft 6 in (21.49 m)
• Wingspan: 84 ft (25.60 m)
• Height: 15 ft (4.57 m)
• Wing area: 1,137 ft² (106 m²)
• Empty: 19,300 lb (8,768 kg)
• Loaded: lb ( kg)
• Maximum takeoff: 33,500 lb (15,196 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 x Rolls-Royce Merlin X Vee type, 1,145 hp (855 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 230 mph at 16,400 ft (370 km/h at 5,000 m)
• Combat range: 1,650 miles (2,650 km) with 3,000 lb bombload
• Ferry range: 2,400 miles (3,862 km)
• Service ceiling: 26,000 ft (7,925 m)
• Rate of climb: 800 ft/min (244 m/min)
• Wing loading: 29.5 lb/ft² (143 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: hp/lb ( kW/kg)

Armament

• 1 x .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun in nose turret, 4 x .303 Browning machine guns in tail turret
• 7,000 lb (3,175 kg) bombs

Related content

Related development: None

Comparable aircraft: Handley Page Hampden - Vickers Wellington

Designation series: A.W.27 - A.W.35 - A.W.38 - A.W.41 - A.W.52 -

See also

• List of aircraft of the RAF