Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley

Type: Heavy Bomber.
Origin: Armstrong Whitworth
Models: Whitley I to VIII
Crew: Five
First Flight:
   Prototype: March 17, 1936
   Mark V: December 1938
Service Delivery: Mk. I: January 1937
Service Delivery: Mk. V: August 1939
Production Termination: June 1943
Number Produced: 1,737
    Mark V: 1,466
    Gr.VIII: 146
Engine: Whitley Mk. V
  Model: Rolls-Royce Merlin X
  Type: 12-Cylinder liquid cooled vee
  Number: Two    Horsepower: 1,145 hp
Dimensions: Whitley Mk. V
Wing span: 84 ft. (25.6m)
Length: 70 ft. 6 in. (21.5m)
Height: 15 ft. (4.57m)
Wing Surface Area: N/A
 Weights: Whitley Mk. V
Empty: 19,330 lb. (8768 kg)
Loaded: 33,500 lb. (15,196 kg)

Performance: Whitley Mk. V
Maximum Speed: 222 mph (357 km/h)
Cruising Speed: about 185 mph (297 km/h)
Initial Climb: 800 ft/min (244 m/min)
Service Ceiling: 17,600-21,000 ft. (5400-6400m)
Range with 3,000 lb. (1361 kg.) bomb load:
    1,650 miles (2650 km)
Armament: Whitley Mk. V
One .303 in. Vickers K in nose turret.
Four .303 in. Vickers K in tail turret.

Payload: Whitley Mk. V
7,000 lb (3175 kg. of bombs in cells in fuselage and inner wing.
Comments:
    Designed in response to Air Ministry specification B.3/34, the Whitley was a all-metal monoplane bomber with retractable landing gear. The wing was mounted in a positive incidence so that when flying wings level the aircraft had a pronounced nose down attitude. The Whitley was a primitive aircraft with a lack luster performance until the introductin of the Mark IV. With this Merlin engined mark performance was sufficiently increased to make the Whitley a capable aircraft.
    Whitleys were involved extensively in leaflet dropping during the "Phoney War" and on March 19, 1940 Whitley's bombed Germany for the first time since 1918. As newer bomber types entered service the Whitley was relegated to various roles including coastal patrol bomber. In fact Coastal Command sunk it's first U-Boat (U-206) in November of 1941 with a Whitley Mk. VII. After 1942 the Whitley was used primarily for training and glider tug duties.
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Sources:
Gunston, Bill - The Encyclodepia of the Worlds Combat aircraft, 1976, Chartwell Books, Inc., New York