Armstrong Whitworth Whitley

A.W.38 Whitley
Whitley Mk.V
General information
Type	Heavy bomber, night bomber
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft
Designer	John Lloyd
Status	Retired
Primary user	Royal Air Force
Number built	1,814[1]
History
Introduction date	1937
First flight	17 March 1936
Retired	1945
Developed from	Armstrong Whitworth AW.23

The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British heavy bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the Second World War. Alongside the Vickers Wellington and the Handley Page Hampden, the Whitley was developed during the mid-1930s according to Air Ministry Specification B.3/34, which it was subsequently selected to meet. In 1937, the Whitley formally entered into RAF squadron service; it was the first of the three medium bombers to be introduced.

Following the outbreak of war in September 1939, the Whitley participated in the first RAF bombing raid upon German territory and remained an integral part of the early British bomber offensive. In 1942 it was superseded as a bomber by the larger four-engined "heavies" such as the Avro Lancaster.^[2] Its front-line service included maritime reconnaissance with Coastal Command and the second line roles of glider-tug, trainer and transport aircraft. The type was also procured by British Overseas Airways Corporation as a civilian freighter aircraft. The aircraft was named after Whitley, a suburb of Coventry, home of Armstrong Whitworth's Whitley plant.