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#0942

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley

🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·first flew 1936· heavy bomber, night bomber

🎖️ military 2× piston retired
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. Armourers install .303 Browning machine guns into the rear turret an Armstrong Whitley Mk V of No. 58 Squadron RAF at Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire, June 1940. CH246: Royal Air Force official photographer, Daventry B J (Mr)· Public domain
  2. 2. Armstrong Whitworth Whitley rear fuselage, Midland Air Museum. (12866262994): Roland Turner from Birmingham, Great Britain· CC BY-SA 2.0
  3. 3. Bombing up 502 Squadron RAF Whitley Aldergrove Nov 1940 IWM HU 107184: Belfast Telegraph Photographer· Public domain
  4. 4. Paratroopers inside the fuselage of a Whitley aircraft at RAF Ringway, August 1942. H22785: War Office official photographer, Malindine E G (Lt), Spender H (Lt), Puttnam L (Lt)· Public domain
  5. 5. 102 Squadron Whitley at RAF Topcliffe WWII IWM CH 2052: Royal Air Force official photographer· Public domain
  6. 6. 58 Squadron Whitley at RAF Linton-on-Ouse WWII IWM CH 226: Daventry B J (Mr) : Royal Air Force (RAF) official photographer· Public domain
  7. 7. Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk V of No. 19 Operational Training Unit based at Kinloss, Morayshire, parked at Abingdon, Berkshire, while visiting No. 10 OTU, September 1940. CH1217: Stanley Arthur Devon· Public domain
  8. 8. Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V (15650168348): San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives· Public domain
  9. 9. Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V (15650754660): San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives· Public domain
  10. 10. Parachute troops on parade in front of a Whitley bomber at RAF Ringway, Manchester, January 1941. H6527: War Office official photographer, Taylor (Mr)· Public domain
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, photo 1 of 10
1/10 Royal Air Force official photographer, Daventry B J (Mr)· Public domain

what is it?

The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium/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.

How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 25.6 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 370 km/htop speed
  • size 15.2 tmax take-off weight
  • built 1,476made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 90 years ago, in 1936.
  • Top speed is 2.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 25.6 m: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 3 African elephants (~6 t each).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight
1936-03-17
introduced
1937
retired
1945
status
retired
number built
1,476
role
heavy bomber, night bomber
origin
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
makers
Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft
engines
2× Rolls-Royce Merlin X
crew
5
length
21.5 m
wingspan
25.6 m
height
4.6 m
max take-off weight
15.2 t
top speed
370 km/h
range
—
ceiling
7,925 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q689463, Wikipedia: Armstrong Whitworth Whitley (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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