Today we’re taking an in-depth look at the history of the Armstrong Whitworth A.W 38 Whitley.
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Recommended reading:
Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Since 1913 (Putnam’s British Aircraft) –https://amzn.to/3MTT6uq
Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft (Archive Photographs) –https://amzn.to/47NX681
Aircraft Profile No. 153: The Armstrong Whitworth Whitley –https://amzn.to/3QI7DKU
The Bomber Command War Diaries: An Operational Reference Book 1939-1945 – https://amzn.to/3RbPFC6
The British Aircraft Specification File – https://amzn.to/47p2378
0:00 Intro
2:33 Design Origins
6:55 Prototype Development
17:04 Whitley Mk.I
19:30 Whitley Mk.II
21:19 Whitley Mk.III
25:29 Whitley Mk.IV
28:14 Whitley Mk.V
31:02 Early WW2 Service
42:42 OTUs and Coastal Command
45:16 Whitley Mk.VII
47:36 Paratroop Operations
56:49 Experimental Use
59:12 Obsolescence and Legacy
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F.A.Q Section – Ask your questions here 🙂
Q: Do you take aircraft requests?
A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:)
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A: Supporters over on Patreon now get to vote on upcoming topics such as overviews, special videos, and deep dives.
Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others?
A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both.
Thanks Rex, great video
How is it if climbing rate is improwed from 4 to 5 minutes? Math teacher told me that is not.
It is a decrease of performance.
The paratroopers getting a Whitleys kiss sounds painful, they also had another called "ringing the bell" as the chap dropped out of the hole in the floor, the slipstream tugged his feet to the rear, pivoting him forward and splitting his nose on the rim of the hole on the way out.
Although aesthetically highly unpleasing, the Whitley performed at a level equal to the Wimpy, Ju 88 and Heinkel 111, so it wasn't too bad after all.
I understand that the inclusion of so much trivia was under obligation to the many who provided you with material.
I love deep dives
Great research, Rex. I've seen plenty of pictures of the Whitley over the years but new little about their service, until now!
My Father & Mother were both in the RAF during the war, my father flew the Whitley Hampden, Wellington, Sunderland, etc as a Navigator in Coastal Command St Eval in Cornwall , while mother was stationed in London. 1939-1945
At 5.00: "crew complement" not "compliment".
On March 2nd 1941 a squadron of Whitleys took off to bomb Hamburg. One aircraft developed engine trouble over the Netherlands and turned back, but kept losing height and the crew were forced to bale out.
prearranged finding each other with prearranged bird calls the crew walked about ten miles to the coast, hiding in ditches or bushes whenever they saw headlights. Purloining a fishing boat, they made their way across the North Sea, rowing the last 5 miles when the fuel ran out. After landing near Cromer and almost being shot by the home guard they spent the night in a police station, supplied with fish and chips and bottles of beer. By means of a milk train, two buses and a farm cart they finally returned to their base to find no planes there at all. Worried that their comrades had suffered a disaster the ran to the agjustant.
He put their minds ease, glancing at his watch & telling them the lads weren't due back for another three hours.
I was getting ready to mention the AW52 tug job, but eventually you touched on it. When I lived in Rugby during the postwar 1940s we'd see this odd aircraft combination flying overhead. On one occasion the anti-aircraft emplacement on the roof of Armstrong-Whitworth's Baginton works fired on an approaching 'enemy bomber. Turned out it was Whitley, an aircraft which would have been built by these very AA volunteers with the pathetic aircraft recognition skills during their day-job.
Thank you, that was fantastic. I love the early RAF bombers. Nice to see this dedicated to such a cool subject.
A Whitley was also used as the 'Old Crate' on a postcard in Aardman Animation's Chicken Run…
The rumour was that if a Whitley flew through a rain cloud the crew would end up wet.
When I pressed the like button the counter changed from 4.2K to 4.3K. I feel like I gave your video the 100 likes it deserves!
Interesting and enlightening….what's not to like. Thanks/
Is that Herr Goebbels at 2:25 dead center of the photo?
Yes, the Whitley! One of my favorite aircraft! Slow, sturdy, totally unfamous and underappreciated. What a shame there's not a single one left.
@38 mins re comment concerning the first air raid on Germany. I thought that honour went to the French Air force? I've seen something on this on YouTube a while ago, and thought it sai that they did an air raid on Berlin v early in the course of the war.
Very informative, subscribed.
Another excellent presentation – thank you so much !
đź‘Ťđź‘Ťfor a great video
Outstanding Rex
it was perfect keep it up.
Thanks so much for this, my father was a pilot with 51 Squadron………….
Brilliant. I appreciate this aircraft a lot more thanks to your video. Good work.
Thanks for this very informative video. It is a pity there are no surviving examples.
I have always been interested in this aircraft because my father flew them in the Hebrides with Coastal Command during WW2.
He survived a crash with a full load of munitions after engine problems shortly after take off.
The knowledge that it was not possible to maintain level flight on one engine must have been stressful.for crews when over enemy territory or far out at sea.
Enjoyed this 'deep dive' video of an aircraft that I have always written off as having not contributed much. Thanks for all the research and effort to produce the video. Interesting to learn much about this 'unsung hero'. Some surprising design features. Sad that there is not a preserved example.
Absolutely fantastic. I had no idea that the Whitley made such a large contribution to the war effort. Great anecdotes, notably the piggy back event.
Thankyou Rex the best information on the whitley ive found i live in Whitley in Coventry the whitley has been a favourite ww2 bomber since i moved here some 30 odd years ago one again Thankyou for bringing a long forgotten bomber back in to the spotlight
This aircraft's development sounds like they were trying to assemble and improve the aircraft whilst it was in flight.
"Slightly intoxicated honey badger". Oh my word, you are right up there with humour!
That nose of the prototype! OMG Planes are supposed to be elegant IMO.
Excellent episode on the Whitley, which has been sadly overlooked in favour of the Wellington.
During an early bombing raid over Germany a Whitley had to land in the Danish water of "Storstrømmen", close to my former home in South Sealand. The crew escaped and survived. Divers from local clubs have seen this plane on the bottom but the current is hard and the depth is considerable. But it may still be there in a reasonable condition, to be saved, if wanted? Finn. Denmark
The Village of Shortstown, once accommodation for RAF Cardington, Bedford immortalises the name in one of its main Streets – Whitley Road, half way along the imaginatively named 'Central Drive'.
Interesting place. The 2 GIANT Hangers where the R 101 was built, latter Airship Industries 'Flying Bottom' Airship. They were the largest free standing structures on the planet for several decades until NASA built a shed to put the Saturn 5 MoonRocket in. They are now used variously for film making and building multi-story buildings on giant vibrating pads to test earthquake resilience. 🙄
Big?
You look at them & think 'Well. Those are VERY big'
Then you get nearer and see a bloke who appears ant sized next to it and realise your perception is out by an order of 'eek its bleedin enormous'.
Sadly, neither contains a Whitley Bomber
Excellent delivery of a highly interesting data on an honorable plane close to unknown to me.
Deffinatly a deep dive.
Bungee operated bombcell doors were a feature on the Airspeed Horsa glider designed in 1941
Always a sad looking plane I thought with it's drooping nose.
Jesus Christ that original bomb-bay door release…