Country of origin:

Great Britain

Description:

Long-range bomber

Power Plant:

[Stirling I]

Four 1,119 kw (1,500 hp) Bristol Hercules XI fourteen-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial engines

Specifications:

Armament:

Eight 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Browning machine guns installed in Frazer-Nash FN5 nose turret, FN7 dorsal turret, and four in FN20A tail turret; provision for up to twenty 227 kg (500 lb), or seven 907 kg (2,000 lb) bombs; provision for up to six 227 kg (500 lb) bombs in wing cells

History:

In 1936 the British Air Staff drew up plans for the development of a series of twin-engine aircraft which culminated in the Whitley, Hampden and Wellington medium bombers.  In June 1936 specifications were drawn up for a long-range four-engine strategic bomber and this eventually lead to the Short Stirling.  Fifteen companies put forward proposals and Short Brothers and the Supermarine section of Vickers Armstrong were given contracts to build a prototype.  Short commenced by building the Short S.31, an exact half-scale replica of the Stirling, to test the design, and this was fitted with Pobjoy Niagara IV engines, flying for the first time on 22 November 1938.

At the same time construction of the prototype Stirling was proceeding and it was completed at Rochester in  Kent, UK in May 1939, John Lankester Parker making the first flight on 14 May that year.  However, on landing on this flight a brake locked, causing the aircraft to make a violent swing which led to the collapse of the undercarriage, the aircraft being unable to be repaired.  However, the RAF needed long-range bombers, estimating 3,500 would be needed by April 1942, and development continued.  Short Brothers & Harland’s facilities at Rochester and at Belfast, Northern Ireland were to commence production, followed by Austin Motors at Longbridge in Birmingham.  A German Luftwaffe raid on the Rochester facility on 9 August 1940 destroyed 20 that were in production, and a further five were destroyed on 15 August at Belfast due to similar problems.

Production proceeded with a modified and strengthened undercarriage, the second prototype flying on 3 December 1939. Service testing was carried out at the A & AEE at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire.  Aircraft were soon delivered to No 7 Squadron RAF. The type soon demonstrated its good flying qualities and a good capacity to absorb damage and remain airworthy.  First time the aircraft saw action was on 10 / 11 February 1941 making a daylight mission to Emden, Germany on 27 April, and bombing sorties against the Kriesmarine battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Production had reached 20 aircraft a month during 1941 and soon Nos 149, 218, 75 [RNZAF], 90 and 214 Squadrons RAF were equipped, followed in 1943 by Nos 196, 199, 622 and 623.  The type took part in the first 1,000-bomber raid on Cologne, Germany on 30 May 1941.

In 1942 production of the Mk III took over from the Mk I, having the Hercules XVI engine which had oil-coolers and the FN50 dorsal turret as was then being installed in the Lancaster.  In 1943 the H2S radar was fitted to aircraft of No 7 Squadron.  A contract was placed for 140 Stirling IIs to be built in Canada with Wright R-2600-A5B Cyclone engines but was later cancelled.

Production of the Stirling I comprised 261 aircraft at Rochester, 260 at Belfast and 191 by Austin, making a total of 712.  This figure does not include the six complete aircraft destroyed at Rochester and the five in final assembly at Belfast.  Production of the Stirling III was 1,036, comprising 264 at Rochester, 343 at Belfast and 429 by Austin.  Many of these were later converted to Mk IV configuration and operated as transports and glider tugs.  Last bombing raid by a Stirling was on 8 September 1944.  One example was supplied to the Soviet Union for evaluation.  The Stirling V was built at Belfast, 162 being completed by the time production concluded in November 1946.

An Australian Short Stirling pilot won a posthumous VC in action, this being Flt Sgt Rawdon Hume Middleton of the RAAF on 29 November 1942. Whilst a pilot with No 149 Squadron RAF attacking the Fiat facility at Turin, Italy, during his third run over the target his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and severely damaged.  A shell explosion in the cockpit grievously wounded Middleton and other members of his crew.  The aircraft was then flown for four hours to the north-west, receiving more damage as it crossed the French coast and, when near the English coastline, with only five minutes fuel left, the crew was ordered to bail out, five of the seven landing safely, and Middleton being killed when the aircraft crashed.

In 1939, following the Declaration of War, the New Zealand Government offered to place men and aircraft at the disposal of Great Britain.  At that time RNZAF personnel of No 75 (RNZAF) Squadron were in the United Kingdom taking delivery of a squadron of Vickers Wellington bombers.  This unit had been formed on 4 April 1940.  Ultimately six other Squadrons became New Zealand units, similarly to RAAF units on operations in the United Kingdom.  These units usually had personnel from New Zealand and where possible were replaced by New Zealand crews.

During its early years in the United Kingdom operating from RAF bases No 75 Squadron was equipped with the Vickers Wellington and Short Stirling and saw action over France, Norway and particularly Germany.  The unit was involved in the first major bombing raid on oil refineries in the Ruhr on 15 May 1940.  During the war the unit was eventually equipped with the Avro Lancaster, and later the Avro Lincoln, but continued to have examples of the Stirling on charge up until March 1944.

One Stirling I (N3705) was shot down whilst flying with No 7 Squadron RAF on 15 August 1942, making a forced landing at Gorkum in Holland.  Its crew was captured and imprisoned but the aircraft was rebuilt by German personnel, painted in Luftwaffe markings and underwent evaluation at Rechlin.  After the war Stirlings were used by Transport Command but they were replaced by the Avro York and most were scrapped.  However, 12 continued to operate for some years.  In May 1947 Airtech Limited converted 12 to civil use and these were sold to Trans-Air, a Belgian charter operator, these being used on services from Blackbushe in the United Kingdom to Shanghai in China.  They were registered OO-XAK to OO-XAV.

No Stirling survives but the Stirling Aircraft Association in the United Kingdom has since 1984 been collecting parts to build a static display example.  The wreck of a Stirling IV (EF311) of No 196 Squadron RAF lost during a supply dropping operation of the Special Operations Executive has been located where it ditched on 27 August 1944 off the Isle of Wight.  It is known to be fairly complete and sitting on the bottom of the ocean. It is hoped to recover parts of this aircraft in the future.