Saturday 21 January 2012

Armstrong Whithworth Whitley

The Armstrong Whithworth Whitley was a twin-engined bomber which entered service in 1937. When the war broke out, in September 1939, seven squadrons were equipped with the aircraft. They were the first to saw action, as they flew over Germany in the first night of war dropping leaflets. The Whitley had been specifically desingned as a night bomber, therefore didn't take part in most of the daylight raids of 1939, which saw horrific losses for the Wellington and Hampden squadrons. In the first three years of war, the Whitley flew almost 9,000 operations against the enemy, dropping 9,845 tons of bombs and losing 269 aircraft. In 1942, the Bomber Command passed it Whitleys to other branches of the RAF. Most of them were given to paratroopers and glider towing training units, while a small part went to the Coastal Command. On 17 July 1942, a Whitley sunk the German U-boat U-751

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