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Royal Air Force Bomber
Command 60th Anniversary
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
From the outset, the Whitley was utilised by Bomber Command as a night
bomber, complementing the daylight missions of the Wellington and Hampden,
the type was the RAF's first 'heavy' bomber.
 The
Whitley was designed in response to Specification B3/34 issued in July
1934 and within two years the first Whitley had made its maiden flight
and the first orders for the new aeroplane (160) had been placed. Although
far more capable than the aircraft it replaced (such as the Fairey Hendon
and Heyford biplanes), the Whitley was hardly a modern looking aircraft
with a slab-sided fuselage and prominent, jutting chin and a very distinctive
nose-down flying attitude. It was however, capable of carrying a very
impressive bombload of 7,000lb.
One feature which dogged the Whitley during its early career was the
unreliability of its two Armstrong Siddeley Tiger engines and later
marks were fitted with the ubiquitous Rolls Royce Merlin.
 Initial
aircraft were delivered to Dishforth-based No 10 Squadron in a year
after the maiden flight of the prototype, with sister squadron No 78
following in July and No 58 at Boscombe Down in October. These Whitley
Is and the subsequent Mark IIs, fitted with Improved Tiger engines,
had left front-line squadrons by the outbreak of war and the Mark III
(improved armament and minor design tweaks) was the standard version
in service with Bomber Command. These, in turn, were being replaced
by the first Merlin-powered version the Mark IV and then the definitive
Mark V with later model Merlins.
The Whitley's first operations of the war ironically were not to drop
bombs on German targets, but leaflets, and these duties continued well
into 1940. The first bombing raids on Germany were made in May by Nos
77 and 102 Squadron from Driffield. Following Italy's entry into the
war in the following month, 36 Whitleys from 5 squadrons in No 4 Group,
visited Turin and Genoa, but many encountered bad weather over the Alps
and were forced to turn back due to icing - another problem that was
never cured with the aircraft.
During the Spring of 1940, the Wellingtons and Hampdens had been withdrawn
from daylight operations after a series of heavy losses and the three
different types now took the war to Germany by night and aircraft of
all three types made the first raid on Berlin in August.
 Because
of its better range, the Whitleys were used on some of the longest-range
sorties in the early years, with the raid on the Skoda factory in Czechoslovakia
(a return trip of almost 1,500 miles, much of the outward leg being
flown over enemy territory in daylight). Many famous bomber pilots cut
their teeth on ops with Whitleys including Leonard Cheshire (later awarded
the VC whilst serving with No 617 Squadron), Don Bennett (commanded
the Pathfinders) and James Tait (commanded 617 Squadron and awarded
4 DSOs).
As the Command slowly moved across to four-engined operations with
the arrival of the Stirling, Halifax and Lancaster, the Whitleys were
gradually withdrawn from the Main Force, although a number did participate
in the first 1,000-bomber raids in May 1942. The last Whitley operational
sorties had been flown some 4 weeks previously against Ostend.
 After
Bomber Command, Whitleys equipped a number of Coastal Command units,
their long range being an advantage for the extended patrols over the
Atlantic, and the first U-boat was sunk by an aircraft from No 502 Squadron
in November 1941. Other Whitleys made the first paratroop drops during
Operation Colossus, the failed attack on the Tragino viaduct in Italy
and also on the daring raid to seize German radar equipment from Bruneval
in the Channel coast. A small number of Whitleys also served with Nos
138 and 166 (Special Duties) Squadrons into 1943.
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