Short Stirling Aircraft

Stirling III, 199 Sqn RAF. Copyright: Arvo Vercamer

Production Details

Design Company:

Short Brothers Ltd, Rochester

First Flight:

14 May 1939

Stirling I:

265 - Short Brothers Ltd, Rochester 265 - Short Bros & Harland Ltd, Belfast 191 - Austin Motors Ltd, Longbridge

Stirling III:

224 - Short Brothers Ltd, Rochester 343 - Short Bros & Harland Ltd, Belfast 429 - Austin Motors Ltd, Longbridge

Stirling IV:

53 - Short Brothers Ltd, Rochester 450 - Short Bros & Harland Ltd, Belfast

Stirling V:

1 - Short Brothers Ltd, Rochester 162 - Short Bros & Harland Ltd, Belfast

Type Specification

Applies to:

Short S-29 Stirling III

Type:

Four-engined long-range heavy bomber and glider tug

Wing:

Mid-wing cantilever monoplane, all metal

Fuselage:

All metal structure

Tail Unit:

Cantilever monoplane type, light alloy frame and leading edge fabric covering

Landing Gear:

Retractable type, tailwheel

Power Plant:

Four Bristol Hercules VI fourteen cylinder, double row radial air cooled engines, with three bladed, constant speed airscrews

Accommodation:

7, 2 Pilots, navigator / bomb-aimer, front-gunner / wireless operator, two air gunners and flight-engineer / air gunner

Armament:

3 gun turrets, nose, amidships and tail with total of 8 0.303 machine guns. Internal bomb bays in fuselage and inner wings, bomb load 18,000 lb

Span:

99 ft 1 in

Length:

87 ft 3 in

Height:

22 ft 9 in

Wing Area:

1,460 sq ft

Tare:

44,000 lb

Normal Loaded:

70,000 lb

Max Speed:

280 mph at 6,000 ft

Initial Rate of Climb:

800 ft / min

Service Ceiling:

18,000 ft

Normal Range:

3,000 miles

Preserved in British Museums

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