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The Short Stirling was a British four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War.It has the distinction of being the first four-engined bomber to be introduced into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the war (the earlier Handley Page V/1500 being a WWI design that served during the 1920s).
With the introduction of new heavy bombers, the four-engined Short Stirling, Avro Lancaster, and Handley Page Halifax, the Royal Air Force introduced heavy conversion units (HCU). These HCUs began forming in late 1941, to qualify crews trained on medium bombers to operate the heavy bombers before final posting to the operational squadrons.
The Short S.29 was accepted into service as the Short Stirling and was the principal British four-engine heavy bomber until eclipsed by the Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster, both coming out of specification B13/36 for a twin-engined bomber.
No 620 Squadron was formed at RAF Chedburgh on 17 June 1943 as a heavy bomber squadron equipped with the Short Stirling.It was a part of No.3 Group of RAF Bomber Command and carried out night bombing and minelaying missions until November 1943 when it was transferred to No 38 Group RAF.
The Bristol Hercules is a 14-cylinder two-row radial aircraft engine designed by Sir Roy Fedden and produced by the Bristol Engine Company starting in 1939. It was the most numerous of their single sleeve valve (Burt-McCollum, or Argyll, type) designs, powering many aircraft in the mid-World War II timeframe.
The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British Second World War heavy bomber.It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same era.
By mid 1943 the Short Stirling became available on loan from Bomber Command for service with the Special Duties squadrons. [29] The Stirling was a large aircraft, designed in the late 1930s as the heavy bomber by which Bomber Command would conduct strategic bombing. From conception it was designed as a 4 engine bomber, and was huge.
The Stirling's first operation raid was on 10 February 1941 from RAF Oakington, and its first raid to Germany was on 17 March 1941. He later designed a possible transatlantic four-engine airliner, the Short 14/38. [8]