A.W.29
Role Day bomber
National origin England
Manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft
First flight 6 December 1936[1]
Number built 1 prototype

The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.29 was a British bomber aircraft built by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft.

Design and development

It was built to satisfy Air Ministry specification P. 27/32, which was for a single-engined long-range day bomber. The A.W.29 was a mid-wing cantilever monoplane. Its front fuselage was a welded tubular steel structure, and the rear fuselage a monocoque light alloy with an unbraced tailplane, fin and rudder. The conventional landing gear was hydraulically retractable by either an engine-driven or hand pump leaving the tyres partially exposed. The long-chord cowled, nose-mounted engine drove a three-bladed propeller.[1][2]

The A.W.29 was a two-crew aircraft. The pilot was seated ahead of the wing leading edge and the gunner/observer in a distant cockpit aft of the spar enclosed in a hand-operated turret. The aft cockpit could be fitted with a second set of controls for flight training.[2]

Not long after the A.W.29's first flight on 6 December 1936, it was damaged in a wheels up landing. Since the Fairey Battle had been awarded the P27/32 contract, the A.W.29 was not repaired to fly again.[1]

Specifications

Data from Air Pictorial Oct. 1958 [3][4][5]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

References

  1. ^ a b c Tapper 1973, pp. 203–8
  2. ^ a b Air Pictorial, pp. 360–361
  3. ^ "The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.29", Air Pictorial, Lesser Known Types, London, Eng., 20 (10): 360–361, October 1958
  4. ^ Tapper, Oliver (1973), Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft since 1913, London: Putnam Publishing, ISBN 0-370-10004-2
  5. ^ Tapper notes that the performance specifications were estimates, never substantiated by flight tests as the aircraft's life was so short
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