Short Stirling

[Beefcake]

The Short Stirling looks really cool and would make a decent early war heavy.

[whipster22]

I read some were that the stirling can turn inside a Bf. 110

[Ack-Ack]

I read some were that the stirling can turn inside a Bf. 110

Some of the pilots reportedly claimed they were able to out turn the Ju88 and Bf 110 night fighters that intercepted them.

ack-ack

[Pigslilspaz]

Because it doesn't fly at 357mph, carry 20,000 worth of bombs or made after mid-1944.

ack-ack

if given the 18,000lb loadout, then it'd be the heaviest bombload in game

[Simba]

Stirling's bombload on ops was usually about 10-12,000 lbs max, mainly 250 lb or 500 lb bombs because those were the size of bombs its multiple-divided bomb-bay was designed for - and its service ceiling was so poor that it had to fly through the Alpine passes to hit targets in Italy, because it couldn't fly over them. If the Stirling had been the success the RAF hoped for from its first four-engined bomber, it wouldn't have been taken off bomber ops so soon, or been completely supplanted in Bomber Command squadrons by the Halifax and Lancaster by early 1944.

I reckon it would make better sense to model a Wellington Mk.Ic or Mk.III if you want another Brit bomber, it was produced in larger numbers than any other British bomber type (over 11,000 units if you count the trainer versions in the total).

 

[Ack-Ack]

Stirling's bombload on ops was usually about 10-12,000 lbs max, mainly 250 lb or 500 lb bombs because those were the size of bombs its multiple-divided bomb-bay was designed for - and its service ceiling was so poor that it had to fly through the Alpine passes to hit targets in Italy, because it couldn't fly over them. If the Stirling had been the success the RAF hoped for from its first four-engined bomber, it wouldn't have been taken off bomber ops so soon, or been completely supplanted in Bomber Command squadrons by the Halifax and Lancaster by early 1944.

I reckon it would make better sense to model a Wellington Mk.Ic or Mk.III if you want another Brit bomber, it was produced in larger numbers than any other British bomber type (over 11,000 units if you count the trainer versions in the total).

 

The usual bomb load for the Short Stirling was far less than that, more like around 3,500 pounds.  When missions were less than 600 miles then the Short Stirling was able to carry a larger payload.

ack-ack

[Simba]

C'mon, the Stirling might have been a low-flyer but it could and did usually carry more bombs than that.

Example: Four Stirlings of No.15 Squadron RAF lifted off from Wyton on 30th April 1941; their first mission flying Stirlings, the target was Berlin - and each carried fifteen 500lb HE bombs. One actually made it to the Big City but found it under 10/10 cloud, so he came home via Kiel, where the bombs were dropped on a searchlight site.

Source: The Stirling Story by Michael J F Bowyer; 2001, Crecy Publishing Ltd, Manchester, ISBN 0 947554 91 2, page 63.

 

[TwinBoom]

 

[Pigslilspaz]

Lovely picture!