No, you really couldn't justify it as a goon. Its main role was bomber.
What I like about the Stirling for AH is that the flight characteristics are different from the lanc. Significantly so. It sets it apart. It had a big thick wing with a large cross-section. The wing didn't work so well at alt, and it was limited to medium-low altitudes. However, some choice tidbits from wiki (I've heard some of them before other places, but I'm doing a no-effort copy and paste here):
Despite the "disappointing performance" at maximum altitude,[13] Stirling pilots were delighted to discover that, due to the thick wing, they could out-turn the Ju 88 and Bf 110 nightfighters they faced. Its handling was much better than that of the Halifax and some preferred it to the Lancaster. Based on its flight characteristics, Pilot Murray Peden of No. 214 RAF Squadron flatly described the Stirling as "one of the finest aircraft ever built".[14]
Another consequence of the thick wing however was a low ceiling and many missions were flown as low as 12,000 ft (4,000 m). This was a disadvantage on many raids, notably if crews were attacking Italy and had to fly through (rather than "over") the Alps. When Stirlings were on combined operations with other RAF bombers which could fly at higher altitudes, the Luftwaffe concentrated on the low-flying Stirlings. Within five months of being introduced, 67 out of the 84 aircraft delivered had been lost to enemy action or written off after crashes.
The Stirling's maximum bomb load was able to be carried for only relatively short distances of around 590 miles. On typical missions deep into Germany or Italy a smaller 3,500 lb (1,590 kg) load was carried, consisting of seven 500 lb (227 kg) GP bombs. This was the sort of load being carried by the RAF's medium bombers such as the Vickers Wellington and, by 1944, by the de Havilland Mosquito. Perhaps the biggest problem with the design was that although the bomb bay was large at 40 ft long (12 m)[15] it had two structural dividers running down the middle, limiting it to carrying nothing larger than the 2,000 lb (907 kg) bomb. As the RAF started using the 4000-lb (1,815 kg) "cookies" and even larger "specials," the Stirling became less useful. The Handley-Page Halifax and especially the Avro Lancaster offered better performance (the Lancaster could carry twice the Stirling's bombload over long distances, and was at least 40 mph faster while having an operating altitude of about 4,000 ft higher[16]), so when they became available in greater numbers from 1943, it was decided to withdraw Stirlings to secondary tasks.
Definitely an interesting choice, even if not an uber one.
With the right historic AH maps, that flying through the alps bit might be kinda cool!
