Dimensions etc:
- Undercarriage tracks: 25' 7"
(7.80m) main; 1' 11" (0.58m) tail
- Fuel Tankage:
Normal 10.242 Litres, Overload 1.990 Litres, Wing Bomb Cells 2.726 Litres
Engines:
- Prototypes:
Hercules HEIMaMkI Series I: Hercules II and II (mod), I, III or XMkI Series II, III, IV: Hercules XI MkIMkII: Wright
700Cl4AC (GR2600-A5B)
- Mks III, IV and V:
Hercules VI or XVI
Short Stirling Mk I
The early MkI had Hercules II engines
but they were replaced later by the Hercules XI The first production Stirling
rolled off the assembly line in August 1940
Specifications Short Stirling MkI:
- Wingspan: 99'
1" (30.2m)
- Length:
87' 3" (26.59m) MkV
- 90' 7" (27.61m)
- Height: 22'
9" (6.93m)
- Empty Weight:
46,900 Pounds
- Maximum Weight: 70,000 Pounds
- Powerplants: Four
1,500 hp Bristol Hercules XI air cooled radial engines
- Armament: Eight
.303 Browning machine guns, nose turret (2), dorsal turret (2), tail turret
(4), 17.000 Pounds of bombs
- Maximum Speed: 255 mph
- Service Ceiling: 16,500
feet (maximum load)
- Range: 2,330
miles
- Crew: Eight
Short Stirling MkII
During 1940-41 plans were put into
motion to have a number of Stirlings made by Canadian industry, initially
the plan called for production of 140 aircraft which would be almost identical
to the MkI. The aircraft would be powered by American 1600 hp Wright Cyclone
R-2600-A5B radial engines, housed in redesigned cowlings. A total of four
aircraft were converted in England to use the American engines and two
aircraft (N3657 and N3711) were test flown at Rochester in the Autumn of
1941. These tests revealed the the American engines gave no increase in
performance and during early 1942 the entire MKII production project was
cancelled
Short Stirling Mk III
Specifications Short Stirling MkIII:
- Wingspan: 99'
1" (30.2m)
- Length:
87' 3" (26.59m)
- Height: 22'
9" (6.93m)
- Empty Weight:
46,900 Pounds
- Maximum Weight: 70,000 Pounds
- Powerplants: Four
1,635 hp Bristol Hercules VI or XVI air cooled radial engines
- Armament: Nine
.303 Browning machine guns, nose turret (2), dorsal turret (2), tail turret
(4) and underfuselage hand held mount (1), 17,000 Pounds of bombs
- Maximum Speed: 270 mph
- Service Ceiling: 16,500
feet (maximum load)
- Range: 2,330
miles
- Crew: Seven
The underfuselage turret was not adopted as standard because
of center or gravity problems, although a number of No 7 Sqdn aircraft
were fitted with the belly turret.
Specifications Short Stirling MkIV:
- Wingspan: 99'
1" (30.2m)
- Length:
87' 3" (26.59m)
- Height: 22'
9" (6.93m)
- Empty Weight:
43,200 Pounds
- Maximum Weight: 77,000 Pounds
- Powerplants: Four
1,635 hp Bristol Hercules XVI air cooled radial engines
- Armament: Four
.303 Browning machine guns in tail turret, 17,000 Pounds of bombs
- Maximum Speed: 270 mph
- Service Ceiling: 19,000
feet (maximum load)
- Range: 2,360
miles
- Crew: Five
Specifications Short Stirling MkV:
- Wingspan: 99'
1" (30.2m)
- Length:
90' 7" (27.61m)
- Height: 22'
9" (6.93m)
- Empty Weight:
43,500 Pounds
- Maximum Weight: 70,000 Pounds
- Powerplants: Four
1,635 hp Bristol Hercules XVI air cooled radial engines
- Armament: None
- Maximum Speed: 280 mph
- Service Ceiling: 18,000
feet (maximum load)
- Range: 3,000
miles
- Crew: Five
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For Questions or Suggestions E-mail
me at Stirling@box.nl