Saturday 4 June 2016

Armstrong Whitworth F.9/35

This never-built unnumbered Armstrong Whitworth design was a development of the AW.34 and was the only contender for the Air Ministry specification F.9-35 for a turret fighter that was eventually won by the Boulton-Paul Defiant.

It would've been the only contender to use two Armstrong-Siddeley Terrier engines with 14-cylinders each. It employed the, back then, current Armstrong Whitworth practice of a single box spar made in light alloy where the bending moment stresses and torsional loads would be accommodated by wide booms to give a light and rigid plane.
Wings were to be covered in light alloy from the leading edge through to it's rear but the areas located aft of it had standard fabric covering.
It was also intended to have a fuselage and wing surface finish approaching the time and quality of the time motor cars, using for that flush riveting and cellulose lacquers.

Contract was placed for one prototype, numbered K8624 which would've been a conversion of the unfinished AW.34 and it seems that this airplane was almost assemblied when the order was cancelled. Some sources claim that cooling problems on the Terrier engine were responsible, at least in part, for the abandonment.
Also it's worth to point how this design reminds to other contemporaneous heavy fighters like the Italian FIAT CR.25 for instance.










Sources:
1. Midland Publishing - British Secret Projects - Fighters and Bombers 1935-1950
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Air_Ministry_specifications#1930.E2.80.931939
3. http://britishaviation-ptp.com/aw_prdn3.html

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