Armstrong Whitworth AW.56

History

Armstrong Whitworth submitted his "AW. 56" proposal in violation of Operational Requirements (O.R.) 229 under Specification B. 35/46. The requirement ultimately called for a mid-range swept-wing jet bomber with four turbojets, a speed of at least 575 mph, and an altitude of 55,000 feet.

The classic Avro 'Vulcan' and Handley Page 'Victor' bombers finally fulfilled this requirement, and together with the Vickers 'Valliant' trio formed the RAF's formidable nuclear-capable 'V-Bomber' force). In Served for decades during the Cold War (1947-1991).

Proposed AW. 56 was not developed beyond the paper stage.

This request was made immediately after World War II, as a war-weary world was heading for a precarious peace. As far as fighter jets are concerned, turbojets are the way of the future, with designs that focus on new concepts for aircraft that fly faster than ever before.

With the Soviet Union now the new "enemy of the day" for the West, high-altitude bombers are in high demandespecially those that can carry nuclear payloads over long distances.

AW. The Type 56, which appeared in 1946, was primarily designed around a "flying-wing" configuration, in which the main aircraft wing surfaces provided strong inherent lift characteristics and extended operating range, while providing more interior volume. This also allows the use of unconventional fins - in this case a single vertical fin without a horizontal plane as part of its composition.

To date, large flying wing designs have not been well tested, especially those that are jet powered and capable of high Mach numbers in flight.

The design is centered on a tubular fuselage that supports the heavily glazed front that forms the cockpit. The shape of the cockpit is very streamlined to maintain maximum aerodynamic efficiency in all aspects of speed, this part only protrudes a short distance in front of the wing root. The root contains louvered inlets for the four turbojets buried in it. The wing structure will effectively fit into the upper part of the fuselage and contain the aircraft's main engines, main landing gear struts, bomb bays and fuel storage. For ground operation, a tricycle landing gear with two front legs and two main gear legs should be used.

The bomb bay consists of two parts, extending along the belly line of the fuselage, from just forward in the center of the ship to near the bottom of the tail. Instead of a gull-wing door that opens outward (and shuts off the airflow quickly), the lid slides away from the center of the boat to maintain aerodynamic efficiency.

The end result is a clean, massive plane, 80 feet long with a wingspan of 120 feet.

The main level of AW. The 56 maintains a considerable sweep along its leading edge. The wingtips are rounded, with the trailing edge closer to the fuselage and swept out from the gear bay and engine bay. The turbojets would be placed side-by-side in pairs, with each pair spanning the central section of the fuselage.

A system of short ducts directs air from the root of the wing to the engines, and the system will exit through ports in the straight section of the trailing edge. With no horizontal stabilizers, jet washes near the tail of the aircraft were hardly a problem.

The four airframe based engines are 4 x Rolls Royce "Avon" AJs. 65 turbojets, each with 6,500 pounds of thrust, slide into the main wing sections, while a fifth turbojet of the same make, model and power output will be mounted aft of the fuselage to provide additional thrust . Since this is still an air-breathing engine, the unit will be sucked in through a small semi-circular air intake located on the topline of the hull near the mid-section of the hull.

With this arrangement, engineers estimate that their 113,000-pound jet bomber will reach a top speed of 640 mph, with a cruise speed maintained near 580 mph. His service cap will be up to 50,000 feet, requiring all crew members to be pressurized.

When fully loaded for war, the range is estimated at 3,855 miles.

The internal bomb bay should support both conventional and nuclear bomb loading. This would result in 19 x 1,000 lb bombs, 3 x 6,000 lb bombs, or 1 or 2 x 10,000 lb bombs.

In 1947, the same aircraft underwent some redesign, which included the removal of the fuselage-mounted turbojets (which in turn allowed the air intakes to be eliminated). The nose section has been completely redesigned with a "teardrop" canopy only for the pilot (the rest of the crew is in the actual fuselage). Its location is now set on the port side of the hull. The wing layout has also been slightly reworked, while retaining the elegant shape.

Rolls Royce RB. 77 turbojets with 7,500 pounds of thrust (each) were also introduced as an alternative propulsion option. The plane was shortened to 75 feet and partially lightened to 101,105 pounds. Top speed is expected to drop slightly to 575 mph.

Specification

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