Armstrong Whitworth A.W.XIV, A.W.16 and A.W.35 Scimitar
For a description of the format and data included in Production Tables, see here.
Type Description and Production Data
| A.W.XIV Starling | A.W.16 | A.W.35 Scimitar |
A.W.XIV Starling Mk.I
Single seat day and night fighter to Specification 28/24. A single-bay biplane the unequal span, staggered wings had N-type interplane struts, steel spars and wooden ribs and were fitted with ailerons on the upper planes only. The fuselage, similar to that of the Siskin Mk.III, had a bolted steel-tube structure and was built from components of the cancelled Romanian Siskin Vs. The fin and large horn balanced rudder were reminiscent of that fitted to the Ajax prototype. Armament was two synchronised .303 in Vickers machine guns. Originally fitted with a 385 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IV powerplant, it proved to be underpowered and was re-engined with a 460 h.p. Jaguar V engine, but performance was still unimpressive. The prototype was evaluated against the later Specification F.9/26 in February 1926, but was rejected by the RAF, who instead selected the Bristol Bulldog.
A.W.XIV Starling Mk.II
Single seat day and night fighter to Specification 9/26. As Mk.I with much modified structure, featuring a more finely tapered rear fuselage and taller undercarriage. The fin was now of smaller area, and the rudder no longer was horn balanced. The all new wing featured parallel interplane struts, a large top wing and much smaller, almost sesquiplane, lower wing. The wooden ribs of the Mk.i were replaced by ones fabricated from steel strip. One 525 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Panther II powerplant, with a Townend ring cowling.
Two further Starling Mk.IIs were produced as Private Ventures by AWA, one featuring wide chord wings and was intended to meet Specification N.21/26 for a fleet fighter, while the other had narrow chord wings to meet Specification F.20/27 for an interceptor fighter (See also Note 2)
Two further Starling Mk.IIs were produced as Private Ventures by AWA, one featuring wide chord wings and was intended to meet Specification N.21/26 for a fleet fighter, while the other had narrow chord wings to meet Specification F.20/27 for an interceptor fighter (See also Note 2)
| A.W.XIV Starling II Specification | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Range | Service Ceiling |
| 34 ft 3 in | 25 ft | 11 ft 10 in | 258.5 sq ft | 2175 lb | 3430 lb | 200 mph/ 174 kn | 33100 ft | ||
| 10.44 m | 7.62 m | 3.61 m | 24.02 m2 | 987 kg | 1556 kg | 322 km/h | 10089 m | ||
Production Details
| Serial Range | C/n | Type | Batch Qty |
Conv. | Canc'd | Notes |
| 1 aircraft ordered from Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley, to Contract 576942/25. First flew May 1927. | ||||||
| J8027 | 277 | Mk.I | 1 | See note 1 | ||
| 1 aircraft ordered from Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley, to Contract 576942/25. First flew December 1929. | ||||||
| J8028 | 455 | Mk.II | 1 | |||
| 2 aircraft built by Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley, in 1930. | ||||||
| 459-460 | Mk.II | 2 | Flew under B Conditions as A1 and A2 respectively. See note 2. | |||
| Total Production | 4 | |||||
A.W.16
(Also written as A.W.XVI) Single seat single bay biplane derived from the A.W.XIV Starling Mk.II. Wings were of unequal span and chord, braced with N-type interplane struts, the overall structure was all metal, fabric covered, with the fuselage made from steel tubing and the wing spars and ribs built up from high tensile steel strip. The undercarriage was mounted on V-struts, with streamlined fairings and a cross axle and featured large wheel spats. The prototypes featured a fin similar to the Starling, combined new rudder featuring an angled aerodynamic baklance. Production examples featured a fin of increased chord and area.
The first prototype was produced as a ship fighter to Specification N.21/26, converted from an A.W.XIV Starling Mk.II. Initially one 525 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Panther IV, later 560 h.p. Panther III, powerplant, with a Townend ring cowling.
The second prototype was a day and night fighter, also converted from an A.W.XIV Starling Mk.II, and was a Private Venture submission to Specification 9/26, with a 560 h.p. Panther III, powerplant. Production aircraft were supplied as day and night fighter / advanced trainer, with a 640 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Panther VII powerplant.
The first prototype was produced as a ship fighter to Specification N.21/26, converted from an A.W.XIV Starling Mk.II. Initially one 525 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Panther IV, later 560 h.p. Panther III, powerplant, with a Townend ring cowling.
The second prototype was a day and night fighter, also converted from an A.W.XIV Starling Mk.II, and was a Private Venture submission to Specification 9/26, with a 560 h.p. Panther III, powerplant. Production aircraft were supplied as day and night fighter / advanced trainer, with a 640 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Panther VII powerplant.
| A.W.16 Specification (Panther III) | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Range | Service Ceiling |
| 33 ft | 25 ft 6 in | 11 ft | 261.35 sq ft | 2795 lb | 4067 lb | 203 mph/ 176 kn | 2 hr | 28650 ft | |
| 10.06 m | 7.77 m | 3.35 m | 24.28 m2 | 1268 kg | 1845 kg | 327 km/h | 8733 m | ||
Production Details
| Serial Range | C/n | Batch Qty |
Conv. | Canc'd | Notes |
| 1 aircraft ordered from Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley, to Contract 54578/30. First flew 30 December 1930. | |||||
| S1591 | 698 | (1) | Converted from Starling II c/n 459. Eventually returned to AWA and sold to China. | ||
| 1 aircraft built by Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley. First flew early 1931. | |||||
| 460 | (1) | Converted from Starling II c/n 460. Flew under B Conditions as A2. | |||
| 2 aircraft ordered from Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley, for the Chinese Air Force Training School, Hangchow. Delivered in October 1932. See Note 3. | |||||
| ??? - ??? | 720, 721 | 2 | |||
| 1 aircraft built by Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley, in 1931. | |||||
| G-ABKF | 722 | 1 | Retained by Armstrong Whitworth as a demonstrator. Later used as engine test bed. | ||
| 3 aircraft ordered from Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley. Delivered in 1932. See Note 3. | |||||
| ??? - ??? | 765-767 | 3 | Alloted ferry registrations G-ABRH - G-ABRJ. | ||
| 5 aircraft ordered from Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley, by the Kwangsi Provincial Air Force, China. Delivered April to May, 1932. See Note 3. | |||||
| ??? - ??? | 797, 798, 818-820 | 5 | Alloted Hong Kong ferry registrations VR-HAZ, 'HBK, 'HBH, HBN, HBQ. One aircraft known serial 153. | ||
| 2 aircraft ordered from Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley, for the Chinese Air Force Training School, Hangchow. Delivered in 1933. See Note 3. | |||||
| ??? - ??? | 823, 824 | 2 | C/n 823 retained by AWA for testing and demonstration as G-ABZL, before delivery to China. | ||
| 3 aircraft ordered from Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley, for the Kwantung Provincial Air Force, China, and delivered in 1933. See Note 3. | |||||
| ??? - ??? | 825-827 | 3 | |||
| 1 aircraft built by Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley. First flew 20 June 1933. | |||||
| G-ACCD | 828 | 1 | Retained by Armstrong Whitworth as a demonstrator. | ||
| 1 aircraft ordered from Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley, by the Chinese Air Force. First flew 4 April 1933. See Note 3. | |||||
| ??? | 839 | 1 | |||
| Total Production | 18 | (2) | |||
A.W.35
Single seat day and night fighter / advanced trainer development of A.W.XVI to Specification F.7/30 to meet the requirements of O.R.1. Wings and tailplane were identical to the AW.16 except the rudder was no longer aerodynamically balanced. The fuselage a bolted steel-tube structure like its forebears, but was only fabric covered aft of the cockpit, the remainder being clad in duralumin. To reduce engine drag, a new type of deep section, long chord cowling was fitted, and the forward fuselage had a pronounced drop of its upper profile forward of the gun mountings, matching the profile of the cowling. The undercarriage, featuring the same faired struts and spats of the A.W.16, was now of the split axle type. For the protypes, armament was two synchronised .303 in Vickers machine guns and a carrier for four 20 lb bombs could be fitted under the lower port wing, and it was powered by one 640 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Panther VII powerplant. For the Norwegian production aircraft, the Vickers guns were replaced by 7.92mm Colt machine guns and they wre fitted with the more powerfull 730 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Panther XIA.
| A.W.35 Scimitar Specification (Panther VII) | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Range | Service Ceiling |
| 33 ft | 25 ft | 11 ft 7 in | 261.35 sq ft | 2956 lb | 4100 lb | 221 mph/ 192 kn | 2-1/2 hr | 31600 ft | |
| 10.06 m | 7.62 m | 3.53 m | 24.28 m2 | 1341 kg | 1860 kg | 356 km/h | 9632 m | ||
Production Details
| Serial Range | C/n | Batch Qty |
Conv. | Canc'd | Notes |
| 2 aircraft built by Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley. First flew June 1934. | |||||
| G-ACCD | 828 | (1) | Converted from A.W.16. | ||
| G-ADBL | 460 | (1) | Converted from A.W.16. | ||
| 4 aircraft ordered from Armstrong Whitworth, Whitley, for the Norwegian Army Air Force. Delivered in 1936. | |||||
| 405, 407, 409, 411 | 985-988 | 4 | |||
| Total Production | 4 | ||||
Projected Variants
- A.W.28
- Single seat fighter biplane: A.W.16 with fuselage lengthened to 27 ft 11 in to compensate for the heavier 505 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Hyena powerplant.
- A.W.31
- Single seat fighter biplane: A.W.16 with wings of equal, 33 ft, span. Armstrong Siddeley Tiger powerplant.
Production Summary
All Aircraft By Type
| Type | Built New | Conv | Canc'd | Total |
| A.W.XIV Starling Mk.I | 1 | 1 | ||
| A.W.XIV Starling Mk.II | 3 | 3 | ||
| A.W.16 | 18 | (2) | 20 | |
| A.W.35 Scimitar | 4 | (2) | 6 | |
| 26 | (4) | 0 |
Notes
- Williams [4] states that AWA aquired J8027 in May 1929 for use as a demonstrator, with registration G-AAHC and, for reasons unknown, was allocated new c/n 277, originally intended for the second prototype.
- Tapper [1] considers it uncertain whether either or both A1 and A2 were in fact new airframes or modifications of J8028. A1 featured wide chord wings and was classified as a fleet fighter, while A2 had narrow chord wings as an interceptor. However, since both A1 and A2 were converted into prototype A.W.16s, then, even if either A1 or A2 were converted from J8028, they were two separate airframes.
- According to Williams [5], 17 aircraft were sold to China: five were purchased by the Honan Provincial Government and presented to the Central government, the remaining 12 going to the Kwangsi and Kwantung Provincial Air Forces, probably six each. This total of 17 must include the first prototype. All aircraft were supplied via the Far East Aviation Company of Hong Kong.
Production References
- Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Since 1913, Oliver Tapper (Putnam, 1973)
- Royal Air Force Aircraft J1 - J9999, RAF Aircraft Register Series (Air-Britain Publications, 1987)
- Aeroplane Monthly Jul 1980 - A.W.XIV
- Aeroplane Monthly Apr 1982 - A.W.16
- Aeroplane Monthly Nov-Dec 1986 - A.W.35
Page Revision History
Revised at Version 2.0.0- Improved Type Description and Added Specification details.
- Revised and added notes.
- Added Norwegian serials for Scimitar.
- Updated produced variant details.