Short Stirling

Heavy bomber · Short Brothers · United Kingdom

Short Stirling
ⓘ licence & creditPress Agency photographer (via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Typical crew7
Engines4 × Bristol Hercules
First flight1939
Number built2,371

Photographs

Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Short S.29 Stirling. Stirling Mark I, W7530 ‘HA-Q’, of No. 218 Squadron RAF based at Marham, Norfolk, in flight.
ⓘ licence & creditForward (Flying Officer), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Short_S.29_Stirling._CH6308.jpgView source & full licence →
Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Short S.29 Stirling. Three Stirling Mark Is of No. 1651 Heavy Conversion Unit based at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, in flight over the Cambridgeshire countryside.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Woodbine G (Mr) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Short_S.29_Stirling._CH5476.jpgView source & full licence →
Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Short S.29 Stirling. Stirling Mark I, N3641 ‘MG-D’, of No. 7 Squadron RAF, running up its engines on the ground at Oakington, Cambridgeshire.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Short_S.29_Stirling._CH3138.jpgView source & full licence →
Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Short S.29 Stirling. Stirling Mark III, EH930 ‘EX-N’, of No. 199 Squadron RAF, preparing to take off at Lakenheath, Suffolk, for a night-time minelaying operation off the Dutch coast.
ⓘ licence & creditClark N S (F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Short_S.29_Stirling._CH12683.jpgView source & full licence →
Country: England
ⓘ licence & creditOffice for Emergency Management. Office of War Information. Domestic Operations Branch. Bureau of Special Services. 3/9/1943-9/15/1945 / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Flight_of_%22Stirling%22_Bombers_out_on_a_Raid_-_DPLA_-_1181faba08de6297beba09d9b3View source & full licence →
A Cecil Beaton photograph of the navigator working at his chart table in an RAF Stirling bomber, 1941. 1940s vintage exhibition print of Cecil Beaton photograph D 4738. A Royal Air Force navigator working at his chart table in a Vickers Wellington bomber.
ⓘ licence & creditBeaton, Cecil (Photographer) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Cecil_Beaton_photograph_of_the_navigator_working_at_his_chart_table_in_an_RAF_Stirling_bomber,_1941._D4738_2.jpgView source & full licence →
Short Stirling bomber of No. 75 Squadron RNZAF en route to 26th mission.
ⓘ licence & creditBritish Government service personnel / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:75_Squadron_RNZAF_Short_Stirling_AA-C_en_route_for_26th_mission.jpgView source & full licence →
IWM caption : Short Stirling Mark I, N3706 'MG-S', of No, 7 Squadron RAF based at Oakington, Cambridgeshire, in flight above the starboard wing of another aircraft of the Squadron.
ⓘ licence & creditBellamy W (P/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:7_Squadron_RAF_Stirlings_in_flight_IWM_CH_4782.jpgView source & full licence →
IWM caption : Short Stirling Mark I, N3641 ‘MG-D’, of No. 7 Squadron RAF taking off at Oakington, Cambridgeshire. 7 Squadron was the first unit to be equipped with the type, which it received in August 1940. N3641 was the seventh production aircraft.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:7_Squadron_RAF_Stirling_taking_off_from_Oakington_IWM_CH_3145.jpgView source & full licence →
Armourers loading 1,000-lb GP bombs into a Short Stirling of No. 218 Squadron RAF at RAF Downham Market, Norfolk, prior to an operation.
ⓘ licence & creditMinistry of Information Photo Division Photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:218_Squadron_Stirling_IWM_D_8973.jpgView source & full licence →
Stirling Mark I, BF382 'BU-Q', of No. 214 Squadron RAF on the ground at RAF Stradishall, Suffolk, at the end of its operational service.
ⓘ licence & creditBritish Government / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:214_Squadron_Stirling_RAF_Stradishall_IWM_ATP_11154D.jpgView source & full licence →
British airborne troops just disembarked from Stirling aircraft at Gardermoen airfield near Oslo.
ⓘ licence & creditDevon S D (Flight Lieutenant) Royal Air Force official photographer. / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1st_Airborne_Oslo.jpgView source & full licence →
Image from the Charles Daniels Photo Collection album "British Aircraft." SOURCE INSTITUTION: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
ⓘ licence & creditSan Diego Air & Space Museum Archives / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:15_Short_Stirling_(15650912467).jpgView source & full licence →
Image from the Charles Daniels Photo Collection album "British Aircraft." SOURCE INSTITUTION: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
ⓘ licence & creditSan Diego Air & Space Museum Archives / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:15_Short_Stirling_(15216625203).jpgView source & full licence →
Image from the Charles Daniels Photo Collection album "British Aircraft." SOURCE INSTITUTION: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
ⓘ licence & creditSan Diego Air & Space Museum Archives / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:15_Short_Stirling_(15216076644).jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force- Fighter Command, No. 38 (airborne Forces) Group RAF. Liberated Allied prisoners-of-war wait on an airfield in Belgium before boarding a line of Short Stirlings (those in the foreground belonging to No. 299 Squadron RAF) for repatriation to the United Kingdom.
ⓘ licence & creditStanley Devon / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force-_Fighter_Command,_No._38_(airborne_Forces)_Group_RAF._CL2428.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Armourers attach carriers to two 1,000-lb GP bombs before manoeuvring the bomb trolley under a Short Stirling Mark I of No. 218 Squadron RAF at Downham Market, Norfolk. Note the hoist cables hanging from the bomb-bay winches, and the trolley-accumulator under the aircraft, supplying power to the Stirling's electricity supply.
ⓘ licence & creditMinistry of Information Photo Division Photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._D8976.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Short Stirling B Mark Is of No. 7 Squadron RAF, taking on their load of 250-lb and 500-lb MC bombs at Oakington, Cambridge, for a night raid on Dortmund, Germany.
ⓘ licence & creditBrock F J (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH5287.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Short Stirling B Mark Is of No. 7 Squadron RAF are refuelled on the flight line at Oakington, Cambridgeshire, prior to a night raid on Dortmund, 15 April 1942.
ⓘ licence & creditBrock F J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH5282.jpgView source & full licence →

About

The Short Stirling holds a particular distinction: it was the first four-engined heavy bomber designed from the outset to enter RAF service. Answering a 1936 Air Ministry requirement, it first flew in May 1939 and reached No. 7 Squadron in 1940, flying its first operation in February 1941 against oil installations near Rotterdam.

Its great handicap was written into the specification. To fit existing hangars the wingspan was capped at about 100 feet, leaving the wing too short to lift the aircraft to the altitudes its rivals reached. Powered by four Bristol Hercules radials, the Stirling cruised lower than the Lancaster or Halifax and grew vulnerable as German defences improved. Withdrawn from the main bombing force from 1943, it found a productive second life as a glider tug, transport and special-duties aircraft. Around 2,380 were built, flying some 14,500 bombing operations.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including Short Stirling — Military Factory and Short Stirling — Wikipedia. The text is original and has been written from factual source material; no source text has been copied unless specifically quoted and attributed.

Engines

Airframes in this database

SerialCodeSquadronFate
BF372 OJ-H 149 Lost on operations
BF378 LS-T 15 Lost on operations
BF411 LS-A 15 Lost on operations
BF457 LS-B 15 Lost on operations
BK627 WP-P 90 Lost on operations
EF452 HA-O 218 Lost on operations
EH930 EX-N 199 Unknown
N6086 LS-F 15 Written off (non-op)
R9276 WP-G 90 Lost on operations