WORLD WAR TWO AW ALBERMARLE

UNWANTED

WORKHORSE
DESIGNED AS A BOMBER BUT REJECTED FOR THE
ROLE, THE ALBEMARLE HAD SOME SUCCESS IN
SPECIAL DUTIES. ANDY DAVIES AND DANIEL FORD
EXAMINE THE TYPES CONVOLUTED CAREER
hile it was never going to
win awards for its looks,
the AW Albemarle deserves
a better place than it occupies in
the annals of aviation history. In
fairness to its designer, John Lloyd,
the brief was hardly inspiring and
he apparently harboured little
enthusiasm for the project.
Nevertheless, the requirement
incorporated a series of challenges.
It was to be a medium bomber with
little novelty
using nonstrategic
materials

112 FLYPAST October 2016

such as wood and steel. This

construction method enabled it
to be sub-contracted to firms not
proficient in aircraft manufacture;
potentially up to 1,000 businesses,
ranging from furniture companies
to hairdressing equipment suppliers.
Major sub-assemblies were to be
transported on a standard 60ft
(18.2m) Queen Mary articulated
lorry trailer.
Gloster test pilot John Grierson
described the Albemarle as an
average aircraft with no virtues and
no vices. This was hardly the stuff
of legends,
but probably
describes why it
could move from

E
one task to another without radical
modification.
While it may have been lacklustre,
the Albemarle was innovative in its
adoption of a nosewheel layout, as
favoured by contemporary American
types. It was the first indigenous
design with tricycle undercarriage to
enter frontline RAF service

Mixed parentage

When Armstrong Whitworth

(AW) was awarded the contract
to produce two prototypes in late
1938, the design office at Baginton,
Coventry, did not need to start with
a blank sheet. The first iteration
of what became the Albemarle

was Specification B9/38, which

had landed on the desk of Frank
Barnwell, chief designer for the
Bristol Aeroplane Company, at
Filton in the spring.
Given the Bristol designation Type
155, the B9/38 requirement was
changed from bomber to bomber
reconnaissance (BR) and a new
specification, B17/38, was drafted.
The Beaufort-like nose profile
certainly attests to the final products
Filton genetics.
In the summer of 1938 Filton was
an intensely busy place. Blenheims
were rolling off the production line,
the Beaufort was approaching first
flight (October 15, 1938) and the

In fairness to its designer, John Lloyd, the

brief was hardly inspiring and he apparently
harboured little enthusiasm for the project

private venture Beaufighter was in

the early phases of scheming.
Then tragedy struck. Barnwell
was killed on August 2, 1938 while
making the maiden flight of the
BSW.1, a single-seat light aircraft of
his own design. His deputy, Leslie
Frise, took over, but it may have
been the death of Barnwell that
persuaded the Air Ministry to find
another home for the project.

Birth pangs

So responsibility for the Type 155

moved to Coventry, where it was
designated AW.41 and yet another
specification, B18/38, was issued. The
factory was building Whitley bombers
but John Lloyds designers needed
something to get their teeth into.
The choice of the name Albemarle
is thought to honour the dukes
and earls of Albemarle, domiciled
near AWs factory in Warwickshire.
The 17th century first Duke of
Albemarle was prominent in the
restoration of Charles II.
Between September and November
1938 the new types duty changed
yet again. No longer was it BR,
which was always regarded as a
make do role; B18/38 was instead
intended for general reconnaissance
maritime patrol.
The prototype and the second
example, P1361, were assembled at
Hamble in Hampshire, the home
of AW-owned company Air Service
Training. It was not until March 20,
1940 that Charles Turner-Hughes
took the prototype, P1360, for its
maiden flight. This nearly ended
in catastrophe - see page 114. To
solve initial problems, the wingspan
was increased by 10ft, a disturbing
modification at that stage of the
types evolution.
Service acceptance trials did not
begin until November 1940 when

Above

The prototype, P1360,

showing the tail
bumper wheel under
the extreme tail. KEY
COLLECTION

Far left

Albemarle ST.V V1763

being refitted, probably
at Hucclecote. It served
operationally with
295 Squadron. KEY
COLLECTION

Left

Special transport ST.I

Series II P1653 on the
ramp at Hucclecote as
another example flies
overhead. Both are
fitted with guard rails
at the tail to protect
the flying controls
from being snagged by
parachute lanyards. KEY
COLLECTION

WORLD WAR TWO AW ALBERMARLE

TEN MORE FEET PLEASE

Demands on the Coventry Armstrong Whitworth (AW) factory
meant that the first two prototype Albemarles were assembled
at Hamble, Hampshire. This was the base of Air Service Training,
which was owned by AW.
Chief test pilot Charles Turner-Hughes wanted to get to know how
P1360s novel tricycle undercarriage behaved on the ground. He
started a series of hops to get the feel of the prototypes before
he committed to a take-off.
On one of the runs across Hamble, on March 20, 1940, Charles
realised he had left things far too late to apply the brakes and taxi
back for another go. Pulling back manically on the control column,
he was amazed to find that he could only just claw P1360 into the
air for a much-truncated and frighteningly low circuit.
The Albemarle had flown for the first time, but it was hardly an
occasion to celebrate. Take-off performance was improved by
extending the wingspan by 10ft (3m) and testing was transferred to
the AW airfield at Baginton, Coventry.

The ill-fated prototype, P1360, at Boscombe Down in late 1940. KEY COLLECTION
Below

Albemarles of 511
Squadron near Lyneham,
1943. VIA ANDY THOMAS

P1360 arrived at the Aeroplane

and Armament Experimental
Establishment (A&AEE) at Boscombe
Down, Wiltshire. On February 4,
1941 the prototypes wing failed and
the pilot and two flight test observers
were very lucky to survive.

114 FLYPAST October 2016

Examination of the wreckage

revealed that glued joints on the
plywood panels that made up the
top surface of the wings had failed.
The verdict was a combination
of poor quality control and an
underestimation of the strength
needed in the joints that fused metal
with wood. Such a damning verdict
would have condemned many a
programme still in the prototype
development phase to the scrapheap.

Homeless

Meanwhile, the Albemarle had

become homeless again. In early

1941 it was decided to manufacture

Lancasters at Baginton and AW
turned all its efforts to gearing
up the new production line. Jigs,
tooling and all of the paraphernalia
needed to create Albemarles
moved to the Gloster factory site at
Hucclecote, near Gloucester.
Along with Avro and Hawker,
Gloster and AW were founder
members of the Hawker Siddeley
Group in 1935. So the move
from Baginton to Hucclecote was
effectively an internal reorganisation
of the conglomerates resources.
Hucclecote had been producing

and an intensive flight test regime

was instigated. Single-engined
performance was considered to
be so marginal that the procedure
was crossed off the to do list in
November 1941.
Disaster struck again on February
28, 1942. Bomber-configured
P1368, seventh off the Hucclecote
line, entered a spin and crashed
near Hungerford, Berkshire; all
three crew perished. The starboard
1,590hp (1,186kW) Bristol
Hercules XI radial had been
feathered as its propeller blades were
not bent in the crash and it was
assumed that the engine not being
under power was the result of a
failure and not deliberate.

Far left

Special transport
Albemarles lined up
outside the Hucclecote
factory with Glosterbuilt Typhoons parked
out on the airfield. KEY
COLLECTION

Left

An Albemarle cockpit,
with the access hatch
to the nose position
to starboard. KEY
COLLECTION

Hurricanes since late 1939 and the

first Gloster-built Typhoon appeared
in May 1941, so the factory was
heavily committed. The Albemarle
was established as an independent
operation, with its own supplier chain
and management, although there was
much cross-over in the workforce
and flight test
personnel.
To
administer
the
programme
a spurious
company, A
W Hawksley, was created to provide
an address for sub-contractors
to distinguish Albemarle business
from the needs of Glosters
fighter factory. The name was
a contraction of Armstrong
Whitworth Hawker Siddeley.
In all 600 Albemarles came off
the Hucclecote production line.
Orders for nearly 500 more were
cancelled, including 200 that
would have been manufactured by
Avro. Astoundingly, given all of
the disruption, the first example,
P1362, appeared in October 1941.
The last was delivered in the spring
of 1945.

Jobless
As already mentioned the
prototype had broken up in midair while under test in February
1941. The operationally equipped
second example, P1361, arrived
at Boscombe Down in April to
continue evaluation, but it was the
autumn before others arrived to
join the test fleet.
With these delays the Albemarle
had become a priority at A&AEE

Pilots were not impressed by the

new warplane, with poor directional
stability heading a long list of
defects. Much more damning was
the Albemarles overall performance;
it was underpowered and its service
ceiling was disappointing. This
was not an aircraft to be sent over
enemy-held territory or patrol
hostile waters.

Special duties

The Hucclecote production line was

in its stride by the spring of 1942,
so a new role was sought for the
Albemarle. Its relatively capacious
fuselage came to the types aid and
it was reconfigured as a special
transport (ST) to carry paratroops
or as a glider tug (GT).
After 42 bomber variants,
Hawksley switched to the new
versions. All bomber equipment and
fuselage fuel tanks were removed
and the power-operated dorsal turret
was replaced by a manual two-gun
installation with sliding hood.
For the ST version, a double
freight door was installed in the
starboard rear fuselage and a

Above

An Albemarle of 296
Squadron in North
Africa in the summer of
1943. The chalked 120
on the rear fuselage
was so that it could
be matched up with a
similarly marked glider
or help identify it for a
stick of paratroopers.
VIA ANDY THOMAS

WORLD WAR TWO AW ALBERMARLE

ALBERMARLE VARIANTS
Above

View from the bomb

aimer/observer position in
an Albemarle. KEC

Variant
Prototypes

Number built
2

Mk.I
GT.I
ST.I
GT.II
ST.II
Mk.III
Mk.IV

42
80
78
1
99

ST.V
GT.VI

49
117

ST.VI

133

Details
P1360 and P1361 assembled at Hamble.
(All others built at Hucclecote.)
Basic bomber version
Glider tug
Special transport, 12 Series Is, 66 Series IIs
One-off glider tug version
As ST.I with dorsal turret reintroduced
Not built
Prototype (P1406, first flown Dec 12, 1942) with 1,500hp
(1,119kW) Wright R-2600 Cyclones plus V1760 so converted
As ST.II but with fuel system changes
As GT.I with dorsal turret reintroduced; 17 Series Is,
100 Series IIs
Improved ST.II

With a pair of Spitfires, a Mustang and Firefly in the background, Wright Cyclone-powered Mk.IV P1406 at
A&AEE Boscombe Down in February 1943.

116 FLYPAST October 2016

paratroop jump hatch fitted in

the rear floor. The GT featured a
glider-towing hook at the extreme
rear and the tricycle undercarriage
facilitated taking up the slack of a
tow without the classic tail-dragger
transition to the upright position.
To differentiate between equipment
changes, aircraft carried subdesignations see the panel.
Two Albemarles P1378 and
P1390 were issued to the special
duties 161 Squadron, headquartered
at Tempsford, Bedfordshire, in
October 1942. Both were sent to St
Eval, Cornwall, the following month
for undisclosed special duties,
perhaps radio relay work, but by
January the pair was abandoned due
to poor serviceability.
It fell to 511 Squadron at Lyneham,
Wiltshire, to fully introduce the
Albemarle to service in the transport
role during November 1942. Strippedout aircraft were flown on night
sorties, carrying personnel and vital

retiring the twins in December

1944.
Albemarles were employed
extensively on personnel and
supply drops on behalf of the
Special Operations Executive in
support of resistance fighters. This
was risky work, requiring accurate
flying while running the gauntlet
of interception by the Luftwaffe or
anti-aircraft fire.
Albemarles had their share of
being mentioned in failed to
return reports. For example, on the
night of March 3, 1944 Albemarles
of 570 Squadron, based at Hurn,
near Bournemouth, were among
44 aircraft mostly Short Stirlings
dropping within eastern France.
None of the five crew of V1641
were heard from again.

War chariots
At Hurn, 296 Squadron began
adding Albemarles to its AW
Whitleys in January 1943 and
two months later had completed
converting to the new type.
Deployed to Algeria, 296 took

May. Two days later P1444 of 296

and the Waco Hadrian it was towing
were shot down; five died on P1444,
losses on the glider are not recorded.
It was in the early hours of D-Day,
June 6, 1944, when the Albemarle
squadrons enjoyed their greatest
success. Afterwards, the work of
keeping resistance forces supplied
did not diminish. A force of 21
aircraft, again an Albemarle/Stirling
mix, was sent to Valenay, southeast
of Tours on July 11, 1944. Only
one aircraft failed to return: ST.II
V1744 of Brize Norton-based 296
Squadron, all five flight crew plus a
Parachute Regiment air dispatcher
were declared missing.
The types frontline swansong came
during the unsuccessful airborne
operation at Arnhem, September
17 to 26. On the first two days 296
and 297 Squadrons towed Airspeed
Horsa gliders into battle out of
Manston in Kent; there were no
losses among the Albemarles.
The Soviet Union expressed interest
in up to 200 Albemarles. A gift of
a dozen was made and 305 Ferry

Left

The phrase engine

cut was mentioned on
an alarming number
of Albemarle accident
reports. Operated by
the Coastal Command
Development Unit from
Tain in Scotland, after
its starboard Hercules
XI packed up, Mk.I
P1431 came to grief
near the airfield on
October 21, 1942. KEC

freight, to Gibraltar and detachments

did likewise out to Malta. The hazards
of flying long distance over water in
a notoriously underpowered aircraft
were underlined on August 10, 1943
when P1433 went down 105 miles
west of Gibraltar: all 13 on board
drowned.
Four other squadrons 295, 296,
297 and 570 flew Albemarles, all
taking on the type in 1943. Having
completed its conversion to HP
Halifaxes, 297 Squadron was the
last frontline unit to fly Albemarles,

part in the invasion of Sicily,

commencing on the evening of July
9, 1943.
The Albemarles had to abort
their first op, but in the coming
days 296 was in the thick of it. On
the 12th P1446 and P1526 were
detailed to drop two sticks of
ten Special Air Service personnel
to objectives in central Sicily,
approaching the island at 350ft. Of
these aircraft only P1526 returned;
all five on P1446 were killed,
including 296s CO, Wg Cdr P R

Training Unit was activated at Errol,

Scotland, in December 1942 to train
Russian crews to fly them to the
USSR. The aircraft were handed over
in March and April 1943. A 13th,
P1645 was wrecked before setting off.
Just how many made it to their
new home is unknown. After
receipt, the Soviets did not press for
more Albemarles, probably having
noted the types many shortcomings.
In the USSR they were used for
transport duties and in the training
of bomber crews. The surviving
examples are believed to have been
withdrawn from service in 1945.
A number of RAF second-line
units operated the type. The last of
these is believed to have been 21
Heavy Glider Conversion Unit at
Elsham Wolds, in Lincolnshire. This
unit relinquished its Albemarles in
February 1946 for far more capable
and reliable Halifaxes.

Left

Soviet Albemarles,
probably at Errol,
during training, early
1943. The fuselage red
star is painted over the
double freight doors.
PETER GREEN COLLECTION

WORLD WAR TWO AW ALBERMARLE

INVASION PATHFINDERS
ALBEMARLES WERE THE FIRST RAF AIRCRAFT TO CARRY OUT DROPS IN THE EARLY
HOURS OF D-DAY AS ANDY THOMAS RELATES

At 00:17 and 00:20 Merrick and

Kirkham dropped uneventfully and
had returned to base by 02:00. The
first Eureka beacon was set up at K
by 00:35, together with a Holophane
lamp. Merrick and his navigator, W/O
Farrow, each received a DFC for their
work that night.

Above

Albemarle V1823 from 297

Squadron towed a Horsa
into Normandy in advance
of the landings, and
another on the evening of
D-Day. W E BARFOOT
Right

Pathfinder troops of the

22nd Parachute Company
preparing to board
Albemarle V1740 of 295
Squadron at Harwell on
the night of June 5. H D

Lessons learned

CHERRINGTON

key element in the invasion of

France on June 6, 1944 was
the extensive use of airborne
forces sent in both by parachute and
glider. These elite troops were to seize
or destroy vital objectives, such as
bridges or enemy fortifications.
The British contribution was the
6th Airborne Division, comprising
the 3rd and 5th Parachute Brigades
and the 6th Air Landing Brigade.
The 6th Airborne was tasked with
taking two bridges over the Orne and
silencing the Merville gun battery.
The RAF would be taking the first
troops of the invasion into France.
Before the main drop, 60 men of
the 22nd (Independent) Parachute
Company were to be conveyed by
AW Albemarles to act as pathfinders.
Their difficult task was to set up light
signals and radio location aids, to
assess if drop zones were defended
and to prepare the area for glider
landings. After the arrival of the main
force, the pathfinders were used for
reconnaissance.
Eureka ground-to-air homing
beacons could be picked up by
Rebecca receivers on the transport
aircraft to help them reach their
objective. Coloured panels and
battery-powered Holophane lamps
marked the drop zones by day and
night to supplement the electronic
aids.

118 FLYPAST October 2016

Minimum height

On the eve of D-Day four Albemarle

squadrons got ready to deliver the
pathfinders: 295 and 570 at Harwell,
Berkshire, and 296 and 297 at Brize
Norton in Oxfordshire 296. The
success of the main landings hinged
on this initial drop, scheduled for just
after midnight.
After briefing Maj Francis LennoxBoyd led the first stick of ten
paratroopers aboard Albemarle V1701
of 296 Squadron while Capt Ian Taits
men embarked in P1383 of 297.
These departed Brize Norton at 23:00
bound for drop zone N.
Ten minutes later Sqn Ldr Merrick
in V1740 and F/Sgt Kirkham piloting
another Albemarle of 570 left Harwell
with two more sticks, destined for
K. Flying as an observer in V1740
was AVM Leslie Hollinghurst, the Air
Officer Commanding 38 Group. A
final pair followed from Harwell, with
the remaining two sticks under Lts
Midwood and Vischer assigned to V.
Crossing the coast at 1,200ft, the
Albemarles dropped from just 500ft.
All six arrived safely over the banks of
the Orne, near Caen.
The two Brize Norton aircraft
dropped on N but sadly LennoxBoyd made a premature exit and
was lost. Due to a navigation error,
Vischer dropped at N instead of
the intended V.

Three aircraft had to make additional

runs and one took an agonising 14
minutes to drop its load. Parachuting
from the belly of an Albemarle was
not easy, especially when encumbered
with equipment.
Equipment dropped at V was
either lost or rendered useless after
coming down in marshy ground.
This and the absence of some of the
pathfinders led to the main drop
being less concentrated than would
have been ideal. Not enough time was
allowed in the plan between dropping
the pathfinders and arrival of the main
force.
The bulk of the 6th Airborne
arrived over the targets in a large fleet
of Douglas Dakotas, HP Halifaxes
and Short Stirlings. Also included
were 45 Albemarles from the four
squadrons, each towing an Airspeed
Horsa glider filled with men or
heavier equipment, such as Jeeps
and anti-tank guns. One of 295s
ten aircraft, V1749, carried Major
General Gale and elements of his
divisional HQ into battle.
With their initial role fulfilled, the
crews of the airlift squadrons enjoyed
a brief rest while the ground crews
laboured to prepare for the next phase.
That afternoon crews were briefed
for the delivery of the remainder of
6th Airborne in over 250 Horsa and
General Aircraft Hamilcar gliders.
As evening approached the huge
force set out for Normandy at 1,000ft
under massive fighter escort. This
was the final act of D-Day for the
transport units.