Armstrong Whitworth AW.23

A.W.23
Model of A.W. 23
Role	Bomber/transport
Manufacturer	Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft
Designer	John Lloyd
First flight	1935
Retired	1940
Status	Destroyed
Primary users	Royal Air Force Flight Refuelling Ltd
Produced	1935
Number built	1
Developed into	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley

The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.23 was a prototype bomber/transport aircraft produced to specification C.26/31 for the British Air Ministry by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. While it was not selected to meet this specification, it did form the basis of the later Armstrong Whitworth Whitley aircraft.

Specification C.26/31 required a dual-purpose bomber/transport aircraft for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF), with the specification stressing the transport part of its role. The A.W.23 was designed by John Lloyd, chief designer of Armstrong Whitworth to meet this specification, competing with the Handley Page H.P.51 and the Bristol Bombay.

The A.W.23 was a low-wing twin-engine monoplane, powered by two Armstrong Siddeley Tiger engines. It had a fabric covered braced steel fuselage accommodating a large cabin to fulfill its primary transport role, but with room for internal bomb racks under the cabin floor. The aircraft's wings used a novel structure, patented by Armstrong Whitworth, which used a massive light alloy box-spar braced internally with steel tubes. This structure was extremely strong but required a thick wing section, increasing drag. This wing structure was re-used in Armstrong Whitworth's Whitley bomber. The A.W.23 was the first Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft to be fitted with a retractable undercarriage.

A single prototype, K3585, was built first flying on 4 June 1935. Owing to its unreliable Tiger engines, its delivery to the RAF for testing was delayed, with the Bombay being declared the winner of the specification.

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