The Probert Encyclopaedia of Aircraft

STIRLING

The Short Stirling was a British long range heavy bomber, troop transport and glider tug aircraft of the Second World War - the first large four-engined bomber to go into service with the RAF. It was powered by four Bristol Hercules VI or four Bristol Hercules XVI or four Wright Cyclone 14-cylinder sleeve-valve double row radial air cooled engines giving it a top speed of 450 kmh and great agility. It could carry a bomb load of 18000 lb and was protected by three power operated machine-gun turrets in the nose, amidships on top of the fuselage and in the tail, carrying a total of eight Browning .303 inch machine-guns. The Stirling carried a crew of seven.
Research Stirling