The
Short Stirling was a
British four-engined
heavy bomber of the
Second World War. It has the distinction of being the first four-engined bomber to be introduced into service with the
Royal Air Force (RAF).
The Stirling was designed during the late 1930s by
Short Brothers to conform with the requirements laid out in
Air Ministry Specification B.12/36. Prior to this, the RAF had been primarily interested in developing increasingly capable twin-engined bombers but had been persuaded to investigate a prospective four-engined bomber as a result of promising foreign developments in the field. Out of the submissions made to the specification,
Supermarine proposed the
Type 317 which was viewed as the favourite, while Short's submission, named the
S.29, was selected as an alternative. When the preferred Type 317 had to be abandoned, the S.29, which later received the name
Stirling, proceeded to production.