Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armstr..._AW.660_Argosy

The Armstrong Whitworth Argosy was a British post-war transport/cargo aircraft;
it was the final aircraft to be designed and produced by aviation company
Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although given different internal design numbers,
the AW.650 civil and AW.660 military models were, for most practical purposes,
the same design, while both models also shared the "Argosy" name.

Development of the Argosy originates in the AW.66, a proposed twin-engined
military transport that was designed with British Air Ministry's Operational
Requirement 323 (OR323) in mind. While Armstrong Whitworth terminated work on
the AW.66, it decided to go forward with a civilian-oriented derivative of the
design, designated AW.65, as it was judged to be commercially viable. The AW.65
was redesigned to use four Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines, and thus was
re-designated as the AW.650. On 8 January 1959, the first Argosy conducted the
type's maiden flight. On December 1960, the type received Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) type certification, enabling the initial civil version,
referred to as the Series 100, to enter civil service across most parts of the
world.

In Britain, military planners took interest in the Argosy and released a new
specification for a militarised variant, designated AW.660. First flown on 4
March 1961, this model featured double the range of the Series 100 and otherwise
differed by an alternative door arrangement, which was largely to facilitate
paratroop operations. Furthermore, an improved civil variant, the Series 200,
was introduced at the behest of airline British European Airways (BEA). First
flown on 11 March 1964, this model featured a new wing incorporating a fail safe
structure, being stronger and lighter than its original counterpart. The Argosy
was operated by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and various civil operators
across the globe for numerous years. The type was withdrawn from RAF service
during 1978, while the last Argosy was retired from civil operations during
1991.

The Armstrong Whitworth Argosy was a general-purpose transport aircraft largely
used for freight operations by both military and civil operators. At the time of
its introduction, the type was considered to be unique in its class. Principally
designed as a freighter, the aircraft could be tasked with other mission types.
The Argosy was offered in a convertible configuration for carrying both freight
and passengers; the civil variant could accommodate a maximum of 80 passengers
while providing comfort and speed conditions comparable to the contemporary
Vickers Viscount airliners. In the cargo role, the Argosy was designed to
facilitate rapid turnaround times of only 20 minutes without the use of lifting
trucks or cranes, utilising pallets and rollers to eliminate packaging.

In terms of its basic configuration, the Argosy's tailplane was mounted on twin
booms that ran rearwards from the inner engine nacelles, leaving the cargo doors
at the rear of the fuselage clear for straight-in loading, while
sideways-opening doors were fitted at both ends of the fuselage, the flight deck
being set at high up position upon the aircraft's nose. This configuration
allowed for an unobstructed cargo space measuring 10 by 47 feet (3.0 m × 14.3 m)
with a sill height corresponding to that of a normal flatbed truck. It possessed
a maximum weight of 88,000 lb (39,915 kg) and a payload of 28,000 lb (12,700
kg). When cruising at 276 mph (444 km/h), it had a range of 1,780 mi (2,865 km)
and could seat a maximum of 89 passengers.

The Argosy was powered by an arrangement of four Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop
engines, each of which drove a set of Rotol-built four-blade propellers. The
power generation of these engines varied dependent upon the variant of the
aircraft. Reportedly, the sound produced by the Dart engines combined with its
relatively unusual "pod and boom" basic configuration, which was similar to the
earlier C-82 Packet and C-119 Flying Boxcar transport aircraft, has been
attributed as the source of the type's nickname "The Whistling Wheelbarrow.


Role
Cargo Transport

Manufacturer
Armstrong Whitworth

First flight
8 January 1959

Retired
1978 (Royal Air Force)
1991 (Civil)

Status
Out of production, out of service

Primary users
Royal Air Force
British European Airways
IPEC Aviation
Transair-Midwest

Number built
74

Unit cost

£725,000 (1965)

Civil use

The Argosy Series 100 first entered service with the American cargo airline
Riddle Airlines. Early on, Riddle had expressed interest in the type, having
ambitions to use the type to meet contracts to provide logistics support to the
United States Air Force (USAF) within the domestic United States. During late
1960, Riddle purchased a batch of seven Argosies for this purpose. However, when
Riddle lost the logistics contract during 1962, its Argosies were repossessed by
Armstrong Whitworth and subsequently sold onto other airlines, some of which had
taken over the contracts previously being served by Riddle.

As a stopgap measure, BEA had ordered Armstrong Whitworth's three remaining
Series 100s, intending to use them until the airline could receive its
definitive Series 220s; during 1964, BEA had placed an order for five such
aircraft. Reportedly, the Argosy had contributed to BEA possessing a superior
air freighting ability to any other airline operating in the region, the type's
double-end loading capability being a viewed as a crucial part of its economics.
During its operations of the type, the airline lost two Series 220s in separate
crashes, choosing purchase another Argosy to replace the first lost aircraft.
Reportedly, BEA's small fleet of Argosies was found to be unprofitable, even
when BEA introduced the more-capable Series 220s; this has been attributed to
BEA procedures relating both to safety and general operations. During April
1970, BEA opted to withdraw its Argosy fleet, choosing to replacing the type
using a freighter conversion of its Vickers Vanguards.

Military use

During the 1960s, the Argosy was procured for the Royal Air Force (RAF), the
first of which entering service in March 1962. The service frequently made use
of its capability to accommodate up to 69 troops, 48 stretcher cases or 29,000
lb (13,000 kg) of freight. Operationally, it could carry various items of
military equipment, including combat vehicles such as the Saracen or Ferret
armoured cars, or artillery such as the 105 mm (4.13 in) howitzer or Wombat.
However, subsequent design changes to both the Saracen and the Argosy's mainspar
(which ran throughout the top of its cargo bay, subsequently precluded the use
of the Argosy as a Saracen transport.

During 1962, the earliest deployment of the Argosy was recorded as being
performed to 105 Squadron, which was stationed in the Middle East, along with
114 and 267 Squadrons, based in the UK at RAF Benson. The following year, 215
Squadron received its Argosies, which were stationed at RAF Changi, Singapore.
However, this squadron was disbanded on New Year's Eve 1967, its aircraft being
re-allocated to 70 Squadron, based at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. 70 Squadron would be
the final squadron to operate the aircraft in the transport role, retiring its
last Argosy during February 1975. During December 1970, the RAF had begun
receiving American-built Lockheed Hercules transport planes, which progressively
replaced the Argosy fleet in the transport role. Between 1968 and 1978, the E.1
variant of the Argosy, which was used in the calibration role, was flown by 115
Squadron, which was based at RAF Cottesmore for much of this time period.

Specifications (Argosy C Mk 1)

General characteristics
Crew: Four
Capacity: up to 69 troops, 54 paratroops, 48 stretcher cases or 29,000 lb
(13,000 kg) of cargo
Length: 86 ft 9 in (26.44 m) (overall length)
Fuselage length: 64 ft 7 in (19.69 m)
Wingspan: 115 ft 0 in (35.05 m)
Height: 29 ft 3 in (8.92 m)
Wing area: 1,458 sq ft (135.5 m2)
Empty weight: 56,000 lb (25,401 kg)
Gross weight: 97,000 lb (43,998 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 105,000 lb (47,627 kg)
Fuel capacity: 4,140 imp gal (4,970 US gal; 18,800 L)
Powerplant: 4 × Rolls-Royce Dart RDa.8 Mk 101 turboprops, 2,470 shp (1,840 kW)
each (ehp)
Propellers: 4-bladed Rotol

Performance
Cruise speed: 253 mph (407 km/h, 220 kn)
Range: 3,450 mi (5,550 km, 3,000 nmi)
Service ceiling: 23,000 ft (7,000 m)




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