Armstrong Whitworth A.W.23 K3585
(c/n
AW.1251)
This rather ugly looking machine was the A.W.23, a
bomber/transport aircraft built to spec C26/31.
First flight was on 4
June 1935. The prototype seen above was the only example
built. It became
a tanker for
Flight Refueling Ltd in 1937 and was used in the first flight refueling
test with Imperial
Airways Class "C" flying
boat G-ADUV "Cambria", under
the direction of Sir Alan Cobham.
In 1939 the A.W.23 was civilly
registered G-AFRX and stored at Ford, Sussex. It was destroyed
in a raid on
that aerodrome by the Luftwaffe on 18 August 1940.