Armstrong Whitworth AW.650/AW.660 Argosy

The Armstrong Whitworth AW.650/AW.660 Argosy is a four-engine turboprop-powered civil and military transport aircraft produced by the British manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. AW.650 is the civil desigation, AW.660 the military designation, both were called Argosy Crew 4 Propulsion 4 Turboprop Engines Engine Model Rolls-Royce Dart 526 Engine Power (each) 1506 kW 2020 shp Speed 452 km/h 244 kts 281 mph Service Ceiling 6.096 m 20.000 ft Range 3.219 km 1.738 NM 2.000 mi. Empty Weight 20.865 kg 46.000 lbs max. Takeoff Weight 39.916 kg 88.000 lbs Wing Span 35,05 m 115,0 ft Wing Area 135,5 m² 1459 ft² Length 26,44 m 86,7 ft Height 8,23 m 27,0 ft First Flight 08.01.1958 Production Status out of production Total Production 74  Data for (Version) Armstrong Whitworth AW.650 Argosy Development The Argosy came from the Air Ministry “Operation Requirement 323″ (OR323) which resulted in a specification issued in 1955 for a medium range freight aircraft capable of lifting 25,000 lb and that had a range of 2,000 nmi (3,700 km) with 10,000 lb (4,500 kg). This led AW to develop a twin engined design for the military, the AW.66. The potential for civil sales led to a civil design AW.65. The 1957 Defence White Paper would show the lack of funding available for military work but AW had revised the design for the civil market alone as a 4 engined aircraft. Operational history The Argosy was used by the Royal Air Force for its capability to accommodate 69 troops, or 48 stretcher cases or 29,000 lb (13 tonnes) of freight. This meant it could carry military equipment such as the Saracen or Ferret armoured cars, or artillery such as the 105 mm howitzer or Wombat. The earliest deployments were in 1962 to 105 Squadron in the Middle East and 114 and 267 Squadrons at RAF Benson. The following year 215 Squadron received its Argosies when based at RAF Changi, Singapore. The squadron was disbanded on New Years Eve 1967 and the aircraft went to 70 Squadron at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. This was the last squadron to operate the aircraft when it disposed of them in February 1975 in favour of Lockheed Hercules. The E.1 version of the Argosy was with 115 Squadron from 1968 to 1978, most of the time based at RAF Cottesmore. IN our account of the development by SirW.G.Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Ltd of the AW.650 Argosy which appeared in the issue of October 17,1958, the point was made that this commercial freighter had its genesis in a military specification. Formulated in1955 , the Air Ministry's Operational Requirement 323 outlined the desired characteristics of a multi-purpose transport capable of replacing the Hastings and Valetta as standard equipment in RAF Transport Command. Although OR.323 eventually lapsed ,the need to find a replacement for these aircraft is more pressing than ever; and AWA's company-financed development of the civil AW.650 has allowed the Air Ministry to procure a new transport for a substantially reduced development cost. Discussions were held between the Air Ministry, Ministry of Aviation (then Supply) and manufacturer from 1958 onwards ,and by mid-1959 a specification had been written using the civil 650 as a starting point. It was at first considered that the task of converting the 650 to fulfil military requirements would be a minor one; but in the event—and as so often happens—the two aircraft differ more than might at first sight appear. s