[Mike Jackson]

Originally Posted by Frank Kelley

By 1940 standards, it certainly was a "giant" moreover the enemy had nothing to match it, sadly, this particular aeroplane remains much underrated.

From "Famous Bombers of the Second World War" by William Green 1960. He concludes on the Stirling; "There can be no doubt that, at the time the Stirling's specification was framed [1936], the operational conditions and requirements that were to exist six years later were not foreseen, and the design of the Stirling was such that it could not be modified to meet the new demands. In consequence, its career as a first-line heavy bomber was relatively brief. Nevertheless, as the RAF's first four-engined "heavy" of the Second World War, the Stirling occupies a particularly important place in the history of that air arm."