Of the RAF's trio of four-engined heavy bombers in World War 2, the mighty Short Stirling was the first to enter service in August 1940. From its first raid in

The Avro Lancaster was a four-engine heavy bomber used by the RAF in 1942 and, together with the Handley Page Halifax, was the main strategic bomber of the RAF

Conceived in the shadow of looming war, when the RAF's bomber force was largely made up of obsolete and outmoded aircraft, the Stirling became the first British