It could seat 40 passengers and was designed for European and Asian routes, connecting Britain with further seaplane flights to Australia and South Africa. In the Second World War, they were used for transport duties to and from the area of Middle East command. After the war, they were withdrawn from service and – with no buyers forthcoming – scrapped. The Ensign was a high-wing cantilever monoplane of light alloy construction and an oval, semi-monocoque fuselage with a conventional tailplane. The wings aft of the single box spar were fabric covered as was the tailplane and fin. It had retractable landing gear and a castoring tail wheel. The main landing gear was hydraulically operated and retracted into the inner engine nacelles. The cockpit had side-by-side seating for two pilots with dual controls; there was also accommodation for a radio operator. The fuselage was divided into separate cabins, either four cabins with accommodation for 40 passengers or three cabins with room for 27 by day or 20 at night with sleeping accommodation. A total of 14 aircraft were built. Variants A.W.27 Ensign I Four-engine medium-range transport aircraft. Powered by four 850 hp (630 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Tiger IXC radial piston engines. A.W.27A Ensign II Four-engine medium-range transport aircraft. Powered by four 950 hp (710 kW) Wright GR-1820-G102A Cyclone radial piston engines. For more information on the design and development, and operational history of the Ensign, click here. Video. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/66/Armstrong-Whitworth_A.W.27_Ensign_1937-38.webm/Armstrong-Whitworth_A.W.27_Ensign_1937-38.webm.480p.vp9.webm
