Nevertheless, work on the prototypes continued but it was in a September 1940 Luftwaffe air raid that the future of the Type 317 was settled - German bombs landed squarely on the production facility which rendered the still-incomplete bomber prototypes a total loss. After a quick status review, the program was cancelled in full during November of 1940, bringing about an end to the promising venture and heavier reliance on the Short Stirling and other heavy bomber types that would soon join the RAF inventory.
As finalized, the Type 317 carried a large-area monoplane wing with rounded, tapered tips. The mainplanes were seated ahead of midships. The cockpit was added in stepped fashion, overlooking the nose, with excellent views of each engine pair found along the wing leading edges. The engines were housed in streamlined nacelles for maximum aerodynamic efficiency. The nose was slightly glazed to provide vision for the bombardier and a nose-mounted gun position. The fuselage then tapered rearwards and another gun position was located at the extreme end of the tail. The tail unit itself comprised a horizontal plane unit with rudders affixed at the edges, completing a "twin rudder" appearance common to many aircraft of the period. The undercarriage was of a conventional "tail dragger" arrangement with the main legs double-tired.
The Type 317 was designed to support a crew of six. Power was to be served from 4 x Bristol Hercules HE 1.5M series air-cooled radial piston engines developing 1,330 horsepower each. Dimensionally, the aircraft carried a wingspan of 97 feet and a length of 73.5 feet. Its service ceiling was estimated at 32,000 feet. Defensive armament amounted to 8 x 0.303in (7.7mm) machine guns located along various danger zones about the aircraft - at least two would be showcased at the nose and the tail. Internally, the bomb bay was cleared for carrying up to 7 x 2,000lb bombs or similar loads.
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