First flight Nov 13, 1947
two 5,000 lbs Rolls-Royce Nene
Information from Oliver Tapper's book Armstrong Whithworth Aircraft since 1913.
During a test flight of TS363 on 30 May, 1949, an asymmetric flutter developed in one wingtip, and this spread quickly across the whole span, shaking the entire aircraft to such an extent that the pilot, J. O. Lancaster, was forced to abandon ship, thus, incidentally, achieving the distinction of being the first person, at any rate in the United Kingdom, to use the Martin-Baker ejector seat in an emergency. As luck would have it, the aircraft, left to its own devices, stopped fluttering and glided down to land itself in open country with relatively little damage. Following this incident, and in view of the disappointing results obtained, no further development of the flying-wing formula was undertaken by Armstrong Whitworth, who had by now turned their attention to the more conventional A.W.55 propeller-turbine airliner. The second A.W.52 was handed over to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, where it was used for experimental flying until it was finally disposed of in June 1954.
