Test pilot John Grierson described the Albemarle as an average aircraft, with no virtues and no vices. The first 32 built were intended for use as reconnaissance bombers, with a crew of two pilots, a navigator and a radio operator. However the Albemarle was never operated in this role.
Most Albemarle were powered by two 1186-kW (1,590-hp.) Bristol Hercules XI two-row radial engines. Two aircraft, a GT.Mk II and an Mk IV, were fitted with American Wright Double Cyclones. When the Soviet air force acquired Albemarles, it is believed they were valued mostly for their engines, which are thought to have been copied later.
The only defensive armament fitted to me Albemarle military models was four 7.7-mm (.303 cal.) machine-guns in a Boulton Paul turret. When firing forward, a fairing in front of the turret lowered automatically. Some aircraft modified as Special Forces transports dispensed with the turret in favor of a two-gun armament covered with a sliding hood.
The Albemarle consisted of a steel structure with spruce formers and plywood covering. Much of the wing structure was wooden with a plywood covering. The wing centre-section was also covered in plywood.
Albemarles often wore standard bomber command markings. The black and white striping on the fuselage and wings was an identification aid for Allied aircraft during the D-Day landings.
For glider-towing a Malcolm-type quick-release hook was fitted to the extreme rear of the fuselage. The release mechanism was controlled by the pilot.
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