The Stirling's maximum bomb load could be carried for only around . On typical missions deep into Germany or Italy, a smaller load was carried, consisting of seven GP bombs; this payload was in the range of that which was already being carried by the RAF's medium bombers, such as the Vickers Wellington and by 1944, the de Havilland Mosquito. Perhaps the biggest weakness present in the design was that, although the bomb bay was large at , it had a pair of structural dividers that ran down the middle, limiting the bay to nothing larger than the bomb. As the RAF started using the "cookies" and even larger "specials", the Stirling became less useful. The Handley-Page Halifax and especially the Avro Lancaster offered better performance and when these aircraft became available in greater numbers from 1943, the Stirlings were relegated to secondary tasks.