The Aldershot was designed to meet the 1920 British Specification 2/20 for a heavy long-range day and night bomber to be powered by a Rolls-Royce Condor engine.

[2][3] The Air Ministry gave Avro a contract for two prototypes, designated Aldershot I, on 2 December 1920, in competition with the de Havilland Derby.

[4][5] The first prototype was modified as a testbed for the water-cooled Napier Cub engine, in this form becoming the Aldershot II, flying on 15 December 1922.

[6] It was later used to test the slow-revving 850 hp (630 kW) Beardmore Typhoon I inline engine, flying in this form on 10 January 1927.

[7] The Aldershot was a three-bay biplane, with a steel-framed fuselage structure with plywood and fabric covering, and wooden wings.