Westland Whirlwind

History
In response to the specification of the British Ministry of Aviation in 1935, Westland introduced a closed-cockpit aircraft armed with machine guns, with a speed of up to 600 km / h, powered by two Peregrine Rolls-Royce engines. In 1937, the company received an order to build a prototype. The first flight took place in October 1938. The plane was named Whirlwind. The performance of the Whirlwind exceeded other designs, not only the British ones. Equipped with four 20 mm machine guns grouped on the nose, which gave an unprecedented concentration of fire, with its speed, maneuverability, as well as climbing speed and maneuverability, it was compared to the Spitfire. Unfortunately, problems with the Peregrine engines that the plane was equipped with caused enormous delays in its production. It was the only English plane equipped with this type of engine. By comparison, the Spitfire and Hurricane were equipped with Merlin engines, which had a higher priority than the Peregrine engines. The first squadron No. 263, equipped with Whirlwind planes, was completed in 1940. The next was Squadron No. 137. Until the end of 1940, both squadrons were used for escorting bombers and attacks on ground targets rather than for air combat, nevertheless the pilots flying the Whirlwind had some spectacular successes over the German Bf-109 and Fw-190. In the bomb version, the Whirlwind could take two 250 kg or 500 kg bombs. With its excellent flight performance at low altitude and at low speed, the accuracy of its attacks was painfully felt by the Germans occupying Europe. Whirlwind achieved excellent results in bombing railroad junctions and sea supplies. In 1943, Whirlwind was replaced by Typhoon.
Technical data:
Type: single-seat fighter;
Drive: 2 Rolls-Royce Peregrine I engines, 660 kW each;
Wingspan: 13.72m;
Length: 9.90 m;
Take-off weight: 5171 kg;
Top speed: 580 km / h;
Range: 1287 km.