Westland Whirlwind

A small, fast twin-engined fighter, one of the first to be armed with four 20 mm cannon. The Whirlwind was a fine fighter that could combat single-engined fighters with success. It had the misfortune that the development and production of the R.R. Peregrine engine was halted, and no alternative was available. The Whirlwind was tailored to this engine and the original specification. When the Hurricane and Spitfire proved to be able to carry the 20 mm cannon, and the Beaufighter filled in the heavy fighter role, interest in the Whirlwind faded. Another deficiency was its short range, with a radius of action of only 240 km. It served in small numbers as fighter-bomber.


	Classic Combat Aircraft \| home Westland Whirlwind A small, fast twin-engined fighter, one of the first to be armed with four 20 mm cannon. The Whirlwind was a fine fighter that could combat single-engined fighters with success. It had the misfortune that the development and production of the R.R. Peregrine engine was halted, and no alternative was available. The Whirlwind was tailored to this engine and the original specification. When the Hurricane and Spitfire proved to be able to carry the 20 mm cannon, and the Beaufighter filled in the heavy fighter role, interest in the Whirlwind faded. Another deficiency was its short range, with a radius of action of only 240 km. It served in small numbers as fighter-bomber. Type: Fighter Power plant Two Rolls-Royce Peregrine I Wingspan 45 ft 13.72 m Length 32.25 ft 9.83 m Weight 11,410 LB 5,175 kg Speed 360 mph 580 km/h Ceiling 30,315 ft 9,240 m Range max. 808 mi 1,300 km Armament 4x 20 mm cannon; 453 kg bombs Crew One