A number of aircraft were designed as possible successors to the Spitfire and Hurricane, the least successful of which was the Westland Whirlwind, a rather unconventional twin-engine day fighter which was the first of such configuration to be fielded by the RAF. In spite of a fairly decent top speed and packing a very powerful punch with four nose-mounted cannon, the Whirlwind suffered from inadecuate engines which hampered its performance overall as well as difficult maintenance and high landing speeds which proved highly inconvenient in early-war airfields. Only two squadrons received the Whirlwind, and it was in service only up to 1941 although later it was used as a fighter-bomber (nicknamed the "Whirlybomber") in cross-Channel strikes against occupied Europe. These would serve until 1943 upon which they were retired from front-line duties.
The prototype Whirlwind first flew on 11 October 1939 and entered service in June of the following year. The Mk. I variant was the original fighter version while its conversion to a fighter-bomber was designated Mk. IA with underwing bomb racks. No other variants besides these were produced.
Preceded by:
NoneSucceeded by:
NoneDesign | Whirlwind Mk. IA |
Type | Fighter-Bomber |
Year | 1940 |
Crew | 1 |
Dimensions | |
Length | 32 ft 9 in |
Height | 11 ft 7 in |
Wing Span | 44 ft 12 in |
Wing Area | n/a |
Weight | |
Empty | 8,310 lbs |
Maximum | 11,410 lbs |
Wing Loading | 45.6 lb/ft² |
Performance | |
Speed | 360 mph |
Ceiling | 30,300 ft |
Range | 800 mi |
Powerplant | |
Engine | 2 x Peregrine I Rolls-Royce 885 hp |
Thrust/Weight | 0.43 |
Armament | |
Guns | 4 x 20-mmHispano Mk. I |
Payload | 1,000 lbs |
Production | |
Built | 112 |
Total | 114 |