11th October 1938

[antarmike]

First flight of the Westland Wirlwind twin engined fighter.

 

The first prototype (L6844) first flew this day and exhibited excellent handling and was very easy to fly at all speeds. The only exception was the high landing speed; Fowler flaps were added to correct this problem, which also required the horizontal stabilizer (tailplane) to be moved up out of the way of the disturbed air flow caused when the flaps were down. An initial production order for 200 machines was placed in January 1939 followed by a second order for a similar number, deliveries to fighter squadrons being scheduled to begin in September 1940.

 

The Whirlwind was quite small, only slightly larger than the Hurricane in overall size, but smaller in terms of frontal area. The landing gear was fully retractable and the entire aircraft was very "clean" with few openings or protuberances. Careful attention to streamlining and two 885 hp Peregrine engines powered it to over 360 mph (580 km/h), the same speed as the latest single-engine fighters which used much higher-powered engines. The speed quickly garnered it the nick-name Crikey, (a minced oath meaning "my god!" or more accurately "Christ's keys!").

 

But there were problems as well. The aircraft actually had limited range, under 300 miles combat radius, which made it marginal as an escort. More troublesome were the continued failures of the Peregrine engines. Originally intended to be one of Rolls' main designs, the Merlin had become much more important to the war effort and the Peregrine was relegated to a secondary status, and the first deliveries of Peregrine engines did not reach Westland until January 1940.

 

Westland argued for the creation of a Mk II model using two Merlin engines, but by this time the role of escort fighter was becoming less important as Bomber Command turned to night bomber missions. By 1940, the Supermarine Spitfire was mounting 20 mm cannons, so the "cannon-armed" requirement was also being met. The main qualities the RAF were looking for in a twin-engine fighter was range and carrying capacity (to allow the large radar apparatus of the time to be carried), which the Bristol Beaufighter could do just as well as or even better than the Whirlwind.

 

Development and delivery problems with the Peregrine engines along with a number of flying accidents and its high landing speed which restricted the number of airfields from which it could operate, resulted in Whirlwind production being ended in January 1942 after the completion of just 112 aircraft.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3JXy6Rw9n8

[AndyFowler]

One of my favorites Mike ! :-D

[antarmike]

On paper it should nave been more successful than it actually was..