(Image removed from quote.)Never heard of this one. How many were produced?
Goto Google and type in "French military victories", then hit "I'm feeling lucky".
looks like a wierd 262 with props
Landing gear must have been huge/long..engines mounted under the wings. Bring it on!
Philip J.R. Moyes notes in Aircraft in Profile 94: The Westland Whirlwind, “The basic feature of the Whirlwind was its concentration of firepower: its four closely-grouped heavy cannon in the nose had a rate of fire of 600 lb./minute – which, until the introduction of the Beaufighter, placed it ahead of any fighter in the world. Hand in hand with this dense firepower went a first-rate speed and climb performance, excellent manoeuvrablity and a fighting view hitherto unsurpassed. The Whirlwind was, in its day, faster than the Spitfire down low and, with lighter lateral control, was considered to be one of the nicest ‘twins’ ever built… From the flying viewpoint, the Whirlwind was considered magnificent.”Bruce Robertson, in The Westland Whirlwind Described[3] quotes a 263 Squadron pilot as saying, "It was regarded with absolute confidence and affection.”At low level, the aircraft was a devastating fighter-bomber, armed with both cannons and bombs, and it could hold its own with the Bf 109 at low-level. The performance of the Peregrine fell off at altitude, so the Whirlwind was used almost exclusively at low level.The aircraft is well summed up by Francis K. Mason’s comments in Royal Air Force Fighters of World War Two, Vol. One:“Bearing in mind the relatively small number of Whirlwinds that reached the RAF, the type remained in combat service, virtually unmodified, for a remarkably long time…The Whirlwind, once mastered, certainly shouldered extensive responsibilities and the two squadrons were called upon to attack enemy targets from one end of the Channel to the other, by day and night, moving from airfield to airfield within Southern England.“In retrospect the lesson of the Whirlwind is clear… A radical aircraft requires either prolonged development or widespread service to exploit its concept and eliminate its weaknesses, Too often in World War II such aircraft suffered accelerated development or limited service, with the result that teething difficulties came to be regarded as permanent limitations.”
And a dog to boot...
