westland whirlwind

[gblade30]

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1fd_1342183411

[Butcher]

great video thanks! such a sexy looking bird too

[gblade30]

awesome guns on it .. think performance matches some mossie variants too

[bozon]

awesome guns on it .. think performance matches some mossie variants too

Variants with one broken engine

The Whirlwind is a cool plane especially for early war. Too bad Westland gambled on the wrong engine and due to circumstance ended with a great plane that has no niche role and no prospects for further development. Had Westland gambled on the Merlins, they could have come up with something almost as awesome as this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Hornet

The westwind will be a great addition to AH. Its low level performance, combined with its firepower is reasonable enough to avoid the hangar queen status. A very good addition to have right after the Beaufighter.

[caldera]

its firepower is reasonable enough

4 nose mounted Hispanos is now considered just reasonable?  Wonder how you feel about the C.202? 

[bozon]

4 nose mounted Hispanos is now considered just reasonable?  Wonder how you feel about the C.202? 

60 rpg is not a lot, especially for a slow plane that will have difficulties in closing on the 350+ deck speed monsters.

[Debrody]

60 rpg is not a lot, especially for a slow plane that will have difficulties in closing on the 350+ deck speed monsters.

Sir, my 109 has 200rpg in the 20mm, yet i foud it much harder to get a kill in it than, lets say, a 60rpg spit5. With four hispanos nose mounted, a well-placed, very short burst can be just as devastating as a tater hit.
The Whirlwind is an elegant and unique aircraft.
 

[MK-84]

Sir, my 109 has 200rpg in the 20mm, yet i foud it much harder to get a kill in it than, lets say, a 60rpg spit5. With four hispanos nose mounted, a well-placed, very short burst can be just as devastating as a tater hit.
The Whirlwind is an elegant and unique aircraft.
 

Exactly, 60rpg X4 guns is plenty

[bozon]

lol, nobody said it is inadequate. I said it was "reasonable"

[bustr]

After the war an Italian engineer designed this for the Argentinans. Looks an awful lot like a merlin upgrade of the Whirlwind with Merlin 604's. Or a Hornet got frisky with a Whirlwind.

I.Ae. 30 "Ñancú"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I.Ae._30_%C3%91anc%C3%BA

[Hajo]

The RAF had better sense then the Luftwaffe. They quit building them.

The Whirlwind was on par with the 410.  Target with big guns.

[Fish42]

The RAF had better sense then the Luftwaffe. They quit building them.

The Whirlwind was on par with the 410.  Target with big guns.

Not quite true...

The Whirlwind was stopped because Rolls Royce, ceased development and production on the Peregrine engine. The whirlwind was the only plane at that time using this motor.