Westland Whirlwind ( Eng. Westland Whirlwind ) - British twin-engine single-seat fighter of the Second World War . Designed by Westland Aircraft Design Bureau under the supervision of Chief Designer William Peter. Was the second design of the company after Lysander
| Whirlwind | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type of | twin engine fighter |
| Developer | Westland aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Westland Aircraft - Yovil Plant |
| First flight | October 11, 1938 |
| Start of operation | January 1941 |
| End of operation | November 1943 |
| Status | out of service |
| Operators |  British Air Force |
| Years of production | June 1940 - January 1942 |
| Units produced | 116 |
- Not to be confused with the eponymous British helicopter
It was an all - metal monoplane with a closed cockpit and retractable landing gear with a tail support . The experienced fighter made the first flight on October 11, 1938 . Series production at the Westland plant in Yeovil began in June 1940 . Operational readiness reached December 7, 1940. Due to the fact that the Peregrin engines were not used anywhere except the Wirluind itself (unlike the Merlin ), Rolls-Royce refused their development, and then removed from production. This led to low production rates and a final halt in January 1942.
The aircraft produced was enough to equip only 2 full-fledged squadrons — the 263rd and 137th — and the 25th squadron of night fighters also conducted tests. Due to the extremely dense layout, attempts to equip the aircraft with new engines were unsuccessful, and the attempt to create a new aircraft with the Merlin led to the high-altitude interceptor Welkin, which, however, also did not find wide application due to the lack of targets.
Performance characteristics
for version Whirlwind Mk.I [1] [2]
- Specifications
- Crew : 1
- Length : 9.83 m
- Wing Span: 13.7 m
- Height : 3.20 m
- Wing area: 23.20 m²
- Wing Profile : NACA 23017-08
- Weight empty: 3770 kg (8310 pounds)
- Normal take-off weight: 4697 kg (10 370 pounds)
- Maximum take-off weight : 5165 kg (11,400 lbs.) (With bombs)
- Fuel mass in internal tanks: 355 kg (507 liters)
- Powerplant : 2 × Rolls-Royce Peregrine I
- Engine power: 2 × 885 hp (2 × 650 kW )
- Propeller: 3-blade de Havilland DH4 / 4, variable pitch
- Screw diameter: 3.048 m
- Flight performance
- Maximum speed:
- at an altitude of 4500 m: 580 km / h (490 km / h with bombs)
- at an altitude of 1500 m: 507 km / h (435 km / h with bombs)
- Cruising speed : 435 km / h
- Stall speed: 153 km / h
- Combat radius: 240 km at low altitude
- Practical range: 1280 km
- Practical ceiling : 9150 m
- Rate of climb : 6.8 m / s
- Armament
- Cannon: 4 Hispano Mk.I 20 mm, (drum feeding, 60 rounds per barrel)
- Suspension points: 2
- Bombs : up to 454 kg (2 × 227 kg or 2 × 113 kg) (on modification II)
Images
Westland Whirlwind prototype (No. L6845), 1940
Whirlwind Mk I on fighter bomber trials, with 2,500 pound bombs
Flight of the Wirluind in flight over West England
P6969 "HE-V" 263rd Squadron in flight over West England
Similar aircraft
- Gloster F.9 / 37 (UK)
- Focke-Wulf Fw 187 (Germany)
- Grumman XF5F Skyrocket (USA)
- Grumman XP-50 (US)
Notes
- ↑ Westland Whirlwind on airwar.ru
- ↑ Specifications - Westland Whirlwind Fighter Archived January 13, 2014.
Literature
- Haruk A.I. Fighters of the Second World War. The most complete encyclopedia. - M .: Yauza, Eksmo, 2012. - 368 p. - 1500 copies - ISBN 978-5-699-58917-3 .
Links
- Westland Whirlwind on the corner of the sky