Whirlwind | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | Fighter aircraft |
National origin | United Kingdom |
Manufacturer | Westland Aircraft |
Primary user | Royal Air Force |
Number built | 114 |
History | |
Manufactured | 1940 – January 1942 |
Introduction date | June 1940 |
First flight | 11 October 1938 |
Retired | December 1943 |
The Westland Whirlwind was a British twin-engined fighter developed by Westland Aircraft. A contemporary of the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane, it was the first single-seat, twin-engined, cannon-armed fighter of the Royal Air Force.
When it first flew in 1938, the Whirlwind was one of the fastest combat aircraft in the world and, with four 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 autocannon in its nose, the most heavily armed.[1][2] Protracted development problems with its Rolls-Royce Peregrine engines delayed the project and only 114 Whirlwinds were built. During the Second World War, only three RAF squadrons were equipped with the aircraft and, despite its success as a fighter and ground attack aircraft, it was withdrawn from service in 1943.