My favourite RAF aircraft
The Westland Whirlwind.
I love this plane in a totally irrational way.
I remember reading a comic book story about the Whirlwind, and that was me sold. Yes, it was unreliable, and yes, the engines were a nightmare, but when it was working it had sublime performance, and the four concentrated nose cannon was a serious package of firepower.
According to the story book, the Whirlwind inspired the Mosquito, and was ultimately replaced by them. This actually isn’t true, they were replaced by Typhoons, but for years I thought that if only the Whirlwind had been developed and allowed to evolve, the Mosquito might never have happened.
Oh, the misconceptions of youth.
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