Whirlwind was indeed fighter that just didn't have luck! Although it was faster than the Hurricane and almost as fast as the Spitfire it had a number of teething problems which delayed the availablility for operational use. Because of this it completely missed the Battle of Britain. However it was succesfully used after this period! Again it was not lucky: development of its Rolls Royce Peregrine engine was stopped and that also meant the end for the Whirlwind. Only 114 were manufactured and it was cancelled in favour of the single-engine Hawker Typhoon. This definitely was not a very wise decision as history has learned us. The Typhoon had its own share of teething problems and more and more developed Whirlwinds would have been very welcome. Unfortunately this was not the case.............
You can read the complete story in the January issue of Military Aircraft Monthly!!
