Eh?
Rolls Royce were the maker of lots of engines, not just the Merlin. Yes the Merlin was an outstanding engine, but it was different from the Peregine used in the Whirlwind. The Merlin was more powerful and reliable than the Peregrine, so of course it would have made a difference.
It still managed a kill rate of 3.74:1 against the Japanese in Singapore and the surrounding campaign. It may not have been as fast or agile but it had the advantage of armament, armour and general sturdiness.
The Merlin was also significantly heavier and more expensive, and had higher cooling requirements. It is NOT a simple job to swap out Peregrines and fit Merlin engines.
[FONT=Georgia]Thank you indeed, Panzerknacker, my friend, a very full and pleasing contribution
One more plate…
…and the " Bellows Argentina", not sure if this aircraft got its name because some donation…
[/FONT]
The Welkin was mentioned earlier, and I made mention of both the Brigand and Hornet, as did another contributor.
Those aircraft are almost another thread each, in as much as they represent the approaches of different designers in different companies with similar tasks in mind.
Perhaps such a thread “Those aircraft that might have been built or used before 1945”,
will emerge from this discussion.
Regards, Uyraell.
What, a kind of Allied Luft’46? Would be worth doing - the information is all out there, and the majority of the aircraft would have outperformed their Luftwaffe equivalents. I’m not aware of any neat attempts to collect them all into one place though…
For Panzerknacker
Beautiful !! thank you very much 
I’ve no objection in principle to such a thread on Allied-'46 as it were, pdf27.
Though I don’t think it fair to say the Allied aircraft would have outperformed their German counterparts.
Remember, the Me 262 V8 was travelling faster than the “record holder” Meteor jet nearly 5 years later. 624.8 mph (early 1944) against 619.4 (mid1949).
Regards, Uyraell.
At least one of the two Whirlwind squadrons operated out of RAF Angle, on the southwestern corner of Pembrokeshire in Wales. It seems to have operated mainly in the maritime strike role.
My late uncle, Sqn/Ldr Thomas P Pugh, DFC was Commanding Officer of 263 Squadron in August 1941. I have a BBC recording from January 1942 of Uncle Tom giving an account of a sortie to a German airfield in coastal France. This describes his flight strafing and destroying a number of JU-88’s on the ground. I have just found a website on 263 Squadron (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/laurieburley/jeff/index.html) with transcripts of the Squadron ORB and various other documents which includes a record of this very sortie, which was against Lannion on 26 August 1941.
From the records I have identified that one of the Whirlwinds pictured in the Philip J R Moyes article, P7116 and that detailed in colour, was Uncle Tom’s “personal mount”. Uncle Tom is mentioned in the text as being credited with advocating the fitting of bomb racks to the Whirlwind, although he was posted to Headquarters, No 82 Group as Squadron Leader Tactics in February 1942, before the “Whirlibomber” came into being.
Uncle Tom was later W/Cmdr with 182 Squadron operating Typhoons and was KIA on 2 August 1943 dive-bombing a destroyer in Dunkirk harbour. His wartime story along with that of my father S/Ldr Robert M Pugh AFC RAF (Ret’d) (who flew “Wimpeys” with Coastal Command), now 89, and their brother P/O John C Pugh who died in a Spitfire crash in 1940 was relayed in some detail in Dilip Sarkar’s book “Through Peril To The Stars”.
I hope you find this of interest.
Regards
Anthony
Hello Anthony, Many Many Thanks to you Sir!!
The information and links you provided are most welcome, and I am most grateful for them. My Profound Thanks to you, Anthony.
To me, it is hugely interesting to know of folk who used various equipment or aircraft operationally, and in the case of the Whirlwind, the aircraft is such a relative rarity, that can only add to the value of the information you have so kindly shared.
Your contribution to this thread has added a lot of value to it, Anthony.
Kindest Regards, Uyraell.
One of my favourite fighters, and it could have been so much more with the right engines…
Clave, my Profound Thanks to you.
I’m touched that you set your images on this thread, because your work is of such superlative quality.
Many Many Thanks, Clave.
Kindest and Warm Regards, Uyraell.
Any time!
Thanks for all the information on this thread it has been extremely illuminating and though having done much research on this aircraft have still managed to learn a lot more. For those that don’t know a documentary is being produced on the aircraft and the lost opportunities. Indeed i will direct the producer here in case there is anything that may be of interest. If anyone has information that they feel could be of use or would like direct contact with the producer please let me know at. screenworx@gmail.com all help would be gratefully received.
Just to add a little more information when the aircraft was designed it was proposed for power by Merlins however the Air Ministry wanted an alternative in case the Merlin (and therefore Spitfire/Hurricane) proved problematical. Ironically the Peregrine was considered a safer bet as it was an update of a proven design and Westland reluctantly agreed, I don’t know to what extent this altered the design at that point which obviously would have reflected on the later Mk2 update with Merlins that Westland proposed. This was unfortunately to be the design’s downful as Rolls Royce was soon to decide not to do further Peregrine development, indeed it wanted to cancel it altogether. It is true to say that by the time the Mk2 was proposed even if conversion had proved reasonably easy (?) other designs were better placed to do its designated roles and general confidence in Westland’s production process was fragile at best and the Lysander took precedence for its vital role. However had it been designed with Merlins in the first place which likely would have solved much of the development delay too then this would have been a most outstanding aircraft and likely the fastest piston engined aircraft of the war, a Hornet perhaps 4 years earlier. The fact by the end of the war fighters, piston or jet had taken up its general design philosophy surely says something.
Anyway out of interest I have included illustrations of standard Whirlwind and how it may have looked with Merlins. You can see more of them at screenworx (dot) net if you wish.
Stuart
Nice plates, thanks.
Jim Munro who is the producer of the proposed Whirlwind documentary “Ghost of the Whirlwind” has recently posted a “teaser” on you tube to attract interest, he is in the process of trying to obtain funding etc. to take things forward. I don’t have enough posts to post a link here but I’m sure you will be able to find it on you tube easily enough.
Enjoy!
Cheers
Anthony
Many Thanks Anthony, I’m sure the clip will be viewed with interest.
It is a good thing that, though belated, effort is being made to record the rare equipment in World War Two as well as the the more ubiquitious.
Kind and Respectful Regards, Uyraell.
Hi All,
Regarding Whirlwind aircraft; I’ve been looking for tail markings for a specific Whirlwind with “Shark mouth” nose art from 263 Squadron.
All assistance is greatly appreciated.
I’m unable to post link or insert image of aircraft due to forum posting rules. Let me know if you’re interested in viewing image and I can send you offline.
Cheers,
Alex
http:
//i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa88/modlbldralex/Whirlwind/Whirlwind.jpg
