WESTLAND WHIRLWIND 25
Left: Armourers loading ammunition drums into the four 20mm nose cannon of the Whirlwind, each carrying 60
rounds. The Whirlwind was used to particularly good effect as a gun platform for destroying locomotives.
Far left: With rearming complete, the nosecone of the Whirlwind is replaced by its groundcrew.
Above: The first production Whirlwind was
delivered to No 263 Squadron by its commander,
Sqn Ldr H. Eeles on 6 July 1940. A powerful long-
range fighter-bomber, the Westland Whirlwind
was dogged by the unreliability of its Rolls-Royce
Peregrine engines.
Right: In service, there were teething problems
with the cannon and, more significantly, with the
Peregrine engines. Pilots did find the Whirlwind’s
handling very pleasant, the machine having a
light touch on the controls. However, Whirlwinds
also landed ‘hot’, meaning they couldn’t use
shorter airstrips.