Westland Whirlwind (stíhač 2. sv. válka) 4+

Westland Whirlwind, a publication of the 4+ series (Mark I)

The clarification in brackets has a good reason in the name. The Westland marque used the name Whirlwind twice, once for a fighter aircraft from the time of the Second World War and again for a postwar helicopter. This volume of the 4+ series belongs to the first of them. The suffix 4+ is the designation of the imprint of the Mark I publishing house, under which monographs of individual aircraft types are issued. This is a printed publication, not a kit.

The real subject

The Westland Whirlwind was a British single-seat twin-engine fighter that entered service at the beginning of the 1940s. It was unusual in its layout. While an ordinary fighter had machine guns spread through the wing and had to harmonize them for a particular range, the Whirlwind carried four 20 mm cannons concentrated in the nose of the fuselage. The fire was thus concentrated and effective regardless of the range. Its weakness turned out to be the engines, which were not developed further, so the machine lost any room to grow in performance. It was built in only a small batch and used by only two squadrons. In the later part of its service it proved itself mainly as a fighter-bomber attacking targets low over the ground.

What to expect from the publication

• Detailed coverage of one type that in general surveys usually falls through the net.
• The 4+ series is built as a pictorial monograph with specialist text.
• It serves as reference background for a modeler, but it is not a modeling product.
• We recommend checking the extent, the language and the appendices of this title before ordering.

Who it is for

For anyone interested in the less usual British types of the Second World War, for modelers planning to build a Whirlwind and for collectors of aviation literature.