The Westland Whirwind Mk.I: 4 (ALLIED WINGS) Paperback – Illustrated, 26 Mar. 2013

The product was good and satisfied my interest in an almost unknown WW2 aircraft.

A well written study of an under rated aircraft. Lots of photographs and colour scheme profiles accompanied by squadron mission accounts, from inception to withdrawl from frontline service.A little thin and small for the price but a good source of material for enthusiasts and modellers alike.

The Westland Whirlwind was a beautiful, fast (360 mph), fast-climbing, and well-armed aircraft that got caught on the wrong side of RAF production priorities during the crisis of 1940. The Whirlwind lacked high-altitude performance and had teething problems typical of innovative, cutting-edge designs, but it could have been a useful mass-produced fighter had the Air Ministry persisted with it. Pilots loved the Whirlwind despite disdain by officialdom. An improved version with Merlin engines was proposed by Westland but rejected by the Air Ministry.This title gives little insight into the issues described above; for that I recommend Whirlwind by Victor Bingham, a fascinating title published in 1987 and now out of print - try interlibrary loan.Nonetheless, this book is very well-illustrated, with a mixture of color and b & w photos, as well as diagrams and informative tables about losses and service history. It gives only modest information about the Whirlwind's fascinating design qualities, but gives a fairly detailed history of the Whirlwind's small scale combat service across three years. The authors point out the Whirlwind's high loss rate in combat, but seem to forget that it was given very hard missions - especially attacks against Channel shipping, well-protected by AA. The writing style is amateurish in places, and riddled with small typos. This is the only title in print today that gives comprehensive information about the Whirlwind. Despite its limitations, I look forward to future titles in this series.