The Fewest of the Few
A Westland Whirlwind Campaign by Von and Lars
Download here:
https://www.mission4today.com/index.php?name=Downloads3&file=details&id=3085History and Background by LarsThe Westland Whirlwind has had a varied reputation during and since World War Two. The Authorities did not know what to do with it, and arguments between Westland and High Command did not help.
There were several structural problems early on but as soon as they were recognised the factory rectified them. By March 1942 the fighter was ‘a delight to fly and had proved itself a match for Me109s at low levels’. The design was originally meant as a high altitude fighter but the Peregrine engines were most efficient at medium to low levels, but lacked a supercharger for higher flight over 25000 feet. The engines were more costly and time consuming than the Merlin series so eventually were taken out of service. Some publications maintain a Merlin equipped Whirlwind would have been more deadly. However, the placement of the engines meant the wider Merlin propellers could not be fitted and would have meant a complete redesign. Lack of time for development and the urgency of the period for aircraft meant the Whirlwind was added to the inventory, albeit in comparatively small numbers.
It was originally used as a day fighter. It was the first fighter to be equipped with an all-round bubble canopy and the first fighter to be armed with four nose cannon. It was also faster on the climb and the level than the Spitfire. Who knows how deadly the Whirlwind would have been against the medium height hordes of Luftwaffe bombers if squadrons had been operational by late 1940.
It went on to be used as a night fighter which pilots preferred to the Spitfire in view of the better view and firepower. However, it lacked a second crewman to help with duties thus the Beaufighter was favoured. Some of pilots suggested hanging bombs under the wings and this became its main mid war use. When fighter-bomber operations began across the English Channel Fighter Command only had the two Whirlwind and two Hurricane squadrons on call. If not for the desperate need for such aircraft the Whirlwind may well have been dropped from service right then. The initial troubles with the Typhoon prolonged the operational use of the Whirlwind through to 1943. It also became a successful train busting and anti-shipping fighter-bomber in 1942 and 1943.
The pilots found it a delight to fly and the ground crews were also complimentary once the early design of the nose and tail sections were amended. When interviewed by Movietone News and asked what they were like to fly, the pilots unanimously agreed ‘they are a gentleman’s aircraft’.
After the initial enthusiasm by the Air Ministry only 114 Whirlwinds were issued to two squadrons, 263 and 137. 210 pilots flew 6704 sorties claiming 13 aircraft destroyed and 18 damaged for the loss of 46 pilots. Most were lost to flak during hundreds of shipping and ground attacks. Once the available aircraft ran out through losses and wear and tear the two squadrons were converted to other aircraft types.
This campaign of 41 missions is based on 263 Squadron ‘Ex Ungue Leonum - The lion is known by his claws’. You will fly day and night fighter missions, as well as day and night anti-shipping and ground attack sorties, from 1941 to 1943.
Advice to players. The ammunition is limited so it is best to fire very short bursts at close range, but watch out for the enemy gunners. Weaving from side to side can distract the enemy, especially if you have several Bf109s on your tail! You can match a Bf109E in the vertical climb and he will usually stall before you. When taking off push the nose forward to raise the tail at about 100mph then pull back at 130mph to lift off. Climb out can be at 180mph. Landing speed is 105 to 120mph. It can fly happily on one engine but advisable to keep above 140mph until touchdown.Remember full flaps for landing. Some publications say the high landing speed was one restriction for the use of the Whirlwind but it was actually not much faster than the Spitfire or Typhoon, and had better brakes.
InstallationThis campaign was written and tested using the SAS BAT Mod Pack, available here at SAS.
It may work on other modded systems but the campaign uses Command and Control objects and Triggers, so many mission features would be lost or unworkable.
Extract the zip file to a temporary directory.
• Copy the decompressed Missions folder and the decompressed PaintSchemes folder to your IL-2 1946 root folder.
• In the New Pilot Career page, choose RAF in the Air Force selection drop-down. Choose The Fewest off the Few, A Westland Whirlwind Campaign in the Career drop-down.
• We recommend turning off No Instant Success for this campaign.
• The campaign is designed to be compatible with any rank selection.
CreditsMany thanks to the BAT team for developing, maintaining, and improving the BAT Modpack. As always, we made extensive use of Kurfurst’s mission templates.
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Topic: The Fewest of the Few: A Westland Whirlwind Campaign by Von and Lars (Read 1064 times)
