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WhirlwindFighter BomberWestland
The Westland Whirlwind is a British twin-engine fighter-bomber developed by the Westland Aircraft Company. A contemporary of the Spitfire and the Hurricane, the Whirlwind was the RAF's first single-seat twin-engined fighter. When it first took off in 1938, the Whirlwind was one of the fastest and heavily armed combat aircraft in the world, carrying four 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannons in its nose. However, lingering problems with the Rolls-Royce Peregrine engine delayed the project, and only a few Whirlwinds were built. Production of aircraft continued throughout 1941. In the summer of 1941, the Wirluind was tested as a night fighter. Back in 1941, the command of the 263rd Squadron took the initiative to equip the fighter with bombs, but this idea was realized only in July-August 1942, when the first of these aircraft was equipped with bomb racks. The aircraft received the designation Mk.II and the unofficial nickname "Whirlbomber".
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