Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
- Start date
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Some dogs chase cars. They're amateurs. Some dogs catch cars. They're talented amateurs. Rex took the game to a whole new level.
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Westland built a number of Whirlwinds. They flew with two squadron during the war - 137 and 263. One survived scrapping and the Germans, at least for a while.
This is P7048.
After the war, Westland was allowed to place her on the civil registry as G-AGOI. She was painted a rather pretty blue.
Sadly, she was declared "surplus to needs" shortly after the war, and was scrapped iin 1947. And so died the last Westland Whirlwind.
http://1.bp.########.com/-vCP27X1bqww/VEN3McJil-I/AAAAAAAABcQ/aV89-W5Gqyo/s1600/G-AGOI.JPG
But wait! In the same way that brainy-types are trying to rebuild mammoth and mastadon DNA into a viable critter, there's this: http://www.whirlwindfighterproject.org/
This is P7048.
After the war, Westland was allowed to place her on the civil registry as G-AGOI. She was painted a rather pretty blue.
Sadly, she was declared "surplus to needs" shortly after the war, and was scrapped iin 1947. And so died the last Westland Whirlwind.
http://1.bp.########.com/-vCP27X1bqww/VEN3McJil-I/AAAAAAAABcQ/aV89-W5Gqyo/s1600/G-AGOI.JPG
But wait! In the same way that brainy-types are trying to rebuild mammoth and mastadon DNA into a viable critter, there's this: http://www.whirlwindfighterproject.org/
Yes, the Perigrene engines were a problem.
Too bad that Merlins couldn't be fitted.
If only...
.... or jet engines.
Something dirty was going on behind the scenes with the Whirlwind. That plane was too good. The big firms, Supermarine and Hawkers seem to have got to the RAF high command somehow. Four 20mm cannons in the nose in 1939! The Spitfire and Hurricane didn't get those until much later. The Whirlwind was in fact the first British plane to mount the Hispano 20mm cannon.
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Behold the delicate mystery of the Churchill 3" Gun Carrier:
What an entirely graceless, 100% utilitarian object she is.
Sloped armour was a thing. People knew about it. I guess wartime expediency made them build it this square. Perhaps it was designed by a guy with a hardcore art school background in Cubism.
Interesting writeup here:
https://servicepub.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/the-carrier-churchill-3-inch-gun-mk-i/
What an entirely graceless, 100% utilitarian object she is.
Sloped armour was a thing. People knew about it. I guess wartime expediency made them build it this square. Perhaps it was designed by a guy with a hardcore art school background in Cubism.
Interesting writeup here:
https://servicepub.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/the-carrier-churchill-3-inch-gun-mk-i/
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The threat of imminent invasion is a mother (or, at least, a loving aunt) of utilitarianism. And so, with so many pressing needs and fears, I expect straight wall armour plate was more quickly and easily fabricated than sloped.
The quartet of 20mm in the nose and all around vision were about the a/c only assets. There may have been something with it being a Westland product - not the most favoured company. Neither was DeHavilland with its 'Freeman's Folly'. But the Mosquito turned out to be arguably the most versatile and best a/c of WWII.
The Whirlwind was too expensive(using 2 engines vs 1 for other front line fighters), not agile enough to make a good account of itself and other higher performance a/c coming on line could out perform it. It looked the part but a stopgap quickly relegated to secondary tasks.
not to mention the fact that it was performance reviewed in a magazine shortly after it was fielded-did someone forget the germans can read ENGLISH.?
much in the same way that one side figured how thick the pressure hull was on a submarine was by watching the construction of the boat and figuring out the height of the average man was about 6 ft
much in the same way that one side figured how thick the pressure hull was on a submarine was by watching the construction of the boat and figuring out the height of the average man was about 6 ft
Bush breakfast... Wonder what kind of bird the eggs are from.
And the shovel blades still have more temper than a bolt lug on a newly imported Tippo-2 Garand...
Sorry, could't resist.
