Whirlwind P.9

Whirlwind P.9

Whirlwind P.9

Britain

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.3	3.7	4.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Air Defence fighter

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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This page is about the British gift twin-engine fighter Whirlwind P.9. For the other version, see Whirlwind Mk I.

Description

The Whirlwind P.9 is a gift rank III British twin-engine fighter with a battle rating of 4.3 (AB/SB) and 3.7 (RB). This aircraft was introduced in Update 1.77 "Advancing Storm" during the 2018 World War Two Chronicles. It was later re-released during Update 1.91 "Night Vision" as a reward for Operation "Shipyard". Whirlwind P.9, an experimental pre-production vehicle, is the direct ancestor of the British Whirlwind Mk I heavy fighter. Development of the aircraft began in 1937 and the aircraft in this series had plenty of time to fight against German aircraft and ships during the Battle of Britain.

General info

Flight performance

The vehicle is agile and speedy on level flight. The maneuverability is surprising, and even better with the use of flaps, making it possible to dogfight with most of the twin-engine fighters and, with skill and situational advantages, few single-engine planes as well. Just be wary of not draining all your speed while dogfighting enemies.

If played conservatively, this plane can be a tenacious opponent, especially when having an altitude advantage as this allows the Whirlwind P.9 to dive, fire, and then escape from enemies all with the same energy. This way a pilot can exploit the Whirlwind P.9's great speed to minimize the enemy's chance of getting a successful hit.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 4,877 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	559	543	9144	24.2	25.1	12.2	12.2	650
Upgraded	602	580		21.9	23.0	18.2	15.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
676	265	490	490	265	~10	~5

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 420	< 420	< 450	> 324

Whirlwind P.9 squadron patrolling over Dover skies

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,575 m	885 hp	947 hp

Survivability and armour

Packed with wide 2 layers of armour (both of 9mm) in front of the pilot, covering the 20 mm cannons and the engine. The bulletproof glass (60mm) will also be helpful in head-ons or when hunting turret defended planes.

The Whirlwind P.9 has a vulnerable tail as the elevator and ailerons generally will be blown off if the enemy gets to blaze you from behind or wins in a head-on. Hence you should avoid be caught off guard as it will much likely end your flight capacities.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Whirlwind P.9 is armed with:

• 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.I cannons, nose-mounted (121 rpg = 484 total)

The four cannons make the Whirlwind P.9 well-armed for head-on engagements or Boom & Zoom tactics, as the four nose-mounted cannons will shred through everything, especially with the Ground Targets belt due to its AP ammunition. If pilots rather the enemy planes catch on fire, it is recommended to use the universal or stealth ammunition belts which offer this kind of benefit, unfortunately at the cost of somewhat reduced armour piercing performance. Keep in mind the reduced ammo of the cannons and the ability of some planes to turn off fires with self-sealing fuel tanks. The choice of engagement is up to the pilot.

Although gun convergence its a personal choice, it's suggested to set the gun convergence of the nose-mounted cannons to 600 m as the four cannons are lined horizontally (vertical convergence if Boom & Zooming). This allows scoring great shots at the moment when diving onto an enemy without getting to close or too far away. Just enough to aline with the target's flight trajectory and release a short burst. If engaged with them in a dogfight just keep in mind this distance.

Usage in battles

The Whirlwind P.9 should be used similarly to other heavy fighters. The flight characteristics are very similar to the Whirlwind Mk I with the main difference being that the Whirlwind P.9 has more than double the ammunition count.

The P.9 is very effective in a boom and zoom role due to its good climb rate, and powerful armament. However, the relatively low wing break speed in RB does limit you in this role. The Whirlwind P.9 has a good turn rate for a heavy fighter but will be easily out-turned by single-engined fighters. The use of combat flaps will help to balance out this disadvantage. Care must be taken when using the combat flaps, however, as they are prone to snapping off at a relatively low speed.

At this battle-rating you will see many BV 238s and Me 264s. Heading on these bombers will usually guarantee you a kill, but you still need to be careful of the powerful defensive armament of them.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Auto control available	Controllable Auto control available	Separate	Not controllable 1 gear	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 20 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe
III	Wings repair	Engine		New 20 mm cannons
IV		Engine injection	Cover
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Whirlwind P.9 silhouette

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Devastating armament in 4 x nose-mounted 20 mm Hispano cannons
• Closely packed nose-mounted guns are great for head-on attacks
• Good turn rate for a twin-engined fighter
• Decent manoeuvrability for a heavy fighter
• Decent roll rate for a heavy fighter
• Deadly with the Ground Targets belt

Cons:

• Ammo can deplete pretty quickly (though still double that of the Whirlwind Mk I)
• Slower than average dive speed
• Experiences severe control stiffening at speeds above 500 km/h
• Vulnerable to speedy fighters

History

During the Mid-1930s, development of combat aircraft in Britain was accelerated, when a war with Germany was becoming more apparent. While trusty and advanced, the Hurricane and Spitfire lacked in range and armament, and in 1935 the British Air Ministry issued operational Requirement F.37/35 which called for a heavy fighter design to be fitted with four 20mm Hispano cannons. Many British aircraft manufacturers responded, but it was found that the submission made by Westland Aircraft of Yeovil in Somerset would be the one selected in 1937.

Known as the P.9, Westland's fighter design featured innovative designs such as low mounted wings with the engines mounted in under-wing pods, as well as the four 20mm Hispano cannons being mounted in the nose. The aircraft aso featured two Rolls-Royce Kestrel engines, which were proven by that point in the inter-war period with aircraft such as the Hawker Fury and Handley Page Heyford Bi-Plane bomber. The canopy, being a bubble design, gave excellent all around visibility and combined with a "Tail-Dragger" configuration allowed for the installation of a high-mounted elevator assembly. The tail design was initially planned to incorporate a twin-tail design, but this was found to be impractical as the disturbed air from the engines affected performance.

The first flight of the new aircraft, now designated the Whirlwind, took place in October 1938 with the prototype aircraft being made of an all-metal design with flush riveted construction as well as magnesium skin at the rear of the fuselage. Initial flight testing proved impressive, so much so that the Air Ministry considered rushing the aircraft into production. These considerations were dismissed as a decision was reached to swap the Kestrel engines with newly developed, supercharged Rolls-Royce Peregrine engines, outputting over 850HP compared to the Kestrel's 650HP.

Media

Images

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Videos

The Shooting Range #81 - Pages of History section at 08:13 discusses the Whirlwind.

Whirlwind P.9 (Devastating at 4.0!) - Jengar

Out and Out Aggression - Whirlwind P.9 Review - TheEuropeanCanadian

Whirlwind P.9 - kill compilation - Wolvy

See also

Related development

• Westland Whirlwind Mk I

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Grumman XF5F Skyrocket
• Grumman XP-50
• Kawasaki Ki-45-II
• Lockheed P-38 Lightning
• Yakolev Yak-2 KABB

External links

• Operation "Shipyard": H-34 and Whirlwind P.9
• [Wikipedia] Westland Whirlwind (fighter)

Westland Aircraft Limited
Aircraft
Fighters	Whirlwind Mk I · Whirlwind P.9
Turboprop	Wyvern S4
Helicopters*
Attack	AH Mk.1 Apache**
Utility	Wessex HU Mk.5 · Scout AH.Mk.1 · Wasp HAS.Mk.1 · Lynx AH.Mk.1 · G-LYNX
	*After World War II, Westland Aircraft focused on building helicopters and changed its name to Westland Helicopters.
	**Licensed AH-64D
See Also	Boeing Aircraft