DB 601a Whirlwind

[zenrat]

I've looked without success - I keep getting bogged down in Pinterest ...  :/

The number of times that's happened to me recently whilst trying to do some research is so frustrating  Going to go back to books and the library I think.

It's a PitA as the search engine prioritises pics there over the same pics in their original location.

[Scotaidh]

Major painting is done, barring accidents.  Just deciding whether or not to install the cannons ... since the guns by themselves weigh in at around 110 lbs each sans ammo, that would handily take care of the CG problem pointed out by Mr. Farrelly. 

[jcf]

Interesting. 

In real-world terms the ballasting required would be interesting as you'd be adding over
350lbs forward of the CG, probably well over 400lbs once the necessary changes in mounts,
hardware, piping etc. were made.

I think I'd handle that by relocating the cannon to put the breeches and ammo - a lot more ammo - aft of the cockpit ala Mosquito, and extending the blast-tubes.  But for now, I'm keeping it simple.  I might even leave off the cannon altogether to sort out that CG problem - after all, this is a prototype. 

Or maybe lengthen the fuselage by adding a plug
right behind the wing.

[PR19_Kit]

A lead tailwheel?

[zenrat]

Forward sweep on the wings outboard of the nacelles?

[The Wooksta!]

The Luftwaffe had at least one captured Whirlwind, but AFAIK, it was never flown.

What's your source on that?  I've looked without success - I keep getting bogged down in Pinterest ...  :/

I think it was a Squadron/Signal book called "Strangers in a Strange Land" about Allied aircraft in Axis hands.  I don't have it to hand so can't check.

Just found my Kookaburra softback on the Whirlwind and there's a photo of P7095 SF-H of 137 Sqn forcelanded and surrounded by German troops.

A quick google search finds these:





And the site it's from:
http://aircrewremembered.com/brown-alfred-edward.html

[NARSES2]

Those squadron codes really do stand out. Shows how slim the Whirlwinds fuselage was I suppose ?

[Scotaidh]

As you can see, I decided to add the cannon after all.  It just felt kinda wrong not to have them ...

The Prototype decals appear courtesy of DarthSpud 2. 

The Backstory:
Real World
   On 10 May, 1941 Rudolf Hess flew a Messerschmitt Bf-110 alone toward Scotland on a self-initiated 'peace' mission, just before the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Hess intended to see the Duke of Hamilton, who he had met briefly during the Berlin Olympics in 1936. 
   With extra fuel tanks installed on the aircraft, Hess, an expert flier, made the five-hour, 900-mile flight across the North Sea and managed to navigate within 30 miles of the Duke's residence near Glasgow, Scotland. Unable to locate the airstrip at Dungavel House and essentially out of fuel, Hess bailed out and parachuted safely to the ground where he encountered a Scottish farmer and told him in English, "I have an important message for the Duke of Hamilton."

What If
   What if Hess had successfully landed his aircraft?  The Bf 110C was the first version of the Bf 110 to be equipped with Daimler Benz engines. After the failure of the DB 600 project, the C series was built around two DB 601A engines, capable of providing 1,100 hp. This increased the speed of the aircraft to 349 mph at 22,295 ft, and at least gave it a chance of achieving its intended role. The result was an aircraft that could out-fly just about every allied fighter at altitude.
   The Westland Whirlwind fighter's Achille's heel was the Peregrine engines.  Basically a sound design, it needed development – but the pressures of war-time over-rode all, and that development never happened.
   A proposal to re-engine the Whirlwind with Merlin engines foundered on the amount of re-design required to fit the larger, more powerful engines to the trim little fighter.  However, the Daimler Benz engines in Messerschmitts were physically smaller than the Merlins in the Spifires and Hurricanes.  An engineer discovered that the DB 601A engines in Hess' Bf-110 were virtually the same size as the Peregrines.  So the project was born – how would a Whirlwind fly with German engines? 
   A transition-plate was attached to the back of the firewall.  The front was drilled for the metric DB 601, and for the English attachment points on the back.  The plate also provided clearance for the DB 601s up-curving outer exhaust stubs, which, without the plate, would have fouled on the Whirlwind's wing.
   Due to the weight differential between the DB 601s and the Peregrines, some work needed to be done to maintain the center of gravity, so a 45-gal. water tank was placed behind the cockpit.

[Scotaidh]

The Luftwaffe had at least one captured Whirlwind, but AFAIK, it was never flown.

What's your source on that?  I've looked without success - I keep getting bogged down in Pinterest ...  :/

Thanks!



I think it was a Squadron/Signal book called "Strangers in a Strange Land" about Allied aircraft in Axis hands.  I don't have it to hand so can't check.

Just found my Kookaburra softback on the Whirlwind and there's a photo of P7095 SF-H of 137 Sqn forcelanded and surrounded by German troops.

A quick google search finds these:





And the site it's from:
http://aircrewremembered.com/brown-alfred-edward.html

[zenrat]

Very good.

[NARSES2]

Very good.

Indeed