What are your thoughts? - Whirlwind Mk I

[tx141 815]

Hi All,

 

This week, at the special request of my father, I thought I would review the Whirlwind Mk I (Tier III; Battle Rating 4.7 British Heavy Fighter). Below you will find both my video review (including the history behind the Westland Whirlwind from its inception through to its operational service) and a summary of my review in bullet-point form:

 

Whirlwind Mk I - Finding a Role

Summary:

 

• Tight loop circle – Whereas a loop can typically be used to gain the upper-hand on a heavy fighter when flying a single-engine fighter, the Whirlwind Mk I breaks this trend with its loop circle at least matching, if not surpassing, the majority of its single-engine fighter opposition.
• Decent firepower – So long as you are accurate, the 4x20mm Hispano Mk I cannon of the Whirlwind Mk I can quickly down any opponent. The fact that they are mounted in the nose adds to this, giving the plane the ability to down aircraft out to 1.5km via head-on strikes or long-distance pursuits. 
• Versatile – Whilst there will be multiple aircraft at its Battle Rating that are best in fulfilling a particular role, the Whirlwind can be deployed in a variety of roles (e.g. Interception; Boom and Zoom; low-altitude turn-fighter etc.) subject to the situation. This is due to the combination of its control surfaces; engine performance; and firepower.
• Demanding ideal speed range – If deployed below its ideal speed range of 375-500km/h, the Whirlwind Mk I’s elevator will under-perform; holding back the plane’s combat potential. Moreover, keeping the plane within this speed range during an extended engagement can prove difficult, allowing opponents to easily exploit it.
• Poor durability – In general the Whirlwind Mk I will react poorly to taking hits even from light-calibre machine gun armament. If the wing-based fuel tanks are not ignited, causing the plane to burn out of the sky, then you will typically see the engines receive damage; parts of the fuselage break-off; or your pilot being knocked out. 

 

Final Thought:

 

The Whirlwind Mk I bucks the trend for the heavy fighters in its Battle Rating range. Whereas most are focused on using their considerable firepower to intercept bombers and bring down unsuspecting fighters in a single pass, the Whirlwind can be deployed in a wider variety of roles. This is subject to its speed being kept within its high ideal speed range which can prove difficult; and necessitate a more considered approach to selecting engagements. However, if one is able to manage this requirement, then they will be sure to always end up finding a role for the Whirlwind.

 

And now over to you: what are your thoughts on this Heavy Fighter?

 

Next time:

 

Based on the outcome of the poll from last week's review, I will be reviewing the SM.91.

 

As always, take care and good luck in the skies.

 

Paul "tx141" Walsh 

[CyberNapoleon 599]

This thing could probably even go to 3.3 and it would still be fine, at least it's not 5.0 or wherever it was when it came out tbh. I've even seen someone suggest the Whirlwind could to to 2.7. Pretty fun to fly but feels a little outclassed at its' BR. 

[AscallonX 60]

The Whirlwind Mk.i is by far the plane i dislike amost in the british tree.

i have a decent kill ratio but only because i did play this plane  a lot in short time (so i get used to it well)  to get the camouflage. But in the end i was happy to to get 1 kill per flyout..... I sometimes had rounds when i could shred some easy prey (unprotected) bombers. But the only way to fly this plane kind of seccesfull is evading ANY confrontation if u doesnt have very high advantages in position , energy , firepower etc.

The hispanos Mk.I are worst 20mm in game. Poor rate of fire, ureliable damage, huge spread. With 60 rounds per gun and no secondary guns u fly half the time without or low  ammo

 

I guess there is no plane in the tree from 4.0+ that is not outgunning and /or outperforming this plane. i would prefer the f.e. XP-50 any given time.

 

The BR is far to high. but we have this mess with a lot of heavy fighters. If u have somewhat clever opponents in Yak-3/9  , P-47´s (D,N,M) 109 F-4, and G´s! ... they hunt u down. taking u as easy prey, rightly.

But i guess we will have to live with that BR. The usual Gaijin effect: To high BR -> No one plays it -> no data -> no change of BR -> .....

,

 

[Challenger_TA 421]

This plane is far to high battlerated. There are a number of planes that have this problem. 3.3-3.7ish br ab would be much more appropriate instead of 4.7. Some of the beaufighters, mosquitos, brigand, firebrand all have this issue. It is just a shame. These planes should likely all bee 3.3-3.7 maybe a couple 4.0 on their best day. I just don't think they play the game enough to know. You should be able to get a plane within about .3 to .4 of where is should with just looking at its stats/armament and maybe a brief flyout. They have planes that they bring out that were about 2.0 off.... Its almost impressive in a way. They should be making me consider every plane near a certain battlerating because they are functional enough because they have given it an appropriate battlerating. Instead we get this. 

Edited March 15, 2019 by Challenger_TA

[DocProfit 2,663]

4.7 is a joke.

 

3.7 would be around right.

[PARAMI 478]

It underperforms at 4.7 for sure. The Hispano 404s are really good in my experience, but the plane otherwise doesn't really have any true redeeming qualities. It's average or below average in most aspects with regards to its FM. At least with the mosquitos you have the advantage of raw speed and energy retention. This plane feels decent to fly, but is outperformed in most ways by its opposition. With heavy fighters, the only advantage you have over single engined fighters is speed, which is something the whirlwind (or most heavy fighters, which IMO are mostly very overtiered), doesn't have. Its agility somewhat makes up for that glaring fault, but it's still not going to consistently outturn smaller planes. I would agree this plane should be lowered, probably down to 3.0-3.7. 

 

Edit: it appears that this plane got a huge performance buff recently. Holds energy well, climbs really well. Still slow. 

Edited March 19, 2019 by ion__

[BoyofBeef 74]

In RB it is probably the worst plane in the game.

[VT_88 342]

I agree!

Whirlwind is one of the worst in the game.

 

Needs to change BR Down