Aviation Books > Westland Whirlwind in WW2: Wingleader Photo Archive Number 19

Westland Whirlwind in WW2: Wingleader Photo Archive Number 19

ISBN: 9781908757319

Author: Neil Robinson

Publisher: Wingleader

Format: Paperback

Price: AUD $39.95

RRP: AUD $49.95

One of our original aims with this series was to cover the lesser known types in as much detail as the more famous aircraft. Pretty much top of this ‘lesser known’ list was the Westland Whirlwind which has always captured the imagination of many of us, with its sleek lines and powerful armament. In a different set of circumstances, the Whirlwind could easily have been as famous as the Mosquito or Beaufighter and just as effective.
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In the end, just two squadrons flew the Whirlwind into action and only 116 examples were built, each costing roughly £1m in today’s money. Despite this rarity, some decent photos were taken by the Press and combined with photos from the personal albums of the pilots who flew the Whirlwind, we’ve managed to create an in-depth pictorial tribute to this forgotten fighter.

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Neil Robinson has once again proven to be a very safe pair of hands when it comes to any RAF type and his research into the fine details of both colour schemes and technical mods really brings this one to life. We must also say particular thanks to all the chaps behind the Whirlwind Project who looked through the final manuscript and fine tuned many small but important details.

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This book contains approx 120 original wartime/pre-war photos and 6 in-depth colour profiles.

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Book Title: Westland Whirlwind in WW2: Wingleader Photo Archive Number 19

Author: Neil Robinson

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9781908757319

About the Author: Growing up in the late 1950s/early 1960s, Neil Robinson had an interest in aeroplanes from an early age, which expressed itself by him spending most of his paper round money buying aviation magazines such as ‘Flying Review’ and ‘Aircraft Illustrated’ and Airfix and Frog kits. Hanging onto every word of W R ‘Bill’ Matthews’ ‘Model Talk’ in ‘Flying Review’ and Alan W Hall’s conversions in ‘Airfix Magazine’, he continued to have an interest in aeroplanes and model making throughout his teens and joined IPMS (UK) in 1969. After several years of writing articles for aviation enthusiast and aircraft modelling magazines, he was appointed editor of IPMS Magazine in the mid-1980s, after which in the early 1990s he self-published his own magazines, ‘Quarter Scale Modeller’ (for 1/48 scale aircraft modellers) and ‘Seventy Second Scale Modeller’ (for 1/72 scale aircraft modellers), for two years, until his first proper ‘commercial’ editing job in 1995, editing ‘Military ModelCraft’, covering figure, AFV and vehicle modelling, despite all his interest and knowledge being in aviation topics. Then in late 1998, he took over editorship of ‘Scale Aircraft Modelling’ from the (then) owner, Alan W Hall, during which time he also introduced and edited a new range of enthusiast titles for Guideline Publications – the ‘Camouflage & Markings’ and ‘Combat Colours’ ranges of books. In the spring of 2003 he helped form a then brand new venture, called The Aviation Workshop. Unfortunately the company tried to grow and expand too quickly and couldn’t support all the creative team members, so he moved to SAM Publications, editing another relatively new magazine, ‘Model Aircraft Monthly’. After five years with SAM Publications he temporarily re-joined The Aviation Workshop, in April 2010, as Book Production Editor for their range of ‘On Target’ books, before joining forces with a local printer and starting the AIRfile range of camouflage and markings books. He is now a freelance author and editor, and enjoying his semi-retirement on the east coast of Yorkshire.

Publisher: Wingleader

Title Release: February 2023