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Westland Welkin

1944 WORLD WAR 2

History of Westland Welkin

The Westland Welkin (meaning "Dome of Heaven") originated from the Westland Whirlwind and was a twin-engine fighter jet designed as a high-altitude interceptor to defend against another possible bombing raid on mainland England by the Luftwaffe. The appearance of the German converted Junkers Ju 86 reconnaissance bomber evokes memories of the Luftwaffe bombing operations during the Battle of Britain, as new Luftwaffe bombing operations over Britain were all too common for the RAF in the summer of 1940, The inability to conduct combat operations never materialized.

As such, Welkin was deemed unnecessary, and modified high-altitude Supermarine Spitfires could achieve the same.

The Welkin, designed by W.E.W. Petter, flew for the first time on 1 November 1942 as a development of a new RAF high-altitude fighter to meet the F.4/40 specification. Welkin installed a pilot at the very forward end of the streamlined center fuselage. The pilot has a good view from above. The engines are housed in the nacelles below each elevated monoplane wing.

The wings are a distinctive feature of the Welkin, designed as large-span, high-aspect-ratio components radiating from the forward fuselage. The powerplant is a Rolls-Royce Merlin 76 liquid-cooled inline-piston engine, each rated up to 1,233 hp.

The rear wing consists of a traditional "T-shaped" arrangement. Armament is concentrated on nose-mounted 4 x 20mm Hispano cannons, which are mounted on the bottom of the fuselage for easy maintenance, repair and reloading, while protecting the pilot from cannon flickering when firing in the dark.

The Welkin's performance specs are impressive, with a top speed of 330 mph. The Welkin was one of the RAF's first attempts at aircraft design, with a pressurized cockpit that allowed the plane to reach altitudes in excess of 44,000 feet, but required the use of a high-flying suit and oxygen mask.

Large span wings are essential for stable soaring flight.

Welkin entered active duty as F. Mk I in May 1944, serving with the RAF Fighter Intercept Group at Wetling. Two prototype night fighters also appeared under the NF name.

Based on the F. 9/43 specification, the Mk IIA was designed to be a two-seat derivative based on the single-seat interceptor model, but adapted for nighttime interception operations. Night fighter form was never realized in production examples.

The total production of the basic Welkin F. Mk I interceptor was 75 examples plus 26 other completed airframes (excluding engines).