[bearoutwest]

Hello Niall,

Thank you for the clarification. That's the impression I got from reading the snippets on Amazon. Actually, I WANT to buy every aircraft publication ever printed, but time, eyesight, finances and getting sumo-tackled by the almost 7yo dictate that I need to be more circumspect with my purchases.

Having said that, I did buy your "Westland's enigmatic fighter" over 18 months ago. I found it to be a thorough "historical-technical" assessment, and certainly filled in a lot of the gaps after Victor Bingham's work (published all those years ago). I will also go out and buy Rob's Bowater's work - based on what I was able to read on Amazon's preview and your comments.

Dare I ask for your oppinion (and possibly open a big can of worms):
- given that the Peregrine-Whirlwinds required an amount of refinement (opposite rotating props, belt fed cannons, cross-feed fuel systems, etc);
- also given that the high-altitude Welkins were probably in the concept-thinking stage in late-1941, and that any eventual "refined" Merlin-Whirlwinds would more-likely be closer to a slimmed down Welkin (looking like the DH Hornet in overall size perhaps).
Here's my question:
- if Westland's had been able to make their Whirlind production line methods more efficient; was the general RAF/Air Ministry thinking of the day, inclined towards a stop-gap Merlin re-engined Whirlind (Mk II?) and perhaps a refined low/medium altitude Welkin development?

Regards,
...geoff