Westland Welkin
The Westland Welkin was a British twin-engine heavy fighter from the Westland Aircraft Company, designed to fight at extremely high altitudes in the stratosphere; the word welkin meaning "the vault of heaven" or the upper atmosphere. First conceived in 1940, the plane was built in response to the arrival of modified Junkers Ju 86P bombers flying reconnaissance missions, which suggested the Luftwaffe might attempt to re-open the bombing of Britain from high altitude. Construction was from 1942 to 1943. The threat never materialised; consequently, Westland produced only a small number of Welkins and few of these flew.
Summary from Wikipedia, photo via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
- Manufacturer
- Westland Aircraft
- Category
- Fighters
- Country of origin
- United Kingdom
- First flight
- 1942-11-01
Specifications
- Cruise speed
- 335 kt
- Max speed
- 335 kt
- Range
- 1,290 nm
- Service ceiling
- 44,000 ft
- Rate of climb
- 3,850 ft/min
- Max takeoff weight
- 10,356 lb
- Empty weight
- 8,310 lb
- Powerplant
- Rolls-Royce Merlin 76
- Engines
- 2
- Seats
- 1
- Length
- 41.5 ft
- Wingspan
- 70 ft
- Height
- 15.8 ft
- Number built
- 77
Specifications are approximate and may vary by variant. Compiled from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Reference and training only. Specifications vary by variant — consult the manufacturer and the official documents.