Back in 1938, when it flew for the first time, it was one of the fastest combat aircraft of the world and with its four 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 autocannons placed in the nose, one of the most heavily armed.
Due to problems with the Rolls-Royce Peregrine engines, the project was delayed and therefore few of them were manufactured.
It was powered by two Rolls-Royce Peregrine I engines, twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled Vee engine which delivered 885hp of power, which were a development of the Rolls-Royce Kestrel K.26. The first prototype, which flew for the first time on 11th October 1938, was initially equipped with long exhaust ducts that were channelled through the wings and fuel tanks exiting at the wing's trailing edge. That configuration was quickly changed to a more conventional one after almost losing control when one of the exhaust ducts broke and heat-fractured an aileron control rod.
After the first flight of the prototype, it was passed on to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at the end of the year to perform more tests on it at RAF Martlesham Heath. It showed excellent handling characteristics and proved easy to fly at any speed. The only flaw was the inadequate directional control during take-off which required an increased rudder area above the tailplane.
The Whirlwind was quite small, just a little bigger than the Hawker Hurricane, but smaller in frontal area. The landing gear was fully retractable and the entire aircraft was very "clean" with very few openings and protuberances. Radiators were placed in the leading edge on the inner wings rather than below the engines, as it was the unwritten rule for the British fighters of the time. Thanks to its streamlined profile, the aircraft achieved the speed of 360mph (580km/h), the same as the latest single-engined fighters of the time. It had short range, under 300 milles (480km) making it marginal for escort duties and, due to delays in the Peregrine engines, it wasn't until June 1940 that its manufacturation process began.
By late 1940 the Supermarine Spitfire was scheduled to mount 20mm cannons, so the "cannon-armed" requirement was already being met at that time and, as the RAF Bomber Command switched to night flying, the role of escort fighters was becoming marginal. The RAF requirements for a twin-engined fighter were range and carrying capacity to allow the radar apparatus of the time to be carried and, the Bristol Beaufighter meet those requirements and even better than the Whirlwind.
An initial production order for 200 aircraft was placed in January 1939 followed by a second order of another 200 with a planned schedule of September 1940. Due to the big amount of orders and, as Westland's factory couldn't cope with such big amount of production, it was suggested to produce the aircraft in other factories, however it was decided that it was better to mass-manufacture the Spitfire.
Despite Whirlwind's performance, production ended in January 1942 after 112 production Mk.I types and two prototypes were made. Rolls-Royce needed to concentrate in the Merlin and troubled Vulture engines rather than the Peregrine engine. As Westland was aware that its design had been built around the Peregrine, and, any change would require a major redesign, Westland campaigned for an improved Mk.II version which would be powered by an improved Peregrine which could deliver 1010hp of power. However, that proposal was cancelled when Rolls-Royce ceased the production of the Peregrine engine. Furthermore, building a Whirlwind consumed three time as much alloy as a Spitfire.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westland_Whirlwind_(fighter)
2. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/70560
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
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