bristol beaufighter. (1 Viewer)

Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules

jrk

Airman 1st Class
264
1
Jul 26, 2005
staffordshire
the beaufighter was a private venture designed in 1938 as a twin engined long range heavy fighter for the raf.it was developed from the sturdy beaufort torpedo bomber and fitted with more powerful engines.the prototype first flew on 17th of july 1939 and production mk.1s were delivered to the raf in july 1940.some early model mk 2s were powered by rolls royce merlin engines but all other versions used the bristol hercules radial engines.following the battle of britain in 1940 the radar equipped beaufighters began taking a heavy toll of enemy night bombers.raf coastal command began using them for long range defence of its patrol aircraftand the type was soon serving in numerous roles in all theatres of war.australia recieved some 50 beaufighters and additionally undertook production of 365 beaufighter mk 21s,generally similar to the mk 10 for the raaf in the pacific war where japanese forces named it the whispering death due to its quiet low level approach.

already heavily armed with cannons and mgs cc,s anti shipping beaus were further enhanced with the ability to carry torpedos bombs or rockets.no.245 sqn was the first unit to recieve the mark 6c(the c suffix stood for coastal command)early in 1943 and soon other similarly equipped sqns were formed into dedicated anti shipping strike wings.in a typical sortie the gun and rocket armed beaus would precede the "torbeaus" in carefully coordinated mass attacks.though losses were heavy the effects on enemy shipping were devastating.with uprated hercules engines the beau tf mk 10 was similar to the mk 6c.by late war period all production was dedicated to this later version exclusively for coastal command.of the grand total of 5900 beaufighters built 2205 were mk 10s,many of these featured the addition of dorsal fins and thimble nose radomes.post war types continued in service with the raf until 1950and the target tug version ttmk10 until 1960.other users of the beaufighter included were the royal navy usaaf rnzaf rcaf and the saaf along with dominica and portugal.the beaufighter tf10 was powered by 2 1770 hp bristol hercules 17 radial engines giving it a maximum speed of 303mph at 1300 ft.built in armament consisted of 4 20 mm hispano cannons under the nose and 1 .303 in vickers mg in a dorsal turret for rearward defence.external warloads included 1 1650lb or 2127lb torpedo slung under the fuselage or up to 8 60lb rockets.extra armament depending on the type of sortie flown could be 2 500 lb under the wings.other marks also carried 6 ,303 inch browning mgs 4 in the port wing and 2 in the starboard.
 
Great topic jrk! I do love them Beaufighters! To add to your post, the RAAF actually recieved 217 a/c built from Great Britain, not 50 and the Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) built 364 in Australia. The British built a/c were given the serial number prefix A19, while the Aussie built a/c were allocated A8.
The 217 Beaufigters delivered from the UK can be broken down into the following quantities - 72 Mk.IC 63 Mk.VIC 62 TF.X and 20 Mk.XIC
In RAAF service the Beaufighter served from 1942-1957 with 22, 30, 31, 92 and 93 Squadrons, plus 455 and 456 Squadrons in Europe.
 

Attachments

  • a8_198_154.jpg
    a8_198_154.jpg
    12 KB · Views: 802
  • a19-13crashmilnebay_211.jpg
    a19-13crashmilnebay_211.jpg
    19 KB · Views: 764
  • 30beau_411.jpg
    30beau_411.jpg
    117.3 KB · Views: 831
  • beautakeoffmilnebay_121.jpg
    beautakeoffmilnebay_121.jpg
    18.2 KB · Views: 756
  • fel90_281.jpg
    fel90_281.jpg
    31.8 KB · Views: 793
  • beaufighters-morotai_128.jpg
    beaufighters-morotai_128.jpg
    8.9 KB · Views: 774
  • p920783_199.jpg
    p920783_199.jpg
    77.3 KB · Views: 767
  • taxistrip_167.jpg
    taxistrip_167.jpg
    17.9 KB · Views: 784
  • ww2_4b_125.gif
    ww2_4b_125.gif
    84.1 KB · Views: 761
Just incase you missed em JRK there's a few action clips of Beaufighters in my Aviation Clips thread on the first 2 pages. I think they are one of the unsung planes of WW2.
 
I think they are one of the unsung planes of WW2.
And I agree 100%... Am currently looking for a good, solid and CORRECTLY researched book about these birds and the ops they flew...

As a side note, I find that flying combat with the Beau, with the IL2 series flight sims, is a breeze.... I scored air to air 6 kills in one mission with it, including Ace Saburo Sakai....
 
Where those pictures of the Beaufighter attacking the ships taken in the ETO or PTO?

In the famous Battle of Bismark Sea in March 1943, the Aussie Beaufighters led the way for the USSAF B25 and A20 skipbombers. The Beaufighters "hosed" down the Japanese ships killing the AA gunners (and anyone else in the line of fire), allowing the bombers to come in unmolested.

Accounts from surviving Japanese sailors and the soldiers on the ships said it was one of the most horrific events they ever went through. The cannon shells would penetrate the sides of the ships and if they didnt expode, then they would riccochet around with often bloody results. Then the 50 cals of the B25's and A20's would add to the carnage. The decks must have run red with blood!
 
the lancaster kicks ass said:
she was cirtainly the best if not one of the best anti-shipping fighters of the war, not that she had much compition :lol:

The B25 was the best anti-shipping aircraft. Beaufighter was a close second.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back