[6], Roy Fedden, chief designer of the Bristol engine division, was a keen advocate for the improved Hercules VI for the Beaufighter but it was soon passed over in favour of the rival Griffon engine, as the Hercules VI required extensive development. In April 1943, the first successful torpedo attacks by Beaufighters was performed by 254 Squadron, sinking two merchant ships off Norway. The Hercules Mk XVII, developing 1,735 hp (1,294 kW) at 500 ft (150 m), was installed in the Mk VIC airframe to produce the TF Mk.X (torpedo fighter), commonly known as the "Torbeau". It was the Australian version of the TF.X. The initial rejection was later reversed, upon the introduction of a new electrically driven feed derived from Châtellerault designs brought to Britain by Free French officers, which was quite similar to Bristol's original proposal. The Mk X became the main production mark of the Beaufighter. [9] Flight tests found that the Merlins left the aircraft underpowered, with a pronounced tendency to swing to port, making take-offs and landings difficult and resulting in a high accident rate – out of 337 Merlin-powered aircraft, 102 were lost to accidents. [28] The Mk II was also supplied to the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. In late April 1941, the first two Beaufighter Mk II aircraft, R2277 and R2278, were delivered to 600 and 604 Squadrons; the former squadron being the first to receive the type in quantity in the following month. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber. As some models of the twin-engined Beaufighter could not stay aloft on one engine unless the dead propeller was feathered, this deficiency contributed to several operational losses and the deaths of aircrew. The most famous of these was the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, during which Beaufighters were used in a fire-suppression role in a mixed force with USAAF Douglas A-20 Boston and North American B-25 Mitchell bombers. A British journalist said that Japanese soldiers called it the "whispering death" for its quiet engines, although this is not supported by Japanese sources. The aircraft sank within seconds, but both crew and their passenger escaped and swam to shore. [33][1] The Beaufighter's Hercules engines used sleeve valves, which lacked the noisy valve gear common to poppet valve engines. [7] Output of the Beaufighter rose rapidly upon the commencement of production. These production aircraft incorporated aerodynamic improvements, reducing aerodynamic drag from the engine nacelles and tail wheel, the oil coolers were also relocated on the leading edge of the wing. [30], In the Mediterranean, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) 414th, 415th, 416th and 417th night fighter squadrons received a hundred Beaufighters in the summer of 1943, achieving their first victory in July 1943. The aircraft was ditched on April 21, 1944 after suffering a double engine failure shortly after takeoff from North Coates. [25][19] On 2 November 1943, another high-profile event involving the type occurred when a Beaufighter, A19-54, won the second of two unofficial races against an A-20 Boston bomber.[19]. For the car, see, Its armament was exceeded by the gunship variants of the US, Browne, Anthony Montague, Long Sunset: Memoirs of Winston Churchill's Last Private Secretary London 1995 Chapter 3, National Museum of the United States Air Force, List of aircraft of the United Kingdom in World War II, "Bristol Beaufighter – Variants and Stats", "Individual History: Bristol Beaufighter TF Mk.X RD253/BF-13/7931M. [22] This was one of the heavier, if not the heaviest, fighter armament of its time. [25][19], The role of the Beaufighters during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea was recorded by war correspondent and film-maker Damien Parer, who had flown during the engagement standing behind the pilot of one of the No. [12] The initial fifty production aircraft were approved for completion with a cannon-only armament. The majority of the fuselage was positioned aft of the wing and, with the engine cowlings and propellers now further forward than the tip of the nose, gave the Beaufighter a characteristically stubby appearance. [11], Bristol's proposed recoil-operated ammunition feed system was rejected by officials, which led to a new system being devised and tested on the fourth prototype, R2055. This occurred with the bellows-type dive brake that became standard for Coastal Command Beaufighters for its usefulness in torpedo-bombing. The Japanese ships were left exposed to mast-height bombing and skip bombing attacks by the US medium bombers. The wreck was located in 2000. [23][24] When Beaufighters were developed as fighter-torpedo bombers, they used their firepower (often the machine guns were removed) to suppress flak fire and hit enemy ships, especially escorts and small vessels. | Royal Air Force official photographer / Public Domain This is due to the invention of the airborne interception radars but what made the Beaufighter special is the fact that it was big enough to carry it without losing performance. MU based at RAF St Athan during late 1940. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. As the aircraft's accompaniment of four 20 mm cannons were mounted in the lower fuselage, the vacant nose could accommodate the radar antennas needed, and while early airborne interception equipment was too bulky to fit in single-engine fighters of the day, it could be accommodated in the Beaufighter's spacious fuselage. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. 30 Squadron flew in at mast height to provide heavy suppressive fire for the waves of attacking bombers. Beaufighter TF Xs could make precision attacks on shipping at wave-top height with torpedoes or RP-3 (60 lb) rockets. [49] This is possibly Beaufighter TF.X LX998 of 603 Squadron, which was shot down after destroying a German Arado Ar 196 during an anti-shipping mission in November 1943. [19] The extra power had presented vibration issues during development; in the final design, the engines were mounted on longer and more flexible struts, which extended from the front of the wings. Through the summer, the squadrons conducted daytime convoy escort and ground-attack operations but primarily flew as night fighters. A total of four forward-firing 20 mm Hispano Mk III cannons were mounted in the lower fuselage area. This page was last edited on 23 November 2020, at 19:54. [7] On 27 July 1940, the first five production Beaufighters were delivered to the RAF along with another five on 3 August 1940. [7] The next variant, the Beaufighter Mk II, used the Merlin engine instead. In the South-East Asian Theatre, the Beaufighter Mk VIF operated from India as a night fighter and on operations against Japanese lines of communication in Burma and Thailand. On 2 September 1940, 25 Squadron Two weeks prior to the prototype's first flight, an initial production contract for 300 aircraft under Specification F.11/37 was issued by the Air Ministry, ordering the type "off the drawing board". The standard Merlin XX-powered aircraft was later called the Beaufighter Mk IIF; the planned slim-fuselage aircraft, alternatively equipped with Hercules IV and Griffon engines, the Beaufighter Mk III and Beaufighter Mk IV respectively, were ultimately left unbuilt. "The Sky Suspended". [26][12] The re-equipping and conversion training process took several months to complete; on the night of 17/18 September 1940, Beaufighters of 29 Squadron conducted their first operational night patrol, conducting an uneventful sortie, the first operational daylight sortie was performed on the following day. In mid-1942, Coastal Command began to take delivery of the improved Beaufighter Mk. Although the Northrop P-61 Black Widow fighter began to arrive in December 1944, USAAF Beaufighters continued to fly night operations in Italy and France until late in the war.
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