(Bristol) 156 Beaufighter @·AIRCRAFTUBE

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Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter

Responding to a RAF demand for a long range escort aircraft, the Beaufighter was initially identified as the Bristol Type 156 and was the direct successor of the Bristol Beaufort from which it retained the landing gear and profiles. Flying for the first time on July 19, 1939, the plane was successfully used in many different roles, as night fighter or maritime strike aircraft.

Quickly baptised the "Beaufighter" (from "Beaufort Fighter"), it was the first night fighter to be equipped with a really efficient radar and was used by no less than 52 RAF squadrons.

Beaufighter Mk.I

The original Mk.I version was powered by two 1,400 hp Bristol Hercules III radial engines. However, performances proved to be insufficient with those engines, (Aircraft could not fly above 310 mph instead of the promised 335). In September 1940, one year after England's entrance into the war, the Mk.I was ready for service and was equipped with an AI Mk.IV radar to be able to fly as a night fighter, a role where its lack of top speed would not be too much of a handicap. It however came on time to replace the Fighter Command Blenheim Mk.I Fs that were temporarily used in this role.

The first air victory of a Bristol Beaufighter was attributed to Cmdt John Cunningham and his navigator Jimmy Rawnsley of 604 squadron on November 19th, 1940. He later repeated this exploit 20 times, always during night missions.

Armed with four 20 mm canons and six 7.7 mm machine guns in the wings, the aircraft was also modified for torpedo attacks, the Mk.I C, ('C' for 'Coastal Command'), a configuration where he showed very efficient, sinking an impressive number of vessels along the English and Mediterranean coast lines. The Mk.I was renamed the Mk.I F ('F' for 'Fighter Command') at this period to standardise appellations.

A Mk.VI C of squadron 236 was even seen one day over Paris' Champs-Elysées were it dropped a French flag before launching rockets on Gestapo's headquarters in full daylight.

Beaufighter Mk.II

The demand for Hercules engines was very high to power the aircraft of Bomber Command and it was decided to develop a Roll-Royce Griffon version. As this engine was also very successful (Barracuda), the Lancaster's Merlin XX was finally chosen to power the new Mk.II version. All these machines were built as Mk.II F high altitude night fighters. As this machine was not as powerful as preceding ones, it was not really appreciated by its pilots, specially at the moment of take off.

This version was also the first one to be built with a 12° dihedral stabiliser, a modification intended to reduce some longitudinal instability during climb. The last produced Mk.I where also equipped with this modification.

Beaufighter Mk.III and Mk.IV

The Mk.III and Mk.IV were planned with a new fuselage and an armament of six cannon and six machine guns. The high cost of these modifications led to the abandon of those models.

Beaufighter Mk.V

The Mk.V had a Boulton Paul turret with four 0.303 in machine guns mounted behind the cockpit. Only two of these Merlin-engined aircraft were built.

Beaufighter Mk.VI

The 1,650 horsepower Hercules VI engine would produce all its power at high altitude, so the aircraft was delivered in Mk.VI F night fighter version from March 1942. This version was operated by 2 squadrons in North Africa from 1943 as well as by different units around the Mediterranean Sea.

Also in 1942, the Mk.VI was introduced in the far east in 3 squadrons based in India for night fighter operations against the Japanese forces over Burma and Thailand. Those missions were very successful, but were the source of many accidents, especially because of the lack of correct ground infrastructures and bad weather conditions.

Beaufighter Mk.X

To improve low level attack performance, a new Hercules engine was developed that would deliver 1,735 hp at sea level. Once installed in a Mk.VI C airframe, this gave the Beaufighter TF (Torpedo Fighter) Mk.X also known as the 'Torbeau'. An attack version of the Torbeau without torpedo attachment was also built under the Mk.XI C designation.

It's the Mk.X version that was the most produced. Sometimes, a third person could assist the crew in target aiming. Attacks could be conducted with torpedoes or rockets. The crew had dive gyroscope and radio altimeter helping them in this task. First machines were equipped with ASV (air-to-surface vessel) radars, but it is the AI Mk.VIII model that was most used afterwards.

Coastal Command Mk.X Beaufighters were not equipped with the 6 original machine guns to increase autonomy, but a .303 Browning or Vickers machine gun could nevertheless be operated by the navigator.

The wing containers that could house two 250 pounds bombs or 8 rockets that were introduced on the last Mk.VI C became standard on the Mk.X.

Because of the overload the new radar and armament brought, a dorsal fin was introduced to compensate the torque during take off. This device also improved manoeuvrability during the low level attacks.

Beaufighter Mk.21 (Australia)

In Australia, the RAAF initially operated Mk.I C's that were later replaced by Hercules powered Mk.VII's. The Australians, who already produced the Beaufort, started assembling Beaufighter's and in 1944, the first Mk.21 with Hercules XVIII engines started operations.

Beaufighter Mk.XII

The last Beaufighter version was the Mk.XII with reinforced wings to be able to carry two 1,000 pound bombs or extra fuel. As the engines were not ready on time, only the last production Mk.X were modified. The type flew for the first time on May 26, 1944.

When the war finally ended, a total of 5,900 machines had been built in numerous versions. Beaufighters were kept in operations in many units until the beginning of the fifties.

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Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter

  • Role : Heavy fighter / strike aircraft
  • Manufacturer : Bristol Aeroplane Company
  • First flight : 17 July 1939
  • Introduction : 27 July 1940
  • Retired 1960 : (Australia)
  • Primary users :
    • Royal Air Force
    • Royal Canadian Air Force
    • Royal Australian Air Force
  • Produced : May 1940 – 1946
  • Number built : 5,928
  • Developed from : Bristol Beaufort

    • Specifications (Beaufighter Mk.X)

  • Wing Span : 57 ft 10 in (or 17.63 metres).
  • Length : 41 ft 7 in (or 12.6 metres).
  • Height : 15 ft 10 in (or 4.84 metres).
  • Wing area : 503 ft² (or 46,73 m²)
  • Empty weight: 15,600 lbs (or 7,075 kg).
  • Gross weight: 25,400 lbs (or 11,520 kg).
  • Max speed : 312 mph (or 502 km/h).
  • Initial climb : 1,850 fpm (or 564 metres per minute).
  • Service ceiling : 26,500 feet (or 8100 m).
  • Engines : Two 1,770 hp Bristol Hercules XVII 14-cylinder sleeve-valve radials.
  • Armament : Four 20 mm Hispano cannons fixed in underside of forward fuselage (initially loaded with 60-round drums, later equipped with belt feed) - One 303-inch Browning or Vickers K, manually-aimed, in observer's position (Fighter Command versions in general did not have this manually-aimed gun but had six 303 Browning machine guns in wings, four in outer starboard wing, two in outer port wing) - One 18 inch - 1,600 lb (or 728 kg) or 22.5 inch - 2,127 lb (or 954 kg) torpedo - Wing racks for eight rockets or two 1,000 lb bombs.

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