Picture of Bristol Beaufighter
WW2 Fighter

The RAF was aware in 1939 that it only had short range fighters like the Hurricane and Spitfire, they had to be "scrambled" in to action as they lacked the range and endurance to provide standing patrols. The Bristol Beaufighter was a private venture by the Bristol Aeroplane Company using the major components from the existing Beaufort torpedo-bomber with a new main fuselage and engine mounts to produce a twin engined long endurance fighter to meet Air Ministry specification F. 17/39. A production contract for 300 aircraft was placed by the Air Ministry on the 3rd July 1939, two weeks prior to the first flight of the prototype Beaufighter by Captain Uwins. The Bristol Beaufighter, entered service in 1940, when it proved it's worth as a very successful night-fighter, by the end of 1940 Beaufighter were being used as day fighters over the Western Desert and eventually replaced the Beaufort as a torpedo-bomber.

Bristol Beaufighters saw action throughout WW2 including the Pacific theatre where the Japanese called the Beaufighter "The Whispering Death". Beaufighters were primarily used by the RAF but were also flown by the air forces of Australia, New Zealand and the US, when the last Bristol Beaufighter left the production line on the 21st September 1945, a total of 5,562 Beaufighters had been produced, they remained flying with the RAF until the late 1950's in a target tug role. The picture on this page depicts a Bristol Beaufighter TFX

Bristol Beaufighter X Specifications:

• Crew: Pilot and Observer

• Length: 41 ft 4 in (12.6 m)

• Wingspan: 57 ft 10 in (17.65 m)

• Height: 15 ft 10 in (4.84 m)

• Maximum weight: 25,400 lb (11,521 kg)

• Engines: Twin 1,600 hp Bristol Hercules 14-cylinder radial engines

• Maximum speed: 320 mph (515 km/h)

• Range: 1,750 mi (2,816 km)

• Service ceiling: without torpedo, 19,000 ft (5,795 m)

• Rate of climb: with torpedo, 1,600 ft/min (490 m/min)

Armament:

• four Hispano 20 mm cannon in nose

or

• four .303 machine guns (starboard wing) and two .303 machine guns (port wing)

• Eight RP-3 rockets or two 1000 lb bombs

or

• Single manually-operated Vickers GO or .303 Browning for observer

• Single 18-inch torpedo