Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Two-seat twin-engine long-range fighter

Power Plant:

Two 1,294 kw (1,735 hp) Bristol Hercules XVIII fourteen-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial engines

Specifications:

Armament:

Four 20 mm Hispano cannon with 283 rounds per gun; four 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine
guns; one 748 kg (1,650 lb) or 1,030 kg (2,270 lb) torpedo; two 113 kg (250 lb)
bombs or eight 41 kg (90 lb) rockets

History:

The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter was conceived basically as a fighter variant of the Beaufort bomber. Ultimately it exceeded all expectations, and became one of the most successful aircraft in its role, having the distinction of operating in every campaign during World War II.

On 17 July 1939, eight months after the initiation of the design to meet a British Air Ministry specification, the prototype Beaufighter (R2052) flew, powered by two 1,044 kw (1,400 hp) Bristol Hercules I-SM two-speed supercharged air-cooled radial engines. Production began immediately at Filton in South Gloucestershire, UK with deliveries to the RAF beginning on 27 July 1940. Subsequently the Beaufighter was produced in some numbers fitted with either the Bristol Hercules radial engine or the Rolls Royce Merlin, and it was operated as a torpedo bomber, long-range fighter, night fighter, and anti-shipping strike fighter.

Official trials commenced after the prototype was delivered to the RAF in April 1940 and a maximum speed of 539 km/h (335 mph) was attained at 5,121 m (16,800 ft). In due course, in view of the demands for the Hercules engine for the Short Stirling, three Beaufighters were allocated to Rolls Royce in 1939 for consideration of installing the Rolls Royce Griffon engine. Two were delivered (R2058 and R2061) and were fitted with 802 kw (1,075 hp) Merlin engines, being followed in December 1941 by the Beaufighter II with the 955 kw (1,280 hp) Merlin XX engine.

As production built up at the Bristol facility at Filton, a Bristol-operated shadow plant was built at Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, and production also commenced at the Fairey Aviation facility at Stockport in Greater Manchester. Development continued with the installation of airborne interception radar for night fighting, and one was tested with two 40 mm cannon. New operational roles were looked at, and variants for Coastal Command were developed for shipping strikes. Others were fitted out for desert warfare.

The Beaufighter operated in India, Burma and the south-west Pacific. A number were allotted to USAAF night fighter squadrons. Variants were built to carry both the American 57 cm (22.5 in) and British 45.7 cm (18 in) torpedoes, trials being carried out at Gosport in Hampshire in the United Kingdom. More powerful Bristol Hercules XVII engines were installed, these providing 1,294 kw (1,735 hp).

The last Beaufighter (SR919) left the Bristol works on 21 September 1945, some 5,562 having been built in the United Kingdom, of which 1,063 were Mk VIs and 2,231 were Mk Xs.

During 1941-1942, 327 Beaufighters built in the UK were supplied to the RAAF. In addition, the type was placed in production in Australia, with some 365 being completed. In early 1941 Australia had a need for a two-seat long-range fighter and to this end a decision was made to build the Beaufighter, the Australian model to be a variant of the TF Mk X with 1,283 kw (1,735 hp) Bristol Hercules XVIII engines, these to be supplied from the United Kingdom, this model to be known as the Mk 21.

At first it was proposed to build a variant similar to the Mk VIC with Bristol Hercules XXVI engines but, because delays in the delivery of engines was thought to be a possibility, one (A19-2), a British-built machine, was fitted with Wright Cyclone 14-cylinder two-row GR-2600-A5B engines. These engines, being of larger diameter than the Hercules, necessitated the enlargement of the nacelles. In the event no difficulty was experienced in obtaining Hercules engines and all production aircraft in Australia were fitted with the Hercules XVIII engine, which was similar to the Hercules XVII but with both supercharger gears fully operational.

Over 600 sub-contractors were involved in producing parts and these were spread throughout the country. Main assembly lines were set-up at the State Government Railway Workshops of NSW (Chullora), Victoria (Newport) and South Australia (Islington). The aircraft were completed at Mascot, NSW, and at Fishermens Bend, VIC.

The Beaufighters proved very popular with their crews, earning the name ‘Whispering Death’. Designated Beaufighter Mk 21, the first Australian machine flew on 26 May 1944, and the last was delivered on 10 January 1946. Although 450 were ordered, 365 were constructed, one (A8-172) being destroyed in an accident prior to delivery.

The main distinguishing feature between the English and Australian-built machines was the bulge ahead of the cockpit on the latter, this being designed to take a Sperry autopilot but this was not usually installed. In addition, four 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine guns replaced the six 7.69 mm (0.303 in) machine guns in the wings. Due to the conclusion of hostilities, many late production aircraft were placed directly into storage on completion.

The Beaufighter was the product of improvisation but was remarkably successful, operating in every major campaign throughout World War II, carrying out the last operational sorties of the European War, being operated in the night fighter role during the Luftwaffe’s blitz of Britain in 1940-1941, and operating with great success in the Pacific region against Japanese forces.

Australian units which operated the type against Japanese forces included No 30 Squadron, formed at Richmond, NSW on 9 March 1942 and disbanded at Deniliquin, NSW in August 1946; No 31 Squadron formed at Wagga Wagga,NSW on 14 August 1942 which was disbanded at Williamtown, NSW on 9 July 1946; and No 93 Squadron formed at Kingaroy, QLD on 22 January 1945. The type also saw service with No 5 Operational Training Unit (OTU).

After the war a number remained in service and were used for search-and-rescue work, target towing, and rainmaking experiments (A8-367), etc. Last flight of an RAAF Beaufighter was in April 1958 (A8-357). Most were eventually sold for scrapping by scrap metal merchants.

Australian-built Beaufighters were: Mk 21 A8-1 to A8-365 (365 aircraft). British-built Beufighters for Australia were Mk I A19-1 to A8-72 (72 aircraft); Mk IV A19-73 to A8-104 (32 aircraft); Mk VI A19-105 to A8-136 (32 aircraft), but A19-105 crashed in the United Kingdom before delivery; Mk X A19-149 to A8-150, A19-153 to A8-155, A19-159 to A8-162 and A19-164 to A8-218 (62 aircraft); Mk XI A19-137 to A8-148, A19-151 to A8-152, A19-156 to A8-158, A19-160 to A8-161 and A19-163 (20 aircraft).

Approximately a dozen Beaufighter airframes have survived and work has been progressing towards getting three flying. One (X7688/G-DINT) is being rebuilt by SkySport Engineering in the United Kingdom. Another (X7688) is being rebuilt at Hatch in the UK. A TF Mk X (RD253) has been rebuilt and is on display at the RAF Museum at Hendon in Greater London, UK. Another, comprising the British-built centre section of JM135 and Australian-built Mk 21 (A8-144) has been under restoration to airworthiness at Duxford in Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom.

A Mk 21 (A8-328) is complete and on display at the Australian National Aviation Museum at Moorabbin, VIC; A8-186 and the cockpit section of A8-386, have been restored for static display and are on display at the Camden Museum of Aviation at Narellan, NSW.

A BeaufighterMk 1c A19-43, which was obtained from the Moorabbin Aircraft Museum in 1988, was partially rebuilt in Sydney, NSW using parts from T5049, and is now on display at the USAF Museum at Dayton, Ohio painted as the aircraft flown by Capt Harold Augspurger when he was Commander of No 415 Night Fighter Squadron, USAAC.

The remains of a number of other Beaufighters, including a new centre-section, have been collected from all over Australia and the Pacific Islands by the Historic Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS), are being used at Albion Park, NSW to rebuild a Beaufighter Mk 21 (A19-148) to airworthiness.

The Museum of Flight at East Fortune, near Edinburgh, Scotland has been restoring a TT.10 (RD220), an airframe obtained from the South African Air Force Museum, which was formerly from Portugal. The National Aviation Museum at Rockcliffe, Ontario, Canada has a  Beaufighter TT.10 (RD867). One of the problems with restoring a Beaufighter to airworthiness has been the lack of suitable engines, the only engines available being Bristol Freighter units.