Bristol Beaufort
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| Bristol Beaufort | ||
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| Description | ||
| Role | Light and torpedo bomber | |
| Crew | Four | |
| First flight | October 15, 1938 | |
| Entered service | October 1939 | |
| Manufacturer | Bristol Aeroplane Company | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Length | 44 ft 2 in | 13.46 m |
| Wingspan | 57 ft 10 in | 17.63 m |
| Height | 14 ft 3 in | 4.34 m |
| Wing area | 503 ft² | 46.73 m² |
| Weights | ||
| Empty | 13,107 lb | 5,945 kg |
| Loaded | 21,230 lb | 9,629 kg |
| Maximum takeoff | lb | kg |
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines 2 x | Bristol Taurus VI 14-cylinder radial engines Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp | |
| Power 2 x | Bristol Taurus | |
| 1,130 hp | 843 kW | |
| Twin Wasp | ||
| 1,200 hp | kW | |
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | Clean | |
| 260 mph | 418 km/h | |
| With torpedo | ||
| 225 mph | 362 km/h | |
| Combat range | 1,600 miles | 2,575 km |
| Ferry range | miles | km |
| Service ceiling | 16,500 ft | 5,030 m |
| Rate of climb | ft/min | m/min |
| Armament | ||
| Guns | 3 x .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine guns (two in dorsal turret, one in port wing) 1 x .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine gun in rear-firing chin blister | |
| Bombs | 2,000 lb | 907 kg |
| Other | 1,605 lb (728 kg) torpedo | |
| Contents |
General description
The Beaufort (Bristol Type 152) was a large torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from the earlier Blenheim light bomber.
Beauforts were most widely used, until the end of the war, by the Royal Australian Air Force in the Pacific theatre. Most of these planes were manufactured under licence in Australia. Beauforts also saw service with the Royal Air Force's Coastal Command — including Commonwealth squadrons serving with the RAF — and then the Fleet Air Arm from 1940, until they were withdrawn in 1944.
Although the design looked similar in most ways to the Blenheim, it was in fact somewhat larger, and another crewmember was added (to make four), and it was considerably heavier. The weight proved too much for the Blenheim's Mercury engines, and so a switch to the larger Taurus engine was made. The Taurus proved to be a problem on the Beaufort, and overheating was a constant problem. This introduced delays into the production, so while the plane had first flown in October 1938 and should have been available almost immediately, it was not until December 1939 that production started in earnest, with service entry in August 1940.
A number of changes were introduced into the line, and after the 1014th had been delivered, all of these were collected into the new Mk.II. The Mk.II was different visibly primarily in the use of a flat bomb-aiming window under the nose. However it also included a second forward firing 0.303 in (7.7 mm) gun in the wing, a blister under the nose with a rearward firing gun, an improved dorsal turret with a newer Vickers K gun, an installation of the ASV Mk.II air-to-surface radar, removal of the Youngman trailing edges, retractable tailwheel, and improved airflow on some points of the aircraft. Performance, sadly, was not improved.
Oddly the first 165 of the Mk.II's were delivered with the Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp engines instead of the Taurus. The 166th on reverted to the Taurus, although the better performing and more common Twin Wasp seems like a much better fit for the aircraft. The Taurus engine was otherwise unused, and that production line could surely be put to better use.
The Beaufort was a slow aircraft, with a top speed of only 265 mph (430 km/h), which dropped to a mere 225 mph (360 km/h) when carrying a torpedo. Although it did see some use in the torpedo bomber role, notably in attacks on the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau while in port in Brest, the Beaufort was more often used as a mine-laying aircraft while in European service. It saw considerable action in the Mediterranean theatre, where it helped put an end to Axis shipping supplying Rommel.
Coastal Command regarded the Beaufort as a disappointment, but it turned out to make an excellent basis for a heavy fighter in the form of the Bristol Beaufighter. The Beaufighter was so superior to the Beaufort that a number were specially modified to carry a torpedo, and it replaced the Beaufort in service.
Australian-built Beauforts
With Britain's domestic aircraft industry working at capacity already in early 1939, the British Air Ministry instigated negotiations to set up parallel production lines in Australia, to supply both the RAF and the RAAF with Beauforts and Twin Wasp engines. Australia's tiny industrial base was barely up to the task of making a modern aircraft, but frantic efforts by the Australian Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) saw the first of an eventual 700 planes roll off the line in August 1941. The Australian made version is often known as the DAP Beaufort.
During the Pacific War, the Beaufort performed a vital role. With the United States unable to supply many aircraft to the RAAF, the DAP Beaufort became a mainstay of the RAAF during 1941-44. Production continued to increase, reaching almost one a day in 1943, and though inexperience and hurry combined to produce a horrendous accident rate early on, the Beaufort served with 19 squadrons and played a vital role in stemming the Japanese advance: as a maritime patrol aircraft, bomber, fighter-bomber, and most of all on maritime strike duties, where Beauforts sunk an impressive tonnage of merchant and naval shipping. After roughly 50 each of the Mk V, VI and VII and 520 Mk VIIIs, production ceased in favour of more modern types in 1944, and handful of Mk.VIII's were later modified as transports, known as the Mk.IX or "Beaufreighter".
Units using the Beaufort
Royal Australian Air Force
- No. 1 Squadron
- No. 2 Squadron
- No. 6 Squadron
- No. 7 Squadron
- No. 8 Squadron
- No. 13 Squadron
- No. 14 Squadron
- No. 15 Squadron
- No. 32 Squadron
- No. 100 Squadron
- Sub-squadron units
- 1 Communications Unit
- 3 Communications Unit
- 4 Communications Unit
- 5 Communications Unit
- 6 Communications Unit
- 8 Communications Unit
- 11 Communications Unit
- 9 Local Air Supply Unit
- 10 Local Air Supply Unit
- 12 Local Air Supply Unit
Royal Air Force
- No. 22 Squadron
- No. 39 Squadron
- No. 42 Squadron
- No. 47 Squadron
- No. 48 Squadron
- No. 69 Squadron
- No. 86 Squadron
- No. 100 Squadron
- No. 217 Squadron
Fleet Air Arm
- No. 728 Squadron
- No. 733 Squadron
- No. 762 Squadron
- No. 788 Squadron
- No. 798 Squadron
Royal Canadian Air Force
- No. 415 Squadron
Royal New Zealand Air Force
- No. 489 Squadron
External links
- Bristol Beaufort (http://www.military.cz/british/air/war/bomber/beaufort/beaufort_en.htm)
- A9 Bristol Beaufort (http://www.raafmuseum.com.au/research/aircraft/a2series/beaufort.htm)
| Related content | |
|---|---|
| Related development | Bristol Beaufighter |
| Similar aircraft | |
| Designation series | Type 130 - Type 142 - Type 152 |
| Related lists | |
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