The Bristol Beaufighter was a remarkable aircraft. It was not a truly beautiful plane like the DeHavilland Mosquito but it had rugged good looks, great strength and power, good speed at low elevations and a most formidable and flexible armament. Its premier role was as a nightfighter but it was also intended from concept to be a long-range fighter. It also developed into an antishipping and ground attack cannon and rocket-firing fighter, torpedo plane and tactical bomber. Its versatility and heavy armament were the subject of a Wren cartoon in Flight magazine in 1944, a humorous interpretation that sums up the aircraft’s virtues in unique fashion.

The development of the aircraft progressed from the Mark I with Bristol Hercules VI engines to the Mark II with Rolls Royce Merlins Xs or XXs to Mark VIs and Xs with Hercules XVII rated at 1,735 hp each. A

A 177 Beau over the Irrawaddy deltaic plain (fig.12 courtesy of N. Boyd)

ll Marks had four fixed Hispano-Suiza 20 mm cannons in the belly and most had six Browning .303 calibre machine guns in the wings. Later adaptations installed long-range fuel tanks rather than the machine guns and had a rear-firing Vickers gun in the observer’s cupola. Various Marks or adaptations could mount rockets, bombs or a torpedo.

The Beaufighter layout consisted of a roomy pilot’s cockpit in the snub nose with an unexcelled forward view, and an observer’s cupola in the dorsal position with a good view aft. Pilot and observer were not in direct sight communication if the pilot’s armoured doors were closed. The fuselage between pilot and observer was largely occupied by four cannons and their magazines which held 250 rounds per gun. The observer was navigator, wireless operator and rear gunner. Primary entry for both positions was by hatch doors with ladders that folded flush with the belly when closed. The pilot had an emergency upper hatch and the observer’s cupola opened.

Evolution of the Beaufighter The Bristol Aeroplane Company showed considerable foresight and initiative developing the Beaufighter in the uncertain prelude to the Second World War. As a company they had a history of developing designs independent of specifications issued by the Air Ministry. The Blenheim line of twin-engined fighters and light bombers were developed in the mid-1930s from an initiative of the company and Lord Rothermere to produce the type 142 (Turner, 1936) which certainly had resemblances to its successor, the Beaufighter (Figure 71). The origin of the Bristol Beaufighter (see Bingham, 1994, for extensive details) followed from the Air Ministry recognition in 1938 that they had a problem in having neither a cannon-armed fighter nor a nightfighter on the stocks. Bristol was in process of developing the Beaufort torpedo bomber and their new chief designer, Leslie G. Frise, made a proposal to the Ministry for the creation of two-seater,cannon-armed fighter. The original proposal in October 1938 envisaged development of this new fighter from major components of the Beaufort (wings, rear fuselage and tail unit) using the Beaufort’s jigs. The proposal had the prospect of rapid development. Nevertheless the project languished for lack of Ministry decision, but Bristol pushed ahead with serious design work on a fighter powered with twin Bristol Hercules VI radial sleeve-valve engines and mounting four 20mm Hispano-Suiza cannons within the fuselage firing forward. When decisions were made, the proposed aircraft was accelerated by reduction of normal staged procedures because of the component situation, the company’s record and the progress of design. Production of prototypes was delayed by unexpected difficulty in adapting Beaufort components and over-optimistic forecasts of availability of Hercules VIs. As a result not only prototypes but early production models were fitted with Herc IIs or Ills. The first prototype, R2052, was not flown until 20 June 1939 and was followed by the first production order on 26 June. However a high production priority was not received until the end of 1939. Initially it was proposed that Beaufighters would equip nightfighter squadrons on the basis of two to Fighter command to one for Coastal but this was quickly changed to delivery of the first 100 Beaus to four nightfighter squadrons. Delivery started at the beginning of September 1940. Development and adaptation of armament, armour and radar proceeded in parallel with the development of the aircraft. The first Marks were heavily armed with four H-S 20mm cannons and six .303 Browning machine guns firing forward. Later adaptations eliminated the machine guns in favour of long-range fuel tanks, fitted rocket rails for eight 60 lb high-explosive or 20 lb armour-piercing rockets, placed a rear-firing Vickers K machine gun with limited traverse in the cupola with the observer, developed Torbeaus to launch 18 inch Mark XV torpedoes, and some models to deliver two 500 lb bombs. Experiments were also made with mounting a Boulton Paul four-gun turret (Beau Mark V) and a prototype mounting two 40mm cannons. Other engines were considered or fitted to Beaufighters, most notably Rolls Royce Merlin XXs in Beau IIs, of which 450 were built and were used mostly as nightfighters. Generally pilots who flew Hercules-powered aircraft much preferred these to Beau IIs which were judged to be under-powered. Experiments were also made with Rolls Royce Griffons lIb and Wright Cyclone R2600s engines. The Beaufighter was a heavy aircraft partly because it was fitted with considerable armour; a flat bulletproof windscreen, non-magnetic armour plate in front of the instrument panel, under the pilot’s and observer’s seats, and doors behind the pilot and beside the rear wing spar protecting the fuel tanks. The engines themselves provided considerable protection to the pilot. Aircraft-mounted radar grew up with the Beaufighter. The fourth Beaufighter prototype (R2055) was fitted with Airborne Interception (AT) Mark III radar that gave strong signals from targets three or four miles ahead. Development paralleled that of the sinister-looking, black-clad nightfighing Beau. Production models were fitted with the AT Mk IV to Mk lOs as these evolved.

177 Squadron flew the later Marks of Beau, VIs at first then mostly TFXs (Torpedo Fighter Mark X). Many of the latter were fitted with non-jettisonable rocket rails. Many pilots preferred the VIs to the Xs because they were faster and were not fitted with rocket rails. Actually, the difference in cruising speed between Beaus with fixed rail and jettisonable installations was supposed to be only 4 knots. However, many thought the average Mark VI was about 15 knots faster than the X with fixed rails. There was no denying that rockets were very effective against shipping and tanks. 177 was one of the few squadrons to fly XIs but there were not enough of these for pilots to have strong opinions about them. The main difference from the TFX was that they did not carry torpedo launching gear.

On 177 Squadron the pilots were involved in long-distance flights at the limits of the aircraft’s endurance so they cruised at high boost and low revolutions to save fuel — commonly flying at 180 knots except on target, when under fire or during evasive action when they might go though the throttle gate for short periods and might exceed 260 knots (300 mph) at sea level (see Appendix 2, Handling of Beaufighters and Performance).

The squadron pilots were not a demonstrative bunch and rarely beat up the field after a ‘good show’, possibly because they were nearly out of gas. So little did they perform egotistic manoeuvres that a Dakota squadron sharing Feni with them did not think they were fighter pilots on ops. Occasionally someone would blast over the mess or briefing room at about 20 feet which would certainly startle all inside. Whatever the origin of the sobriquet ‘Whispering Death’, it certainly was true that with such an approach one heard nothing on the ground until one nearly soiled one’s trousers with surprise. A few pilots barrel-rolled Beaus, but not near the deck because none of the observers liked it. A manoeuvre pilots did like was steep turns along the deck in humid conditions (most of the time) when the wingtip vortexes created vapour trails and a strong whistling sound to external observers.

The pilots also liked having a bulletproof windscreen, considering they were frequently diving at an enemy who was firing at them. However the plane-sloped surface of the windscreen was not designed for tropical downpours, when it became opaque with sheet flow. Pilots were saved flying along the deck under such conditions by opening the vent windows at the sides through which, with the neck of a giraffe, one got a small glimpse of reality.

The ruggedness of the plane’s construction was another thing Beau pilots all liked and to which many owed their lives. The photos of Beaus with trees in their wings, or missing wingtips, large holes in the airframe and engines, crashes and belly landings in which most of the crew survived made them all believers. They might have been scared white at OTU, flying clapped-out Beau Ils at night but, once experience was gained on these remarkable aircraft, they flew the later Marks with bravura and confidence.

Beaufighter Links on the Internet All about Beaufighter Squadrons Fighter Collection - excellent details on the restoration of a Beaufighter Beautifully illustrated history of Beaufighter camoflauge in various campaigns! Australian Aircraft group's page about Beaufighters, including serial number lists Fleet Air Arm Archives - The Beaufighter Combat Aircraft of the Pacific War - the Beaufighter (good illustrations and specs) Photos of a Beaufighter restoration at the USAF museum in Dayton Ohio Good photo collection of various Beaufighters British Aviation Resource Center - War Birds Resource Group - Beaufighters Good photo collection of various Beaufighters Good set of photos from the Australian 31 Beaufighter Squadron Nice collection of Beaufighter photos sent in from various sources A complete, original, Beaufighter Pilot's Manual on line - some pages take a long time to load, but worth it. Covers the Mark VI - Two Hercules VI Engines and Marks TFX & XI - Two Hercules XVII Engines Very detailed photos of a restored Beaufighter in Australia