Bristol Beaufighter  

Bristol Beaufighter

During 1941 to 1945, from Egypt to Austria, an extraordinary aircraft was flown, called the Bristol Beaufighter. The project started in 1938 when the RAF asked the different companies to present a powerful twin-engine heavy fighter. The Beaufighter was designed to be one of the best planes in its category. The Beaufighters never fought in dogfights at high altitudes, instead when they arrived at their objectives, they would shoot at a short range and at low altitudes. Of all the aircraft that were built during World War II, the Beaufighter held the record for modifications. One variant changed the engines, another modified its wings, one had machine guns removed and replaced them with supplementary fuel tanks. Another variant had bombs installed under its wings and it became a bomber; sailors also hung torpedoes under the belly, which allowed it to become a torpedo bomber. In September 1945 more then 4 562 Beaufighters had been built up and many of them served until 1950.

 

  Specifications

Full Name

Bristol Beaufighter Mk X

Type

Fighter

Origin

UK

Manufacturer

Bristol

Wingspan

17.63 m

Length

12.70 m

Height

4.83 m

Weight

Empty:7076 kg

Maximum Speed

512 km/h

Range

2913 km

Engine

2 x 1770 hp Bristol Hercules XvII

Armament

4 x 20 mm cannon, 1 x .303in machine gun, external torpedo, bomb and rocket load of 1111kg.

Crew

3-4

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