Bristol Beaufort
British twin-engined torpedo bomber of the WWII era / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Bristol Beaufort (manufacturer designation Type 152) is a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber.[2] At least 1,180 Beauforts were built by Bristol and other British manufacturers.
Type 152 Beaufort | |
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Colour photo of two Beaufort Mk.Is of 217 Squadron | |
Role | Torpedo bomber |
National origin | United Kingdom |
Manufacturer | Bristol Aeroplane Company |
First flight | 15 October 1938 |
Introduction | 1939 |
Retired | 1944 |
Primary users | Royal Australian Air Force RAF Coastal Command Fleet Air Arm |
Number built | 1,121 (+700 in Australia)[1] |
Developed from | Bristol Blenheim |
Variants | Bristol Beaufighter |
Beauforts first saw service with Royal Air Force Coastal Command and then the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm from 1940. They were used as torpedo bombers, conventional bombers and mine-layers until 1942,[3] when they were removed from active service and were then used as trainer aircraft until being declared obsolete in 1945.[4] Beauforts also saw considerable action in the Mediterranean; Beaufort squadrons based in Egypt and on Malta helped interdict Axis shipping supplying Rommel's Deutsches Afrikakorps in North Africa.
Although it was designed as a torpedo-bomber, the Beaufort was more often used as a medium day bomber. The Beaufort also flew more hours in training than on operational missions and more were lost through accidents and mechanical failures than were lost to enemy fire.[5] The Beaufort was adapted as a long-range heavy fighter variant called the Beaufighter, which proved to be very successful and many Beaufort units eventually converted to the Beaufighter.[6]
The Australian government's Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) also manufactured variants of the Beaufort. These are often known collectively as the DAP Beaufort.[7] More than 700 Australian-built Beauforts saw service with the Royal Australian Air Force in the South West Pacific theatre, where they were used until the end of the war.