Bristol Beaufighter

monkeyhanger · July 23, 2009, 02:21:21 PM

Always been a favourite of mine. I was thinking about the use of the Beaufighter after World War II and came up with the idea of deleting the rear turret and adding large calibre rockets under the wings. Weight can be saved by deleting the wing machine guns and there is always room under the fuselage for extra fuel. Photos to follow.

Captain Canada · July 23, 2009, 02:25:23 PM

Great idea ! I've always wanted to do a Merlin powered Beaufighter....they just look so tough !

famvburg · July 23, 2009, 02:57:21 PM

I've got one in my stash that I'm planning on re-engining with R-2800s, deleting the turret & painting it in SEA camo as a USAF COIN a/c, weaponed accordingly. I've always liked the looks of the Beau.

rickshaw · July 24, 2009, 12:59:13 AM

Err, Beaufighters didn't have a turret. The navigator had a clear canopy but that didn't even mount a gun until later versions and even then, its traverse was so limited and the fin blocked so much of it, its value was very limited (and more often than not even carried).

You could I suppose cut down the rear fuselage and eliminate the Navigator's position but who'd then load the fresh drums on the 20mm cannon? You'd also have to enlarge the fin significantly to take into account the loss of keel surface, while the tailplanes would also I'd suggest need to be enlarged to cure the associated problems with swing which were only cured when they applied some pretty deep dihedral to the tailplanes.

Zeke · July 24, 2009, 01:53:55 AM

Quote from: Captain Canada on July 23, 2009, 02:25:23 PM
Great idea ! I've always wanted to do a Merlin powered Beaufighter....they just look so tough !

Oh yes!

Zeke · July 24, 2009, 01:57:32 AM

Quote from: rickshaw on July 24, 2009, 12:59:13 AM
Err, Beaufighters didn't have a turret. The navigator had a clear canopy but that didn't even mount a gun until later versions and even then, its traverse was so limited and the fin blocked so much of it, its value was very limited (and more often than not even carried).

Wello, that's not quite true you know...the Mk.V had a four-gun Boulton Paul turret mounted on the fuselage just aft of the cockpit...although there were only ever two built, they did both see operational service...apparently they was crap!...

Weaver · July 24, 2009, 04:18:47 AM

I know the point of the Beaufighter was to use the Beaufort wing jigs, but if they had decided to go to more trouble over it, I wonder what the resultant slim-fuselage Beaufighter might have looked like? Approaching the condition of a radial-engined Hornet I suspect....

The other thing I'd like to do to a Beaufighter is give the cannons belt-feed and then move the Nav forward to a position behind the pilot, where he could be far more effective (back-up pilot, torpedo-aiming etc...): effectively a Mark -1 Brigand.

famvburg · July 24, 2009, 05:40:57 AM

Over on another forum, seceret projects maybe, I remember a short discussion on the slimmed-down proposal.

Quote from: Weaver on July 24, 2009, 04:18:47 AM
I know the point of the Beaufighter was to use the Beaufort wing jigs, but if they had decided to go to more trouble over it, I wonder what the resultant slim-fuselage Beaufighter might have looked like? Approaching the condition of a radial-engined Hornet I suspect....

The other thing I'd like to do to a Beaufighter is give the cannons belt-feed and then move the Nav forward to a position behind the pilot, where he could be far more effective (back-up pilot, torpedo-aiming etc...): effectively a Mark -1 Brigand.

kitnut617 · July 24, 2009, 07:58:01 AM

Quote from: Zeke on July 24, 2009, 01:57:32 AM
Quote from: rickshaw on July 24, 2009, 12:59:13 AM
Err, Beaufighters didn't have a turret. The navigator had a clear canopy but that didn't even mount a gun until later versions and even then, its traverse was so limited and the fin blocked so much of it, its value was very limited (and more often than not even carried).

Wello, that's not quite true you know...the Mk.V had a four-gun Boulton Paul turret mounted on the fuselage just aft of the cockpit...although there were only ever two built, they did both see operational service...apparently they was crap!...

I think if they had used a Hercules powered version it might have been better, the Merlin powered Beaufighter's handling wasn't the best. But then the Air Ministry was obsessed with the turreted fighter concept at the time and tried to put turrets onto anything.

Captain Canada · July 24, 2009, 08:01:09 AM

Grabbed a Beaufighter today...now I just have to dig out one of my derelict Lancs.....

kitnut617 · July 24, 2009, 08:08:32 AM

Quote from: Weaver on July 24, 2009, 04:18:47 AM

The other thing I'd like to do to a Beaufighter is give the cannons belt-feed and then move the Nav forward to a position behind the pilot, where he could be far more effective (back-up pilot, torpedo-aiming etc...): effectively a Mark -1 Brigand.

They did have belt-feed, reading the book about John Cunningham's Nightfighter exploits written by his navigator Rawnsley (I think), he describes how he had to reload the guns originally but then they were switch and he doesn't say anything more about having to reload. There's a photo in Beaufighter in Action of the original gun on page 43, and another photo of the belt-fed guns on page 12. As an aside the 60 round drum gun was the type put into the Lincoln/Shackleton dorsal turret (at least that's what the parts look like which Aeroclub put out)

GTX · July 24, 2009, 12:09:09 PM

Suggest merger with this thread.

Regards,

Greg

jcf · July 24, 2009, 10:27:59 PM

Only the first 400 Beaus had the drums on the cannons, from airframe 401on the guns were equipped with the Chatellerault recoil-operated belt feed.

Ironically, Bristol had designed and tested an almost identical (and actually superior) recoil-operated feed months before the Chatellerault system drawings arrived in Britain with Free French officers. The MAP had rejected the Bristol recoil-operated design but had approved another Bristol design for a compressed-air motor servo feed that used a continuous belt. The servo feed was to go into production on aircraft 51, but with the official change to the Chatellerault system introduction of belt-feed was delayed until September 1941 with aircraft 401. Either Bristol design could have been in service a year earlier.

Aside from feed mechanism, the cannons themselves were basically the same.

Jon

Cobra · July 24, 2009, 10:39:21 PM

Super Sweet Plane

Always thought Bristol made 'Top Notch' Aircraft

Keep up the Great Work,Anything as Cool Coming?

?

Radish · August 15, 2009, 03:04:26 AM

With the "new" Revell TF.X out in 1/72nd, proposed models are:

a REAL TF.X from 1949
USN/USMC Sea Blue Gloss folded wing Beau
RAF 2-gun turreted example...4 cannon plus the turret.
Something else??
A Biggles example from "Biggles Delivers The Goods"...standard SEAC colouring, but ship launched TF.X, so even though it's RAF, a modified camouflage? Dark Blue replacing the Dark Green?