Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter VI
| Crew | 2 |
| Dimensions | 57'10" by 41'8" by 15'10" 17.63m by 12.70m by 4.83m |
| Weight | 14,600-21,600 lbs 6620-9800 kg |
| Speed | 333 mph at 15,600 feet 536 km/h at 4800 m |
| Climb rate | 31 fps 9.4 m/s |
| Ceiling | 26,500 feet 8080 m |
| Powerplant | Two 1670 hp Bristol Hercules XVI 14-cylinder sleeve-valve radials driving three-bladed propellers |
| Armament | 4 20mm Hispano cannon fixed in underside of forward
fuselage One 0.303 Vickers K aimed by navigator Six 0.303 Browning machine guns, two fixed in left wing and four in right. |
| External stores | One 728kg torpedo on
centerline or
two
454kg
bombs. Wing racks for eight rocket projectiles could replace the wing machine guns. |
| Range | 1540 miles 2500 km |
| Production | A total of 5564 Beaufighters were build in England and 364 in
Australia. English production was 1851 Beaufighter VI, 2205 X and 163 XIC. The Australian production was 364 Beaufighter 21. |
| Variants |
Night fighter versions carried the AI Mk IV
radar. The Beaufighter X was armed with both rockets and wing machine guns. The Beaufighter 21 replaced the wing .303s with .50s and had a Sperry autopilot, but no torpedo capability. |
The Beaufighter was the result of an attempt to put a heavily armed long-range fighter into production using existing jigs as much as possible. Though not successful in the day fighter role, the Beaufighter was used in the Southwest Pacific with much success for low-level attacks. It was also modified for night fighter operations, at which it excelled. The Japanese nicknamed it the "Whispering Death" because its sleeve-valve radial engine was extremely quiet. It was one of a handful of aircraft types produced by the nascent Australian aircraft industry during the war, although aircraft produced in England also saw service in the Far East and southwest Pacific.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia (c) 2007 by Kent G. Budge. Index