The Big, Brave Beaufort.
In his analysis of the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber in the May 2007 issue of Aeroplane Monthly, Roger Hayward describes the aircraft as The RAF's Unsung Hero. It's a fitting description for what was a good, hardy aeroplane that is somewhat neglected in assessments of which were the greatest combat aircraft of World War Two. Despite its less than stellar reputation, the Beaufort had a rich combat career, both on the home front and in North Africa and over the Mediterranean, as well as in Australian hands against the Japanese in the Pacific theatre. Designed by Scotsman Frank Barnwell, the Beaufort was an evolution of the Blenheim and shared its overall configuration, although being physically larger and heavier than the earlier machine. Initially powered by two 1,130 hp Bristol Taurus sleeve valve radial engines, later variants were fitted with 1,200 hp Pratt and Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines, including Australian built aircraft. A total of 1,429 Beauforts were produced by Bristol at Filton and Banwell, with a further 700 built by the Department of Aircraft Production at Fisherman's Bend and Mascot, Australia.
Entering RAF service with 22 Squadron at Thorney Island in November 1939, the Beaufort remained at the frontline until July 1944, whithin which time the aircraft had notched up a few notable successes against enemy shipping. This included torpedoeing the German big ships Gneisenau and Lutzow; action against the former earned Fg Off K. Campbell a posthumous Victoria Cross. Torpedo and mine laying sorties against The Desert Fox Erwin Rommel's supply chain to North Africa yielded success for the Beaufort, often against formidable odds, where losses suffered by the Beaufort squadrons were high. In RAAF service, the Beaufort achieved success as an attack aircraft, seeing only limited action in its intended role; the first examples entering RAAF service with 100 Sqn in February 1942. Air strikes against Japanese held territory in New Guinea occupied the RAAF's Beauforts throughout 1942 and into 1944. From then on, operations were in support of ground troops against the retreating Japanese forces. Somewhat notably, Beauforts accounted for the losses of several Aichi E13A 'Jake' seaplanes and causing damage to the submarine I-174, as well as the cruisers Kiso and Tama. RAAF Beauforts remained in operation until the end of the war. A significant aircraft for the burgeoning Australian aviation industry, the Beaufort was the first modern all-metal monoplane built in Australia and gave the country an advanced production capability.
Often criticised for suffering heavy losses in action, the Beaufort's raison d'etre ensured that this was going to be the case. As a torpedo bomber, pilots were expected to fly at speeds of not more than 180 mph at around 70 feet above the water's surface at a range of 1,000 to 2,000 yards from their targets, although operational experience proved that 700 to 800 yards from the target gave better odds at success, although increasing the likelyhood of being shot down. This was initially because the Beaufort was expected to carry the British Mk.XII 18-inch torpedo, which was first developed in the Great War for dropping from biplane Sopwith Cuckoos. That its crews performed this daunting task and suffered severe losses throughout most of the war is a testimony to their courage. Few of these men would have wanted a better mount in which to have gone to war in, however; the Beaufort was a popular machine and easy to fly; it took great amounts of battle damage and could handle the 'down and dirty'. My walkaround is of one of only a few survivors and the only one extant outside of Australia; the RAF Museum's DD931, being a hybrid example built from several Aussie Beaufort Mk.VIIIs. No complete Bristol built Beaufort survives. Click on the image to go to the Beaufort page.
