Editing Bristol Beaufighter (section)

==Operational service==

===Introduction===
[[File:Beaufighter252sqn.jpg|thumb|Bristol Beaufighter Mk.1 in No. 252 Squadron, North Africa]]
The Beaufighter Mk.I was heavier than single-pilot fighters, with an all-up weight of 16,000&nbsp;lb (7,000&nbsp;kg), and slower, with a maximum speed of 335&nbsp;mph (540&nbsp;km/h) at 16,800&nbsp;ft (5,000&nbsp;m). It was the only heavy fighter aircraft available, as the Westland Whirlwind had been cancelled due to production problems with its [[Rolls-Royce Peregrine]] engines.<ref name = "bower 262"/> On 12 August 1940, the first production Beaufighter was delivered to [[RAF Tangmere]] for trials with the [[Fighter Interception Unit]]. On 2 September 1940, [[No. 25 Squadron RAF|25 Squadron]], [[No. 29 Squadron RAF|29 Squadron]], [[No. 219 Squadron RAF|219 Squadron]], and [[No. 604 Squadron RAF|604 Squadron]] became the first operational squadrons to receive production aircraft, each squadron received one Beaufighter that day to begin converting from their [[Bristol Blenheim|Blenheim IF]] heavy fighters.<ref name = "moyes 6"/><ref name = "bower 262">Bowyer 2010, p. 262.</ref> The re-equipping and conversion training process took several months; on the night of 17/18 September 1940, Beaufighters of 29 Squadron conducted their first operational night patrol, conducting an uneventful sortie; the first operational daylight sortie was performed on the following day.<ref name = "moyes 7">Moyes 1966, p. 7.</ref> On 25 October 1940, the first confirmed Beaufighter kill, a [[Dornier Do 17]], was made.<ref name = "moyes 10">Moyes 1966, p. 10.</ref>

Initial production deliveries of the Beaufighter lacked the radar for night-fighter operations; these were installed by [[No. 32 Maintenance Unit RAF|No. 32 Maintenance Unit]] at [[RAF St Athan]] during late 1940.<ref name = "moyes 10"/> On the night of 19/20 November 1940, the first kill by a radar-equipped Beaufighter occurred, of a [[Junkers Ju 88]].<ref name = "moyes 10"/> More advanced radar units were installed in early 1941, which soon allowed the Beaufighter to become an effective counter to the night raids of the ''[[Luftwaffe]]''. By March 1941, half of the 22 German aircraft claimed by British fighters were by Beaufighters. During a raid on London on the night of 19/20 May 1941, 24 aircraft were shot down by fighters, against two by [[Anti-aircraft warfare|ground anti-aircraft fire]].<ref name = "moyes 10"/>

In late April 1941, the first two ''Beaufighter Mk.II'' aircraft, ''R2277'' and ''R2278'', were delivered to [[No. 600 Squadron RAF|600]] and 604 Squadrons; the former squadron was the first to receive the type in quantity in the following month.<ref name = "moyes 10 11">Moyes 1966, pp. 10–11.</ref> The Mk.II was also supplied to the [[Fleet Air Arm]] of the [[Royal Navy]].<ref name = "moyes 11">Moyes 1966, p. 11.</ref> A night-fighter ''Beaufighter Mk.VIF'' was supplied to squadrons in March 1942, equipped with [[AI Mark VIII radar]]. The Beaufighter showed its merits as a night fighter, and also performed in other capacities.<ref name = "moyes 3"/> As the faster [[de Havilland Mosquito]] took over as the main night fighter in mid-to-late 1942, the heavier Beaufighter made valuable contributions in other areas such as anti-shipping, ground attack and long-range interdiction, in every major theatre of operations.

[[File:Aircrew of No. 16 Squadron SAAF and No. 227 Squadron RAF sitting in front of a Bristol Beaufighter at Biferno, Italy, prior to taking off to attack a German headquarters building in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, 14 August 1944. C5894.jpg|thumb|left|Aircrew of [[No. 16 Squadron SAAF]] and No. 227 Squadron RAF sitting in front of a Beaufighter at [[Biferno]], [[Italy]], on 14 August 1944]]
On 12 June 1942, a Beaufighter conducted [[Ken Gatward#Operation Squabble|a raid]] which Moyes said was "perhaps the most impudent of the war".<ref name = "moyes 14"/> ''T4800'', a Beaufighter Mk.1C of No. 236 Squadron, flew from [[Thorney Island (West Sussex)|Thorney Island]] to occupied [[Paris]] at an extremely low altitude in daylight to drop a [[Flag of France|French tricolor flag]] on the [[Arc de Triomphe]] and strafe the [[Gestapo]] headquarters in the [[Place de la Concorde]].<ref name = "moyes 14"/>

The Beaufighter soon commenced service overseas, where its ruggedness and reliability quickly made the aircraft popular with crews. However, it was heavy on the controls and not easy to fly, with landing being a particular challenge for inexperienced pilots.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bristol Beaufighter|url=http://www.aviation-history.com/bristol/beaufite.html|publisher=Aviation History|access-date=27 October 2015}}</ref> Due to wartime shortages, some Beaufighters entered operational service without feathering equipment for their propellers. As some models of the twin-engined Beaufighter could not stay aloft on one engine unless the dead propeller was feathered, this deficiency contributed to several operational losses and the deaths of aircrew.<ref>Bailey 2005, p. 114.</ref>

In the Mediterranean, the [[United States Army Air Forces]] (USAAF) [[414th Combat Training Squadron|414th]], [[415th Special Operations Squadron|415th]], 416th and [[417th Weapons Squadron|417th]] night fighter squadrons received a hundred Beaufighters in the summer of 1943, achieving their first victory in July 1943. Through the summer, the squadrons conducted daytime convoy escort and ground-attack operations but primarily flew as night fighters. Although the [[Northrop P-61 Black Widow]] fighter began to arrive in December 1944, USAAF Beaufighters continued to fly night operations in Italy and France until late in the war. By the autumn of 1943, the Mosquito was available in enough numbers to replace the Beaufighter as the primary RAF night fighter. By the end of the war some 70 pilots serving with RAF units had become [[Flying ace|aces]] while flying Beaufighters. At least one captured Beaufighter was operated by the ''Luftwaffe''&nbsp;– there is a photograph of the aircraft in flight with German markings.<ref>Roba 2009, p. 140.</ref>

===Coastal Command===
[[File:Royal Air Force Coastal Command, 1939-1945. CH9765.jpg|thumb|A Mk.VIC loaded with an [[British 18 inch torpedo#18 inch Mark XII|
18-inch Mark XII torpedo]]]]
It was recognised that RAF Coastal Command required a long-range heavy fighter aircraft such as the Beaufighter, and in early 1941 Bristol proceeded with the development of the ''Beaufighter Mk.IC'' long-range fighter. Based on the standard Mk.I model, the initial batch of 97 Coastal Command Beaufighters were hastily manufactured, making it impossible to incorporate the intended additional wing fuel tanks on the production line; 50-gallon tanks from the [[Vickers Wellington]] were temporarily installed on the floor between the cannon bays.<ref name = "moyes 11"/> In April/May 1941, this new variant of the Beaufighter entered squadron service in a detachment from [[No. 252 Squadron RAF|252 Squadron]] operating from [[Malta]]. This inaugural deployment with the squadron proved to be highly successful, leading to the type being retained in that theatre throughout the remainder of the war.<ref name = "moyes 11"/> In June 1941, the Beaufighter-equipped [[No. 272 Squadron RAF|272 Squadron]] based on Malta claimed the destruction of 49 enemy aircraft and the damaging of 42 more.<ref name = "moyes 14">Moyes 1966, p. 14.</ref> The Beaufighter was reputedly very effective in the [[Mediterranean]] against Axis shipping, aircraft and ground targets; Coastal Command was, at one point, the majority user of the Beaufighter, replacing its inventory of obsolete Beaufort and Blenheim aircraft. To meet demand, both the Fairey and Weston production lines were, at times, only producing Coastal Command Beaufighters.<ref name = "moyes 11"/>

[[File:Beaufighter 252 Squadron.jpg|thumb|Bristol Beaufighter Mk.Ic of the [[No. 252 Squadron RAF|252 Squadron]] RAF, 1942]]
In 1941, to intensify offensive air operations against Germany and deter the deployment of ''Luftwaffe'' forces onto the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]], Coastal Command Beaufighters began offensive operations over France and Belgium, attacking enemy shipping in European waters.<ref name = "moyes 13">Moyes 1966, p. 13.</ref> In December 1941, Beaufighters participated in [[Operation Archery]], providing suppressing fire while [[British Commandos]] landed on the occupied Norwegian island of [[Vågsøy]]. In 1942, long range patrols of the [[Bay of Biscay]] were routinely conducted by Beaufighters, intercepting aircraft such as the Ju-88 and [[Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor]] operating against Allied anti-submarine patrols.<ref name = "moyes 13"/> Beaufighters also cooperated with the British [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|Eighth Army]] during action in the [[Western Desert Campaign]], often by ground [[strafing]].<ref name = "moyes 14"/>

In mid-1942, Coastal Command began to take delivery of the improved ''Beaufighter Mk.VIC''. By the end of 1942, Mk.VICs were being equipped with external torpedo-carrying gear for the [[British 18-inch torpedo|British 18&nbsp;in (450&nbsp;mm)]] or the US 22.5&nbsp;in (572&nbsp;mm) torpedo; navigators were not happy about carrying the torpedo, as they were unable to use the escape hatch until after the torpedo had been dropped. In April 1943, the first successful torpedo attacks by Beaufighters was performed by [[No. 254 Squadron RAF|254 Squadron]], sinking two merchant ships off Norway.

[[File:Royal Air Force Coastal Command, 1939-1945. CH13179.jpg|thumb|left|A TF Mk.X being loaded with RP-3 rockets]]
The Hercules Mk.XVII engine, developing 1,735&nbsp;hp (1,294&nbsp;kW) at 500&nbsp;ft (150&nbsp;m), was installed in the Mk.VIC airframe to produce the TF Mk.X (torpedo fighter), commonly known as the "Torbeau". The Mk.X became the main production mark of the Beaufighter. The strike variant of the Torbeau was called the Mk.XIC. Beaufighter TF Xs could make precision attacks on shipping at wave-top height with torpedoes or [[RP-3]] (60&nbsp;lb) rockets. Early models of the Mk.X carried centimetric-wavelength ASV (air-to-surface vessel) radar with "herringbone" antennae on the nose and outer wings, but this was replaced in late 1943 by the centimetric AI Mk.VIII radar housed in a "thimble-nose" radome, enabling all-weather and night attacks.
[[File:Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Coastal Command C4944.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Two [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] Beaufighters - one visible at the right - [[strafing]] [[Vorpostenboot]] ''[[German trawler V 1605 Mosel|Mosel]]'', 14 October 1944]]
The North Coates Strike [[Wing (military aviation unit)#Current use|Wing]] of Coastal Command, based at [[RAF North Coates]] on the Lincolnshire coast, developed tactics that combined large formations of Beaufighters, using cannons and rockets, to suppress flak, while the Torbeaus attacked at low level with torpedoes. These tactics were put into practice in mid-1943, and in ten months 29,762&nbsp;tons (84,226 m<sup>3</sup>) of shipping were sunk. Tactics were further refined when shipping was moved from port during the night. The North Coates Strike Wing operated as the largest anti-shipping force of the Second World War, and accounted for over 150,000&nbsp;tons (424,500 m<sup>3</sup>) of shipping and 117 vessels, most of which were small fishing and coastal vessels, for a loss of 120 Beaufighters and 241 aircrew killed or missing. This was half the total tonnage sunk by all strike wings between 1942 and 1945.

===Pacific War===
[[File:Beaufighter (AWM OG0001).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Beaufighter of [[No. 30 Squadron RAAF]] adjacent to Hombrom's Bluff near [[Port Moresby]] in [[Papua New Guinea]], 1942.]]
The Beaufighter arrived at squadrons in Asia and the Pacific in mid-1942. A British journalist said that [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] soldiers called it the "whispering death" for its quiet engines, although this is not supported by Japanese sources.<ref name = "moyes 3">Moyes 1966, p. 3.</ref><ref>Bowyer 1994, p. 90.</ref> The Beaufighter's Hercules engines used [[sleeve valve]]s, which lacked the noisy valve gear common to [[poppet valve]] engines. This was most apparent in a reduced noise level at the front of the engine.

In the [[South-East Asian Theatre]], the Beaufighter Mk.VIF operated from India as a night fighter and on operations against Japanese lines of communication in Burma and Thailand. Mk.X Beaufighters were also flown on long range daylight intruder missions over Burma. The high-speed, low-level attacks were very effective, despite often atrocious weather conditions and makeshift repair and maintenance facilities.<ref>Browne, Anthony Montague, Long Sunset: Memoirs of Winston Churchill's Last Private Secretary London 1995 Chapter 3 {{ISBN|0304344788}}</ref>

====Southwest Pacific====
[[File:Bismarck Sea 127968.jpg|thumb|Flight Lieutenant Ron "Torchy" Uren of [[No. 30 Squadron RAAF]] takes a drink from his water canteen while in the cockpit of his Beaufighter during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Still frame from ''[[The Bismarck Convoy Smashed]]'' (1943) by [[Damien Parer]]]]
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was a keen operator of the Beaufighter during the Second World War. On 20 April 1942, the RAAF's first ''Beaufighter IC'' (an Australian designation given to various models of the aircraft, including ''Beaufighter VIC'', ''Beaufighter X'', and ''Beaufighter XIC''), which had been imported from Britain, was delivered; the last aircraft was delivered on 20 August 1945.<ref name = "moyes 14"/> Initial RAAF deliveries were directed to [[No. 30 Squadron RAAF|No. 30 Squadron]] in [[New Guinea]] and [[No. 31 Squadron RAAF|No. 31 Squadron]] in North-West Australia.<ref name = "moyes 14"/>

Before DAP Beaufighters arrived at RAAF units in the [[South West Pacific Theatre]], the Beaufighter Mk.IC was commonly employed in anti-shipping missions. The most famous of these was the [[Battle of the Bismarck Sea]], during which Beaufighters were used in a fire-suppression role in a mixed force with USAAF [[Douglas A-20 Boston]] and [[North American B-25 Mitchell]] bombers.<ref name = "moyes 16"/> Earlier in the battle, eight Beauforts from [[No. 100 Squadron RAAF]] at [[Milne Bay]] had unsuccessfully attacked the Japanese troop convoy with torpedoes and scored no hits. Thirteen Beaufighters of No. 30 Squadron flew in at mast height to provide heavy suppressive fire for the waves of attacking bombers. The Japanese convoy, under the impression that they were under attack by Beaufort torpedo bombers, made the tactical error of turning their ships towards the aircraft to avoid presenting their sides to attack, which allowed the Beaufighters to inflict severe damage on the ships' anti-aircraft guns, bridges and crews with strafing runs along the length of the ships with their four 20&nbsp;mm nose cannons and six wing-mounted .303&nbsp;in (7.7&nbsp;mm) machine guns.<ref name="battleforaustralia.org.au">{{cite web |url=http://www.battleforaustralia.org.au/BABismarkSea.php |title=The Battle of the Bismarck Sea |publisher=Battle for Australia Association |access-date=21 November 2020}}</ref> The Japanese ships were left exposed to mast-height bombing and [[skip bombing]] attacks by the US [[medium bomber]]s. Eight transports and four destroyers were sunk for the loss of five aircraft, including one Beaufighter.<ref name = "moyes 16"/><ref name="Bradley2010"/>

The role of the Beaufighters during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea was recorded by war correspondent and film-maker [[Damien Parer]], who had flown during the engagement standing behind the pilot of one of the No. 30 Squadron aircraft; the engagement led to the Beaufighter becoming one of the more well-known aircraft in Australian service during the conflict.<ref name = "moyes 16"/><ref name="Bradley2010">Bradley [https://books.google.com/books?id=l7BVAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA20 2010, p. 20.]</ref> On 2 November 1943, in another high-profile event Beaufighter ''A19-54'' won the second of two unofficial races against an A-20 Boston bomber.<ref name = "moyes 16"/>

===Postwar===
[[File:Armourers of the Royal Air Force attach rockets to a Bristol Beaufighter aircraft of 45 Squadron prior to its flying a strike operation on a communist terrorist target in the Malayan jungle.jpg|thumb|A [[No. 45 Squadron RAF|45 Squadron]] Beaufighter is loaded with rockets for use against communist forces during the [[Malayan Emergency]], 1948–1949]]
From late 1944, RAF Beaufighter units were engaged in the [[Greek Civil War]], finally withdrawing in 1946 From August 1948, Beaufighters were used during the [[Malayan Emergency]], carrying out air strikes against communist forces. Initially this was done by a detachment from [[No. 84 Squadron RAF|84 Squadron]] but they were later replaced by all of [[No. 45 Squadron RAF|45 Squadron]]. In December 1949, 45 Squadron's Beaufighters were replaced with the [[Bristol Type 164 Brigand]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jackson |first=Robert |title=The Malayan Emergency and Indonesian confrontation : the Commonwealth's wars |publisher=Pen & Sword Aviation |year=2011 |isbn=9781848845558 |oclc=752679822}}</ref> which had been designed using components of the Beaufighter's failed stablemate, the [[Bristol Buckingham]].

The Beaufighter was also used by the air forces of [[Portuguese Air Force|Portugal]], Turkey and the Dominican Republic. It was used briefly by the [[Israeli Air Force]] after some ex-RAF examples were clandestinely purchased in 1948.

Many Mk.10 aircraft were converted to the target tug role postwar as the TT.10 and served with several RAF support units until 1960. The last flight of a Beaufighter in RAF service was by TT.10 ''RD761'' from [[Seletar Airport|RAF Seletar]] on 12 May 1960.<ref>Thetford, 1976. p. 144.</ref>