Editing Bristol Beaufighter (section)

===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>