Editing Bristol Beaufighter (section)

===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.