The Bristol Beaufighter was designed as a two-seat long-range fighter. To speed up production many parts of the older Bristol Beaufort were used. The tail, landing gear and wings of the Beaufort were transplanted to the Beaufighter and most units were equipped with airborne radar located in the nose for night-fighting. The Mk. IF was the initial production and fitted with four 20 mm cannons in the nose along with six 7.7 mm machine guns in the wings. The Beaufighter TF Mk.X was the last major version with 2,231 built. No 254 Squadron was formed in May 1918 and disbanded on February 22, 1919. No. 254 was reformed on October 30, 1939 at Stradishall flying Blenheims to protect shipping. In 1940 the squadron was transferred from Fighter to Coastal Command and began reconnaissance missions as well as defensive tasks. In June 1942 the squadron converted to the Bristol Beaufighter and joined the strike wing at North Coates for the duration. On October 1st, 1946 the 254 was renumbered 42 Squadron. Aircraft QM-F RD351 was one of 500 manufactured at Old Mixon Shadow Factory, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. diecastmilitarymodels.co.uk/shop/diecast-172-military-aircraft/ha2311-bristol-beaufighter-tf-mk-x-rd315-coastal-squadron-254-1944/
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 08:00:00 +0000
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