Matrix Games Forums

Whats with this!!
I finally got a game to the point where I got my 1st Beaufighter Squadron.
Boy was I dissapointed.
I was really looking foward to employing them to shut down the Japanese barge traffic.

As medium bombers, you cannot do the following historical options.
1) Use them as LR cap. RAAF Beufighters ofter flew LRCAP patrols over friendly shipping.
2) Use them as Escorts. Again RAAF Beaufignters where occasionally employed in the LR Escort Role for other Bombers.
3) Use them as strikefighters!!!!
Their primary reason for existance, thats why they are called BeauFIGHTERS.
Thats why they also have that phenominal gun battery, to shoot up barges, and many other things, with....
4) Operate them from rough, Foward airstrips. Again the RAAF frequently operated Beaufighters from small fighter strips, rather than the nice runways that Medium bombers used.
5) Use them as Night Fighters. Another Mission that the RAAF was hsitorically able to perform with Beufighters.

As medium bombers, you get to do the following, compleatly unhistorical missions.
1) Transport supply missions, ok maybe the odd VIP was flown around in one.
2) ASW patrol missions, ur, how? Beaufignters couldn't carry DC's
3) Naval search missions. Beaufighters where too busy being used as strikeFIGHTERS, to ever be used in this manner.
Also the two man crew was a big limitation on performing search missions.

I LOVE the Beaufighter ! IIRC they can also carry torps. There is a fine example of this beautiful aircraft at the Mooorabbin Air Museum in Melbourne.

My friend Raverdave is right as usual, they are Deadly on Naval Strike at 200 Feet with Torps.

Only LBA AC that carries em, wish I had 3 more Sq`s at Buna

Raverdave, Black Cat.
Beauforts also are medium bombers that carry torpedoes.
In fact the name Beaufighter is a contraction of Beaufort Fighter.
As the Beaufighter was the Fighter varient of the Beaufort.
There are several squadrons of Beauforts in the game.
As it stands, they might as well have left the Beaufighter out of the game and made all the Beaufighter squadrons fly Beauforts.
They have them performing the exact same roles, with the only advantage the Beafighter having is that massive cannon arnament, which never gets used for naval strikes as it's busy dropping torpeoes instead.
If all the Beaufigher squadrons had beauforts, I wouldn't have to husband them as they can get replacements. Something the Beaufighter squadrons at present don't get.
While I'm ranting.
Do the Allies ever get replacement Spitfires?
If not, why bother including the RAAF Spitfire Squadrons?
They are virtually useless if you cannot replace loses...

Onya Possum.!!!!!

You are exactly correct in every respect regarding the much-loved RAAF Beaufighter Squadrons.
I also was extremely disappointed when I realised Matrix had got it wrong.

Thanks for spurring me to speak up.

To Matrix, please fix this cock up in your next bug. Other than that, love your work.

(Possum for Governor General !!!)

"To Matrix, please fix this cock up in your next bug."

Arrr, strike bug, insert Patch.

Well while we are dribbling about this and that to do with anything that is football, meatpies, kangaroos and holden cars, I remember seeing an old WW2 footage of a flight of three (IIRC) RAAF Beauforts taking off and stacking into each other only a few seconds after "wheels-up". I seem to recall that all three went down....very graphic footage.

Anyone know of a Beaufort that is in a museam anywhere?

I would much rather trade my B'forts for B'fighters......better range on the "Whispering Death".

Stubby331 and Possum raise some very very good points.

Oh and one other thing.....when are you guys going to stop pissing around and get your Flags flying on your avatars?;)

Hi all,

The Beaufighters we have in UV are "Beaufighters VIc".
Those are exclusive torpedo bombers and thus the level bomber
designation in UV.

Everything is OK history wise.


Leo "Apollo11"

Er...kinda

30 Squadron
Formed at Richmond New South Wales in March 1942, No 30 Squadron was quickly deployed to New Guinea, becoming the first RAAF Beaufighter squadron to see action in the Pacific Theatre. The Beaufighter, with its heavy cannon and machine gun armament, proved particularly effective against Japanese shipping and troop barges.
During the Battle of the Bismarck Sea - one of the decisive engagements of the Pacific Theatre - 30 Squadron Beaufighters flying at mast height, provided suppressive fire for following waves of allied bombers. The Japanese, under the mistaken impression that they were under torpedo attack, made a disastrous tactical error and turned their ships towards the Beaufighters, leaving them exposed to attack by American and Australian bombers. Eight troop laden transports and four destroyers were sunk in this battle for the loss of five aircraft, including one Beaufighter.

The day after this battle 30 Squadron attacked the Japanese base at Lae. Catching the base defenders unprepared, the Beaufighters destroyed six Zeros on the ground and extensively damaged base facilities.

Throughout the war, 30 Squadron Beaufighters ranged far and wide, attacking targets in the Celebes, Ambon, Ceram and the Halmaheras. Operating at low level - Beaufighter crews had little chance to escape if their aircraft was crippled - consequently high crew losses were to remain a hazard of Beaufighter operations throughout the War.

After the War, 30 Squadron undertook Target Towing and Special Duties at various bases throughout New South Wales, until the unit was disbanded in 1956.

and this.....



Bristol / DAP Beaufighter
(Data for Beaufighter 21)

TYPE: Two seat strike fighter.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Britain; licence built in Australia.
ENGINES: Two Bristol Hercules XVIII radial piston engines of 1,725 hp
DIMENSIONS:
Wing span: 57 ft 10 in / 17.63 m
Length: 41 ft 8 in / 12.7 m
Height: 15 ft 10 in / 4.82 m.
WEIGHTS:
Empty: 15,600 lb / 7,076 kg
Loaded: 25,400 lb / 11,521 kg
ARMAMENT: 4x 20 mm cannon, 4x .50 in. machine guns. Max. bomb load 2,000 lb / 907 kg; 8x 90 lb / 41 kg rocket projectiles
PERFORMANCE:
Max. speed: 278 kts / 515 kph
Max. cruise: 216 kts / 400 kph
Initial climb: 1,600 ft/ 487 m. per min
Service ceiling: 19,000 ft / 5,791 m.
Normal range: 1,277 n.mls / 2,365 km.
RAAF SERVICE:
1942-1957
with 22, 30, 31, 92 and 93 Squadrons. Australian operations in Europe with 455 & 456 Sqns.
Postwar, used for target towing and other duties.
Australia made considerable use of the Beaufighter, receiving 217 British-built aircraft (serialled in A19- range) and producing 581 in Australia (serialled from A8-1).
British deliveries included Mk.ICs, VICs, XICs amd TF.Xs, arriving between March 1942 and July 1944. By then Australia was turning out its own Beaufighter 21s from the Department of Aircraft Production plants (DAP) at Fishermen's Bend and Mascot. The Australian Beaufighter 21 was based on the British TF.X. The first of these was delivered in June 1944.
Beaufighters saw action in the Pacific theatre from 1942, with 30 Sqn. in New Guinea and 31 Sqn. in north-west Australia. Australians had already been operating the Beau in Europe since 1941, with 455 and 456 Sqns., in an anti-shipping role.




And this.....
The RAAF began operating the Bristol Beaufighter in June 1942, and had in all five Beaufighter squadrons. The Beaus created havoc with Japanese shipping from early in March, 1943.
93 Squadron was, however, formed late in the War, on 22nd January, 1945, at Kingaroy, Queensland, under command of S/Ldr. D.K.H. Gulliver. Its initial strength was five Australian-built Beaufighter 21s. These were similar to the "TFX" without the "thimble" nose and dorsal fin. They were strike aircraft, rather than torpedo bombers, armed with four .50 in. machine guns and four 20 mm cannon. An under-fuselage rack could carry a 2,000 lb. bomb, and the standard rocket load was carried under the wings. The pilot operated the weaponry. Crew navigators also specialised in wireless operation and flight signalling, and were described as navigator-wireless operators in the strike units. They handled navigation, reconnaissance, signals and post-sortie photography.


93 Sqn. RAAF Beaufighter SK-X / A8-129, with W/Os Dunn & Ellers and ground crew.

The Beaufighters of 93 Sqn. had an overall dark green finish. The relative silence of the Wright Cyclone GR2600 ASB engines, and the Beaufighter's speed, had earned the type the name "Whispering Death". 93 Sqn. was unofficially known as the "Green Ghost" squadron.
It remained at Kingaroy until July 1945, after which it was posted to the RAAF's 86 (Attack) Wing on Labuan Island, joining 1 Sqn. (equipped with Mosquitoes). This occurred during a period in which Australian forces felt they were being placed in second-string mopping up tasks behind the main action, overlooked but taking casualties nonetheless as they operated against a virtually defeated portion of the enemy forces.
Advanced parties of 93 reached Labuan in late May, and operational components arrived at Morotai in July. They flew their first operational sortie from Labuan on 26th July, 1945, two Beaufighters accompanying a 1 Sqn. Mosquito on an armed reconnaissance over Rajang, Mukah and Bintulu river areas of Borneo. They spotted and attacked with rockets a command building in Sibu (which according to later intelligence had a unit CO's briefing under way at the time). They then strafed part of nearby Bintulu.



The remainder of 93 Sqn. flew out of Kingaroy for Labuan. The squadron was now at full strength. 86 wing commenced full-scale offensive operations on August 7th, sending eight aircraft to attack a Japanese merchant vessel at the mouth of Tabuan river. Having totally demolished this target, they conducted a sweep for targets of opportunity in the form of Japanese shipping, ending in a leaflet drop over known Japanese troop positions.
On their return run, the sweep spotted a heavily camouflaged barge of uncertain identity. In case the barge was an Australian commando unit among those known to be operating in the area, five Beaufighters were detached to examine it. Seeing Japanese troops under the palm and bamboo cover, the aircraft strafed it with guns and rockets, sinking it.
An order was received on August 13th, suspending operations against the Japanese. It was rescinded the next day and the squadron resumed normal operations. Four Beaufighters carried out an armed reconnaissance of Kuching, whilst eight were assigned to attack Trombool barracks complex.
The four sent to Kuching made a low-level attack on the airfield, each making a single pass along the airstrip. 22 rockets hit the strip, destroying aircraft and cratering the runway. The Trombool group strafed two trucks on the road from Trombool, attacked the barracks with rockets and cannon, and dropped propaganda leaflets.

On August 15th, a signal came that the Japanese had formally surrendered (following the use of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki). 93 Sqn. was then assigned the task of leaflet dropping to inform the Japanese, the prisoner-of-war camps and the native population that the War had ended. Given the state of the Japanese communications at the time, there was some likelihood that the leaflets would not be believed.
Four Beaufighters were dropping leaflets in the Borneo region on the 16th when, making a drop over a village, the crew of A8-129 heard a tearing noise and saw a Zero fighter flash past. The pilot, W/O Ellers, brought the badly damaged and vibrating aircraft back to base, but was unable to lower the undercarriage. He landed wheels-up in the jungle to avoid damaging the airstrip, badly injuring himself and W/O Dunn, his navigator-wireless operator. Following this and other incidents, the RAAF suspended flights over Japanese-held areas until news of the surrender could be communicated to the Japanese command in Borneo and Malaya.

93 Sqn's SK-X / A8-129 after wheels-up landing at Labuan, August 1945.

This order lasted until September 11. Then, following aggressive acts by bands of Japanese, 93 Sqn. put up eleven aircraft as part of a show of strength. Later in September and into October, 1 and 93 Sqns. were assigned the role of sinking surplus US barges off the coast with rockets. They then filled an escort role, taking off on October 19th for Oakey, Qld. Nine Beaufighters escorting 15 Spitfires. The Beaufighters provided navigation and air-sea rescue capability, but such was the strain of the long trip that only nine Spitfires reached Oakey on the 29th, with seven of the Beafighters.
On December 10th, 1945, tragedy struck 93 Sqn. Their CO, S/Ldr Gulliver, was piloting a Beaufighter with a number of officers on board, including the CO of 86 Wing. It was seen to career off the strip and hit two parked P-51 Mustangs, erupting in flame.

Late in 1945, the 93 Sqn. Beaufighters were assigned to escort the Mustangs of 81 (Fighter) Wing en route for occupation duties in Japan. By December the squadron was merely a general duties unit, escorting allied aircraft returning to Australia. The first formation flew from Labuan in March 1946, with 93 Sqn. performing navigation and meteorological reconnaissance for Mustangs, and a Catalina providing air-sea rescue support. The last flights began in April, when, as the 93 Sqn. Beaufighters returned, they were sent for storage at Narromine. The last aircraft returned on May 14, 1946.
The squadron's disbandment parade was held on August 22nd, 1946. The RAAF continued using the Beaufighter until the type's last flight, on December 9th, 1957. An aircraft of No. 1 Trials Flight at Woomera range, South Australia flew to RAAF Edinburgh, SA for retirement and disposal.


And this.....

31 Squadron
31 Squadron formed following the Japanese capture of Timor on 19 February 1942.

S/L Bruce Rose was placed in temporary command until September 1942 when W/C Reed arrived on 1 September from 30S. The first Beaufighters arrived on 3 September 1942.

31 Squadron moved to Batchelor, near Darwin, on 27 October 1942 and from there to Coomalie Creek, 105 km south of Darwin, finally becoming operational on 13 November 1942, with 24 Beaufighters. Their first operational sortie was on 17 November 1942. The squadron carried out long distance raids of up to 6 hours duration, with no radio aids to assist navigation.

On 2 December 1942 a detachment was sent to Drysdale Strip in preparation for, what was to be, a successful raid on Penfoei. 31 Squadron's first air victory was claimed on 23 December 1942.

During January and February 1943 the squadron's Mk ICs were replaced with Mk VIs fitted with extra fuel tanks in lieu of the wing-mounted machine guns. They were also modified with a detachable 7.7 mm gun in the rear cupola, which usually fired tracer rounds.

From 19 – 30 March 1943 31 Squadron were placed on convoy escort duties.

On 2 May 1943, 5 Beaufighters took part in a raid on Penfoei to catch returning bomber and fighters that had attacked Darwin earlier that day. On 5 May 1943, 5 Beaufighters detached to Millingimbi for a raid on Taberfane, where Japanese float-planes were based. Millingimbi was used many times after that to provide an advance base for attacking Japanese bases in the Ararfura Sea area. Towards the end of May 1943, 31 Squadron's role was extended to attacking Japanese airfields to hamper raids on Australia. During July 1943 the squadron were back on convoy duties as well as carrying out raids on Selaru and Taberfane.

On 10 August 1943, the Japanese 7th Air Division withdrew from Ambon back to Wewak.

On 13 September 1943 W/C FWB Mann took over command from W/C Reed. During September 1943 field modification trials were carried out with fitting bombs under the fuselage of 4 aircraft:

2 x 45 kg
2 x 113 kg or
2 x 136 kg American demolition bombs
The bomb racks were taken from US Mitchells belonging to 18 Squadron. The modifications were a success, so they continued to used. The method of attack was to dive at the target at 25-30 dgrs, release bombs at the right moment, then pull up sharply (to avoid hitting the target!)

In November 1943, 31 Squadron moved to a new strip at Doka Barat, in the Aru Islands. Aircraft A19-148 was converted to photo-reconnaissance specification, with the forward hatch being replaced by a vertically mounted F-24 camera. The aircraft flew at 25,000 ft. Its first sortie was on 16 November 1943.

By December 1943 Japanese air strength had been reduced and most aircraft held were 965 km away. Raids on Darwin ceased.

The tactics adopted by 31 Squadron were as follows:

pre-flight checks by ground crews,
leader, in No. 1 aircraft, starts his take-off run first until he is ½ way down the runway, then …
No. 2 aircraft starts his take-off run, then No. 3, etc., until all aircraft are airborne.
No. 1 throttles back, making a wide sweep and returns as the last man takes off, who makes a steep turn to join the formation.
Normal flight formation was "loose vic", spaced 20-30 mts apart in their respective flights.
"Top cover" aircraft were positioned either side of the main group.
On arrival at the target the formation was "shallow vic", almost line-abreast,
top cover moves to 500-1000 ft.
The sortie ends when No. 1 calls "time up", when all aircraft break off and return.
Formation on return is line-abreast, so that if the group is attacked on the way home, some aircraft can drop back to box-in the attackers.
During January 1944 31 Squadron carried out offensive sweeps off Atapoepoe. On 19 February 1944 the bridge over Mina River was destroyed. This was the most important bridge in Timor, connecting Koepang with the interior.

On 9 March 1944 the entire squadron, comprising 14 Beaufighters and ground crew, detached to Potshot (now Learmonth) in readiness to attack the Japanese fleet, including aircraft carriers, assembling at Singapore.

On 23 March 1944 the squadron returned to Coomalie. On 28 March 1944 a detachment was sent to Drysdale for a raid on Roti Island, again on 31 March for a raid on Tenau Harbour and on 6 April for a raid on Seman Island. During April 1944 31 Squadron attacked Japanese bases on the North New Guinea coast to assist allied landings at Hollandia and Aitape.

W/C Mann was posted away from the squadron on 24 May 1944 and command passed to S/L Wentworth, who had been B Flight commander. At this time operations were at extreme range, often flying over 1000km to the target.

During August 1944 the 31 Squadron Beaufighters were equipped with RPs. The first operational flight with RPs took place on 29 September 1944, although on that occasion there were no kills.

Australian-built Beaufighters began arriving on 20 September 1944 with complete changeover by 3 October.

S/L J.A.P. Boyd, commander of A Flight, took over command of the squadron from S/L Wentworth during October 1944.

During October 1944, 31 Squadron was withdrawn from operations for aircraft servicing prior to a planned move to Noemfoor, which was later cancelled and so never took place. Following another postponed move to Noemfoor, during November 1944, operations were carried out in the Timor and Tanimbar areas.

The last operation by 31 Squadron was carried out in the North West Area on 21 November 1944. On 1 December the squadron's Beaufighters flew to Noemfoor, via Merauke, where they came under the command of the 1st Tactical Air Force. After 7 days they moved to Morotai to be integrated into 77 Wing.

And some more info:-

The Beaufighter was employed extensively in the war with Japan. Mk VIF's arrived in the Far East in 1942. Three squadrons operated the type from bases in India, primarily on night missions against Japanese lines of communication in Burma and Thailand. These high-speed, low-level attacks are said to have earned the aircraft the Japanese nickname 'Whispering Death'. These night interdiction operations were very effective, but losses were high, largely because of the poor ground facilities in the area and the difficult weather conditions.

Beaufighters were heavily employed in anti-shipping missions by Australian units of the South-West Pacific command - the most well-known action in which they were engaged being the 'Battle of the Bismarck Sea' in which they co-operated with American A-20 Bostons and B-25 Mitchells.

The RAAF in the South-West Pacific was initially equipped with Beaufighter Mk IC's. The urgent need for more aircraft to take part in anti-shipping missions led to plans for a Hercules-engined Mk VII to be built by the Australian Department of Aircraft Production, which was then engaged in the manufacture of Beauforts. However, fears that supplies of the Hercules engines could be disrupted led to proposals for the Mk VIII and Mk IX powered by Wright Double Cyclone engines.

Hercules availability was in fact maintained. The Australian Mk 21 powered by the Hercules XVIII entered service in 1944 and had a prominent role in the RAAF's support for the Allied advance into the East Indies.

Now I know that the following pics are not of RAAF Beaufighters, but it is such a beautiful design I posted them anyway!

This is O/T but what the hell:D

Spitfire MKVIII 457 Squadron RAAF flown by Wing Commander Glen Cooper


Spitfire MK Vc 54 Squadron RAAF flown by Squadron Leader E. Gibbs

Way to go Dave!!!

To summarise all above...

Matrix historians have made a complete cock up of RAAF Beaufighter deployed in UV.

Bring on the Beaufighter patch...

(I want some LRCAP action with "whispering death".)

I think Fighter/bomber is an apt description of the RAAF beaufighter.

Make it so.

I thought the beau fighter was a cock-up? is'nt that why they invented the mosquito?

A8 Beaufighter (Aust)
Although the number A7 was allocated through 1926-46 and the Beaufort became A9 in 1941, the prefix A8 was not used until 1944 when the Department of Aircraft Production Bristol Beaufighter 21 joined the RAAF. This anomaly came about when the numbers A8 to A12 were reserved in the late 1930s, because aircraft such as the A11 Southampton and A12 Bulldog were still in service.
In 1942, the British-built Beaufighter began operating with the RAAF under the designation A19. These aircraft proved to be extremely effective in operations, and DAP planned to produce an Australian version when the Beaufort contracts were completed. As a precaution against the unavailability of Hercules engines, a Fairey-built Beaufighter IC, A19-2, was fitted with Wright Double-row Cyclone engines. Subsequent trials proved quite successful, but the supply of Hercules never failed, and A19-2 remained a "one-off" experiment for the Australian Beaufighter.

Following the decision in January 1943, to commence Beaufighter production, the Bristol Company dispatched the drawings by Airgraph and some 55,000 miniature negatives were sent to DAP. Originally, it was planned to produce an Australian equivalent of the British Beaufighter, Mk VII, but throughout 1943 innovations such as dive-brakes and rocket projectiles began to be introduced. Mks VIII and IX were similarly superseded and finally a version basically similar to the British Beaufighter TF, Mk X, was produced and designated DAP Bristol Beaufighter 21. Unlike the British version, the ASV seamer and dorsal fin were never applied to the DAP Model. However, like the Mk Xs used by the RAAF in Europe all the Hercules XVIIs had their two-speed blowers made fully operational, thus becoming Hercules XVIIIs.

The first DAP Beaufighter was flown on May 26 1944, and five days later, the aircraft was taken over by the RAAF. As production mounted in the Fishermen's Bend and Mascot factories, the Australian A8 Beaufighter began to replace the British A19 Beaufighter. The smooth running sleeve-valve engine and the devastating fire-power of cannon rockets and machine-guns had already earned the Beaufighter the title of "Whispering Death" and the Australian version continued to wreak great havoc throughout New Guinea, the Celebes and the Philippines. The aircraft served with Nos 22, 30, 31, 92 and 93 Sqns, and when production ceased at the end of 1945, a total of 364 DAP Beaufighters had been built.

In the post-war years, Beaufighters continued to operate with No 30 Sqn, and they were gradually relegated to a target-towing role. Although most of the aircraft were withdrawn from service in 1955-56, two Beaufighters, A8-357 and 363, continued to be used at Woomera for missile aerial recovery duties, and these aircraft operated with Kangaroo roundels. The last aircraft, A8-357, was flown to Edinburgh for disposal by Wg Cdr Williamson on December 9 1957. One Australian-built Beaufighter, A8-328, has recently been located in a dilapidated condition at Portsea, Victoria, and it is believed that efforts are being made to restore this aircraft for historical display.

TECHNICAL DATA:
(DAP Beaufighter)

DESCRIPTION: Two-seat strike fighter

POWER PLANT: Two Briston Hercules XVIII radial engines.

DIMENSIONS: Span, 57 ft 10 ins; length, 44 ft 8 ins; height 15 ft. 19 ins.

WEIGHTS: Empty, 15,600 lb; loaded 25,150 lb.

PERFORMANCE: Max speed, 320 mph at 10,000 ft. Climb, 35 mins to 5,000 ft. Range, 1170 miles. Service ceiling 19,000 ft.

ARMAMENT: Four 20 mm cannons in fuselage nose and four 0.5 in. guns in the wings. A 0.3 in. gun could be mounted in the rear capola and eight rockets plus two 250 lb bombs could also be carried.

where are these great pics coming from? I love them! Are they from a website?

Here you go


Goto http://www.compass.dircon.co.uk/1aircraft.htm

A very nice site.

Thanks Dave!!! You're right it's an awesome site...

OK, enough of the banter. Lets get down to tacks. The following information is taken from the official RAAF museum website (as was my last posting). The RAAF Beaufighter was deployed as a two seat strike fighter NOT A TORPEDO BOMBER. This applies to both the British and Australian made versions (see prior posting).

I would rather have the RAAF Beaufighters in the role for which they were used in the theatre of operation ie. Ground attack, LRCAP and shipping strike in the form of rocket and cannon fire. NOT USING A TORPEDO, WHICH IS HISTORICALLY INACCURATE. Matrix need to correct this.

"The Beaufighter was conceived as a private venture by the Bristol Aeroplane Co. and the prototype first flew on July 17 1939. It was virtually a fighter version of the successful Beaufort design. As a long-range, hard-hitting aircraft, the Beaufighter appeared ideal for the Pacific war theatre, and plans were made to produce an Australian version under the A8 designation. Meantime, UK-built Beaufighters were imported and the first aircraft, A19-1, arrived on April 20 1942 and the last A19-218, on August 20 1945. These aircraft included Mks 1C, VIC, X and XIC, and the latter versions were fitted with dihedral tailplanes.
The Beaufighter commenced operations in 1942 with No 30 Sqn in New Guinea and No 31 Sqn in north-west Australia. In March 1943, the aircraft achieved world-wide fame when Damien Parer filmed the Battle of the Bismarck Sea over the shoulder of pilot Flt Lt "Torchy" Uren. Another kind of "victory" was claimed by No 30 Sqn at Goodenough Island on November 2, 1943, when A19-564 won the second of two unofficial races against a Boston of No 22 Sqn.
Most Beaufighters were camouflaged but at least two, A19-2 (which was experimentally fitted with Wright Cyclones) and A19-10, retained a silver finish. Superseded by the Australian-built A8 Beaufighter, the last A19 aircraft was taken off strength in 1951.
TECHNICAL DATA:
(Beaufighter VIC)
DESCRIPTION: Two-seat strike fighter. All metal stressed-skin construction.
POWER PLANT: Two 1670 hp Bristol Hercules.
DIMENSIONS: Span, 57 ft 10 ins; length, 41 ft 8 ins; height 15 ft. 10 ins.
WEIGHTS: Empty, 14,600 lb; loaded, 21,600 lb.
PERFORMANCE: Max speed, 315 mph at 14,00 ft. Initial climb, 2,000 ft/min. Range, 1,480 miles. Service ceiling, 26,500 ft.
ARMAMENT: Four 20 mm cannons in fuselage nose, and six 0.303 guns in the wings."