Bristol Beaufort

Maritime patrol · Bristol Aeroplane Company · United Kingdom

Typical crew4
Engines2 × Bristol Taurus
First flight1938
Number built1,180

Photographs

Royal Air Force Coastal Command, 1939-1945. Bristol Beaufort Mark I, N1174, of the Coastal Command Development Unit based at Carew Cheriton, fitted with early ASV (air-to-surface vessel) Mark II radar, while undergoing trials. The transmitter antenna is the black object mounted under the nose, the receiver is the much larger black antenna fitted under the wing, roughly centred in the image.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ASV_Mk.II_testing_on_Bristol_Beaufort_CH15217.jpgView source & full licence →
Radar and Electronic Warfare 1939-1945 Aircraft Navigation and Guidance: Close-up of the radar antennae fitted beneath a Bristol Beaufort aircraft for anti-submarine warfare.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ASV_Mk_II_radar_transmitter_antenna_on_Bristol_Beaufort.jpgView source & full licence →
Beaufort Mark I, L9878 'MW-R', of No.217 Squadron RAF based at St Eval, Cornwall, in flight. The squadron operated the Mk I from September 1940 to November 1941.
ⓘ licence & creditCharles E. Brown / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force,_1939-1945;_Bristol_Type_152_Beaufort_(IWM_COL_181).jpgView source & full licence →
Beaufort Mark I, L9878 'MW-R', of No.217 Squadron RAF based at St Eval, Cornwall, in flight.
ⓘ licence & creditUnknown authorUnknown author / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force,_1939-1945;_Bristol_Type_152_Beaufort_(IWM_COL_181)_(cropped).jpgView source & full licence →
Aircraft of the Royal Air Force in the Second World War- 1939-1945- Bristol Type 152 Beaufort. The fifth prototype Beaufort, L4445, parked at Gosport, Hampshire, while undergoing trials with the Torpedo Development Unit. This aircraft eventually served with No. 15 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit at Chivenor, Devon, before crashing into the sea on 1 March 1942.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_in_the_Second_World_War-_1939-1945-_Bristol_Type_152_Beaufort._MH134.jpgView source & full licence →
Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bristol Type 152 Beaufort. Four Beaufort Mark IIs of No. 86 Squadron based at Skitten, Caithness, flying in loose starboard echelon formation.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Woodbine G (Flying Officer) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bristol_Type_152_Beaufort._CH7949.jpgView source & full licence →
Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bristol Type 152 Beaufort. Beaufort Mark I, X8931 'L2'. of No. 5 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit based at Chivenor, Devon, in flight over the sea.
ⓘ licence & creditForward (Flying Officer), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bristol_Type_152_Beaufort._CH5963.jpgView source & full licence →
Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bristol Type 152 Beaufort. Bristol Beaufort Mk I, N1172 'AW-S', of No 42 Squadron RAF based at Leuchars, Fife, in flight.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Woodbine G (Mr) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bristol_Type_152_Beaufort._CH2772.jpgView source & full licence →
Image from the Charles Daniels Photo Collection album "British Aircraft." SOURCE INSTITUTION: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
ⓘ licence & creditSan Diego Air & Space Museum Archives / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:15_Bristol_Beaufort_Bristol_Taurus_VI_Engine_(15835799565).jpgView source & full licence →
Image from the Charles Daniels Photo Collection album "British Aircraft." SOURCE INSTITUTION: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
ⓘ licence & creditSan Diego Air & Space Museum Archives / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:15_Bristol_Beaufort_Bristol_Taurus_VI_Engine_(15650663297).jpgView source & full licence →

About

The Bristol Beaufort was a twin-engined torpedo bomber developed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company from its earlier Blenheim light bomber, with which it shared much of its structure and layout. First flown in 1938 and powered by two Bristol Taurus radial engines, it carried a crew of four and could deliver an 18-inch torpedo, bombs or sea mines. From 1940 it served as RAF Coastal Command’s standard torpedo bomber, flying anti-shipping strikes and mine-laying around the coasts of occupied Europe — among them Flying Officer Kenneth Campbell’s Victoria Cross attack on the battlecruiser Gneisenau at Brest in April 1941. It was withdrawn from front-line European service from 1942 as the Beaufighter took over the torpedo role, and was also built in large numbers in Australia for the war in the Pacific.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including Classic Warbirds — Bristol Beaufort and Wikipedia — Bristol Beaufort. The text is original and has been written from factual source material; no source text has been copied unless specifically quoted and attributed.

Engines

Airframes in this database

SerialCodeSquadronFate
N1016 OA-X — Lost on operations