[spidge]

177 Squadron and the Bristol Beaufighter.

Read more at the link:
The Bristol Beaufighter

The Bristol Beaufighter

The Bristol Beaufighter, the plane flown by 177 Squadron, was well known in many theatres of fighting in World War II, but it was in the Pacific in particular that "Beaufighter squadrons" had a unique reputation. To the Japanese soldiers, the aircraft was known as "Whispering Death", because missions were usually flown at tree-top level, avoiding radar and visual contact until the moment of attack. Here are some excerpts about the Beaufighter from Chapter 2 of "Silently into the Midst of Things":

The Bristol Beaufighter was a remarkable aircraft. It was not a truly beautiful plane like the DeHavilland Mosquito but it had rugged good looks, great strength and power, good speed at low elevations and a most formidable and flexible armament. Its premier role was as a nightfighter but it was also intended from concept to be a long-range fighter. It also developed into an antishipping and ground attack cannon and rocket-firing fighter, torpedo plane and tactical bomber. Its versatility and heavy armament were the subject of a Wren cartoon in Flight magazine in 1944, a humorous interpretation that sums up the aircraft’s virtues in unique fashion.

The development of the aircraft progressed from the Mark I with Bristol Hercules VI engines to the Mark II with Rolls Royce Merlins Xs or XXs to Mark VIs and Xs with Hercules XVII rated at 1,735 hp each. A A 177 Beau over the Irrawaddy deltaic plain (fig.12 courtesy of N. Boyd) ll Marks had four fixed Hispano-Suiza 20 mm cannons in the belly and most had six Browning .303 calibre machine guns in the wings. Later adaptations installed long-range fuel tanks rather than the machine guns and had a rear-firing Vickers gun in the observer’s cupola. Various Marks or adaptations could mount rockets, bombs or a torpedo.

The Beaufighter layout consisted of a roomy pilot’s cockpit in the snub nose with an unexcelled forward view, and an observer’s cupola in the dorsal position with a good view aft. Pilot and observer were not in direct sight communication if the pilot’s armoured doors were closed. The fuselage between pilot and observer was largely occupied by four cannons and their magazines which held 250 rounds per gun. The observer was navigator, wireless operator and rear gunner. Primary entry for both positions was by hatch doors with ladders that folded flush with the belly when closed. The pilot had an emergency upper hatch and the observer’s cupola opened.