Bristol Beaufort Mk.IA torpedo bomber 1:48 New 2025

Bristol Beaufort Mk.IA torpedo bomber 1:48 New 2025

New edition 2025. Superb all plastic kit with decals for three aircraft.

Bristol Beaufort Mk.IA torpedo bomber

DX135, No.5 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit, Long Kash, 1943
LR906, No.2 Torpedo Training Unit, Castle Kennedy, September 1943
DW816, 22 Sqn., Ceylon (Sri Lanka), April 1944

The Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber was developed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was a four-seat, twin-engine aircraft with a mid- wing configuration and an all-metal structure. Its defensive armament included a rearward-facing machine gun turret for protection of the rear hemisphere, as well as machine guns mounted in the fuselage sidewalls for firing to the sides. In the nose, one or two Vickers machine guns on a movable mount could be installed for front hemisphere defense, and some aircraft also had a lower machine gun position for shooting rearward. From the end of 1939, the Bristol Beaufort began to be deployed with the RAF Coastal Command. The aircraft started its combat operations in April 1940, conducting airmining of sea harbors, performing daylight and nighttime torpedo attacks, and bombing coastal targets. The Mk.IA modification received a new machine gun turret, and radar systems (ASV) were installed on some torpedo bombers for ship detection. The aircraft were actively used in naval combat and bombing raids over German-occupied territory. From around 1943, most British Bristol Beauforts were primarily used for training and auxiliary roles.