Bristol Type 152 Beaufort

[trigger2]

An EW attack plane/torp bomber. Not high on the priority list, but an addition I would like to see in the long run.

In a hurry, so I'll just post this link for photos...

http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4ADBR_enUS315US316&q=Bristol%20Type%20152%20Beaufort&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi


Beauforts were most widely used, until the end of the war, by the Royal Australian Air Force in the Pacific theatre. Most of these planes were manufactured under licence in Australia. Beauforts also saw service with the Royal Air Force's Coastal Command — including Commonwealth squadrons serving with the RAF — and then the Fleet Air Arm from 1940, until they were withdrawn in 1944.

The Beaufort spawned a long-range heavy fighter variant called the Beaufighter, which proved very successful.

General characteristics

Crew: 4
Length: 44 ft 2 in (13.46 m)
Wingspan: 57 ft 10 in (17.63 m)
Height: 14 ft 3 in (4.34 m)
Wing area: 503 ft² (46.73 m²)
Empty weight: 13,107 lb (5,945 kg)
Loaded weight: 21,230 lb (9,629 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Bristol Taurus VI 14-cylinder radial engines[21], 1,130 hp (843 kW) each
Performance

Maximum speed: 271.5 mph (236 kn, 420 km/h) at 6,500 ft (1,981 m).[22]
Cruise speed: 255 mph at 6,500 ft (221 kn, 410 km/h) at 6,500 ft (1,981 m)[23]
Range: 1,600 mi (1,400 nmi, 2,600 km)
Service ceiling: 16,500 ft (5,030 m)
Wing loading: 42.2 lb/ft² (206 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.106 hp/lb (175 W/kg)
Armament


Guns:

3 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers GO machine guns (two in dorsal turret, one in port wing).
1 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine gun in rear-firing chin blister
Bombs:

1 × 1,605 lb (728 kg) 18 in (457 mm) Mk XII torpedo or.
2,000 lb (907 kg) of bombs or mines (something else to use as an anti-GV weapon? ).

[lyric1]

It would be low down on the list of things however

[Guppy35]

And the Beaufighter would do the same job but better!

[trigger2]

And the Beaufighter would do the same job but better!

Eh, for the EW varients, that's iffy...
Couple of the design flaws...

The Bristol Taurus engines of the Beaufort were not powerful enough for a fighter and were replaced by the more powerful Bristol Hercules. The extra power presented problems with vibration; in the final design they were mounted on longer, more flexible struts, which stuck out from the front of the wings. This moved the centre of gravity (CoG) forward, a bad thing for an aircraft design.

In general, the differences between the Beaufort and Beaufighter were minor. The wings, control surfaces, retractable landing gear and aft section of the fuselage were identical to those of the Beaufort, while the wing centre section was similar apart from certain fittings. The bomb-bay was omitted, and four forward-firing 20 mm Hispano Mk III cannons were mounted in the lower fuselage area. These were initially fed from 60-round drums, requiring the radar operator to change the ammunition drums manually — an arduous and unpopular task, especially at night and while chasing a bomber.

By fighter standards, the Beaufighter Mk.I was rather heavy and slow. It had an all-up weight of 16,000 lb (7,000 kg) and a maximum speed of only 335 mph (540 km/h) at 16,800 ft (5,000 m).

[Clone155]

1 × 1,605 lb (728 kg) 18 in (457 mm) Mk XII torpedo or.
2,000 lb (907 kg) of bombs or mines (something else to use as an anti-GV weapon? ).

I think in this case they meant anti-ship mines.

[Skulls22]

Reminds me of the Beofighter