British Type 156 ''Beaufighter'' Fighter Plane

By Crusader1307

Developed in 1939 and deployed in 1940, The Type 156 “Beaufighter” was envisioned as a Heavy Fighter. It became a Multi-Function Warplane, capable of Night Operations, Bombing and Close Ground Support. The Type 156 was part of the principle Defense Squadrons deployed during The Battle of Britain (1940) and later some of the first to have installed Airborne Radar Systems. So effective, The “Beaufighter” was adopted into The Royal Navy and was also used by several Commonwealth Countries. The US Army Air Corps. deployed (4) Squadrons in Europe as well. There were no less than (17) variations manufactured up to 1960 (and it's discontinuation for Service). Crewed by (2), The Type 156 was 40-feet long with a wingspan of 60-feet. It was powered by Twin Hercules 14-Cylinder Radial Engines capable of an airspeed of 320-mph. The Type 156 could range uo to 1,750-miles. It had an operational ceiling of 19,000-feet. The “Beaufighter” was armed with (4) 20mm Mark II which were Nose mounted. An additional Machine Gun platform was installed in an Observation Turret. This package was a single .303 Cal. Machine Gun. The Type 156 also carried (8) Wing mounted 60-pound Rockets for Ground Support Operations. It could also carry (2) 250-pound Bombs. The “Beaufighter” was also configured to support Torpedo deployment. The Royal Australian Air Force was the last to deploy Type 156. Nearly 6,000 Type 156s were manufactured.