page_title: Bristol Beaufighter
section_title: Pacific War
hierarchical_section_title: Bristol Beaufighter / Operational service / Pacific War
caption_attribution_description: Australian War Memorial (AWM) catalog number OG0001 Sourced from: http://www.awm.gov.au/database/collection.asp Copyright: The AWM record for this photo states that the copyright status is 'clear'. The photo was taken in 1942. Higher resolution images may be ordered through the AWM (Source: email from the AWM to Nick Dowling 6 January 2006). AWM Caption: NEW GUINEA. C. 1942. BEAUFIGHTER AIRCRAFT OF NO. 30 SQUADRON RAAF (PILOT FLYING OFFICER R. J. BRAZENOR; OBSERVER SERGEANT F. B. ANDERSON) IN FLIGHT CLOSE TO A ROCKY OUTCROP IN A VALLEY IN THE OWEN STANLEY RANGE DURING AN OPERATION IN LATE 1942. THE PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN BY SERGEANT W. B. BALL IN AN ACCOMPANYING BEAUFIGHTER. The copyright has expired on this image. Higher resolution versions of this image may be ordered through the AWM Website at [1]
context_page_description: The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter was a multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the UK. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber. The Beaufighter proved to be an effective night fighter, which came into service with the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain, its large size allowing it to carry heavy armament and early airborne interception radar without major performance penalties.
  The Beaufighter was used in many roles; receiving the nicknames Rockbeau for its use as a rocket-armed ground attack aircraft and Torbeau as a torpedo bomber against Axis shipping, in which it replaced the Beaufort. In later operations, it served mainly as a maritime strike/ground attack aircraft, RAF Coastal Command having operated the largest number of Beaufighters amongst all other commands at one point. The Royal Australian Air Force also made extensive use of the type as an anti-shipping aircraft, such as during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.
context_section_description: The Beaufighter arrived at squadrons in Asia and the Pacific in mid-1942. A British journalist said that Japanese soldiers called it the "whispering death" for its quiet engines, although this is not supported by Japanese sources. The Beaufighter's Hercules engines used sleeve valves, which lacked the noisy valve gear common to poppet valve engines. This was most apparent in a reduced noise level at the front of the engine.
  In the South-East Asian Theatre, the Beaufighter Mk VIF operated from India as a night fighter and on operations against Japanese lines of communication in Burma and Thailand. Mark X Beaufighters were also flown on long range daylight intruder missions over Burma. The high-speed, low-level attacks were very effective, despite often atrocious weather conditions, and makeshift repair and maintenance facilities.
caption: A Beaufighter of No. 30 Squadron RAAF adjacent to Hombrom's Bluff near Port Moresby, 1942.
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "GIMP 2.6.6", "Image DateTime": "2010:07:14 14:13:47", "Image ExifOffset": "146", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "450", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "333"}