AA28902 Bristol Beaufort Mk.1, 217 Sqn RAF, ‘Admiral Hipper’ Attack

Bristol Beaufort Mk.I L9866, RAF No.217 Squadron, St Eval, Cornwall, Attack against German Cruiser Admiral Hipper, 1st February 1941.
As arguably Britain's most capable maritime strike aircraft, the Bristol Beaufort was charged with carrying a heavy burden during the early years of the war, particularly when the RAF were engaged in targeting German surface raiders putting into port at Brest for repair and replenishment. Having already taken a heavy toll of Allied shipping during a previous Atlantic patrol, the mighty Admiral Hipper had successfully completed a period of repair in Brest and was almost ready to return to sea once more by the end of January 1941, something the RAF could not allow.
Charged with the task of stopping her, several Beaufort torpedo bombers of No.217 Squadron were dispatched from RAF St. Eval in Cornwall just before 15:00 hrs on 1st February 1941, a force which included L9866/MW-J under the command of Sgt John Bell Rutherford. Setting a course for Brest Harbour, the Beaufort crews knew they were headed for one of the most heavily defended locations in Europe, but worse than this, they also knew that as the German ship was about to come under steam, enemy defences would be expecting a visit from the RAF and would be ready for them.
If the British bombers were to successfully press home their attack, they would need much more than just flying skill to survive this withering German defensive onslaught, in addition to the unwanted attentions of the Luftwaffe before and after making their strike run.
This model is one of those models thats hits the spot from the second it’s out the box - the colours on the TSS are lovely and vivid and really pop (and will look outstanding next to the other excellent schemes corgi had done) - it will be interesting to see what it’s like sat next to the new beaufighter which is due to join my collection next month? I’m eager to see a coastal command and a RAAF version (which I would imagine would need adjustment or additions to the tooling) and certainly need to go looking for the bomber command version first released! This was in my eyes initially a left field release from ‪@CorgiDieCast‬ but my word they have nailed it! What’s your thoughts guys?
Hope you enjoy
Mark

[@neophyte79]

Nice review again. What a wonderful model

[@mattallen6162]

Very nice Mark. I’ve got the first Beaufort but tempted to this one now! Looking forward to the show next week too.

[@andreafazion7119]

Hi Andrea, I'm writing from Rome, Italy, how many centimeters is the model long?

[@diecastwingscollectors]

Don’t have it to hand must be 30cm or there or thereabouts

[@andreafazion7119]

@@diecastwingscollectors Hi, I bought it, it measures about 20 centimeters in length, not 30 centimetres!

[@andreafazion7119]

Hi, I need to arrive from the corgi, The Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 RAF No.11 Sqn, Operation Ellamy 1:481:48, this measures 37 centimeters in length.