The Most Underrated British Plane of WW2?
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- Опубликовано: 21 сен 2024
- I was recently asked "what British airplanes or accomplishments in WW2 are underrated?" There are quite a few, and one airplane in particular is at the top of my list. Obviously this is a matter of opinion, but I thought I would share my thoughts.
Dozens of British pilots became aces while flying this plane. It fought all over the world, has a good combat record, yet for some reason, just doesn't get the respect it deserves.
I also tie in a personal story from my childhood about my meeting a pilot of this plane. This video is in a very different format than normal for this channel. It's non technical, non scripted, no manuals, no charts, I'm just sharing my thoughts opinions, and some memories.
If you want to guess what airplane it is by posting in the comment section before the premier, please be my guest. Remember, it an opinion so there are no wrong answers on this one. UPDATE, about 4 hours until the premier. A lot of people have guessed correctly, and almost all of the guesses are on solid ground.
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My Dad worked as a quality control inspector at London Artid Plastics in Slough, Buckinghamshire when I was a kid. They made Revell model kits there and I was able to build quite a few of them. When the manager of the company saw one of my models he had me build a selection of them for a display case in their front lobby. I was the luckiest kid in Britain!!
How bloody cool. What an utter blast that must have been.
And then to have the company ask you to build them for display.
I imagine that your Father had bragging rights for quite a long time.
I wonder where they are now... 😎
Your Dan wasn't Ron Watts was he?
Sorry, I just realised how stupid I was being given that you've given your name and it's not Watts.
My mum worked as a quality control inspector at he Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) organisation at Fishermans Bend, Melbourne, Victoria Australia, during the 2nd WW.
"It showed up, it worked well and for some reason it never gets the respect it deserves". A lot of us know that feeling.
I think single-seat fighters are thought to be sexier and get more attention.
Well said. And when you do. One is usually rewarded with more work. Meanwhile, those that slack get the same pay and don’t take the risks. I’m a retired firefighter, and all I have left is knowing I always did my best. Unfortunately I now pay for it.
No doubt Stephen. Well said.
🤣🤣
I believe the term is 'workmanlike'.
The Japanese called the Beaufighter "Whispering Death" on account of the very quiet nature of the Bristol Hercules engines. A little realised fact is that this company not only built the airfarmes but developed their own engines as well. An example of a Bristol Beaufighter MK X1C is under restoration to flying condition at Duxford, this has taken over 25 years so far but is finally starting to resemble a Beaufighter. I cannot wait to see it fly.
The Hercules radial engines were tough, a crow was sucked into the cowling of the plane that flew Operation Squabble. This caused the engine temperature to skyrocket however it did not fail and the mission was successfully completed.
@@ih302 A time when British engineering was at its best!
Bristol even in their road vehicles had the history of rugged, does the job , engines and chassis so not surprised the same of the areo division ( separated off I think pre WW2 in actuality but the ethos was shared.
I cannot wait to hear it fly again. Or not hear it, as the case may be. ;)
My best friend as a child’s father was a Marine pilot in WWII. He had a similar opinion of another often maligned aircraft, the P39. He flew it in the early part of the war and actually preferred it to the Corsair who was given later. His opinion may be colored by the fact that most of his missions were ground support with a few hit and run bomber intercepts.
I had the privilege of chatting to a Beaufighter pilot many years ago in a pub in Kent. He had some incredible stories of his missions all told in that understated fashion of that generation. A noble polite chap always immaculately turned out.Deep respect, a better generation IMO
Yes, a better generation than the "silents", the "boomers" , and "gen X" for sure
Each generation lives in its own world. That our Nation still stands is proof enough of the value of later generations.
@@notbraindead7298 I think you meant earlier generations
L
@@notbraindead7298 Better off just ignoring these people. In my experience it's just an expression of self pity, most of these people are unhappy with their own lives and want something external to blame. Point being it's a fantasy they want to believe in, divorced from any reality. When you actually look at any of the statistics relating to most of the bad things in the world we're doing much better now.
The irony of course is that it's one of the most disrespectful attitudes I can imagine towards people who fought and died for our freedoms, to spend your time criticising and shitting on the generations they raised. Or cowardly, if it's done as a self-serving attack on the young.
I wouldn't say she was underrated, but she does not get the attention she deserves. Much like the Hurricane.
I think they are both under rated.
Under-rated only by those that do not know the history. Agreed, but overall still under-rated because most do not know.
@@markbowman9088 During the Battle of Britain the Hurricane fighters were available in greater numbers, and these slightly older aircraft were much easier to repair than the Spitfire, due to its conventional design. And I seem to recall that they needed fewer hours of service between flights, thus easier to maintain.
@@markbowman9088 The Hurricane was a better gun platform, with it's MGs mounted closely together. It did more damage for the same length of burst.
@@wessexdruid5290 keep going, the spits were used to engage the fighters, as the hurricanes engaged the bombers. Different roles for different skills.
Short Sunderland is also highly underrated, some of the things those crews did were unbelievable
1962 I built a Sunderland in white. It was my favorite WW2 model.
well, I hope they caught them and put them in jail
@@helloxyz LOL
I did think of the Sunderland when I was trying to guess which aircraft he was talking about.
I'm 72 and knew several Hurricane, Spitfire and P-51 pilots who flew in WWII. The Spitfire had a narrow undercarriage that was very difficult to land in crosswinds on rough grass fields and many low time pilots were killed on landing especially toward the end of the Battle of Britain in October 1940. Many pilots were afraid of the Spit for that reason but never talked about it until many years after the war.
My dad was an RAF engineer during WWII and he loved the Spitfire but he told me that grass fields were the bane of the Spitfire, the narrow track of the undercarriage made it rock from side to side too easily plus on take off there was something like only a couple of inches gap between the ground and the blade tips.
The Bf109 had the same problem and killed a lot of inexperienced pilots too. Sydney Camm and Kurt Tank knew what they were doing...
@@kumasenlac5504 Everything is a matter of tradeoffs. The narrow landing gear of the 109 allowed mechanics to replace a wing without needing to support the fuselage as the landing gear attached directly to the fuselage. Similar story with the inverted V12 engines, a mechanic could access the valvetrain easily just by removing the cowling, besides they were cheap to make and still very very effective.
Apprentice at a transmission shop. My boss's auto teacher was pilot during Battle of Britain. Teacher hated the Spitfire (belly landed one) but loved the Hurricane.
Figures from VIncent Orange from memory (will try to confirm later)
Hurricane 2% of all airframe losses were take off and landing accidents
Spitfire and 109 4% take off and landing (Spitty mostly landing, 109 more even) look at the forward view,, on any conventional u/c for any single engine military aircraft of the period - you can'i see a Bloody thing. To take off you had to look sideways down the runway then swing through 90 degres, cross your fingers and open the throttle . . . hoping that the ground staff had fillled in any rabbit holes etc.
just a different world
I think 10% pf all, losses were non-combat (including training)
and
2% of all operation take offs were non-combat losses,.including mechanical failure, navigatiosl error
I really appreciated your story of tagging-along to the Revell operation in the 1970's. I was one of those obsessive kids during the '60s who had half the world's aircraft hanging from fishing lines in my room. I think that all people were just more respectful of each other in the work environment back then, and displayed their pride (usually justified) in what they collectively accomplished as a business, to the world and to each other.
Just wanted to let you know as someone born in '84 I and my best friend continued the tradition of hanging model aircraft from the ceiling; now I'm building models with my 11 year old nephew and we have started the tradition once more!
Yep, I had most of Revell's planes hanging the same way in my bedroom, along with those from Monogram and Aurora. What a great time to be a kid!
The Bristol Beaufighter was a superb aircraft. Fast, heavily armed, and extremely rugged. Great aeroplane!
And made in Bristol(England) of course!
. . . fast enough
Damn I was going to guess that but your comment was the first I saw.
yes but I think it was a little heavy, not great climb rate...
@@balazsbelavari7556 Yes, it was heavy, but that helped to make it a very steady gun platform. Having four cannons or six machine guns, all mounted in the nose, firing forward, can give a hell of a kick. It could carry rocket projectiles, too. The Beaufighter was ideal as a ground attack plane, or as a bomber destroyer. It did not need a massivly fast rate of climb. It was fast enough. Thank you for your comment.
What a lovely way to tell a plane story, taking a detour through childhood memories...
My Wife's Grandfather flew Havocs, Beaufighters and Mosquito's. He started with Havoc nightfighters that carried a Turbinlight in the nose. This was supposed to illuminate German aircraft in the Dark to which they were guided by ground Radar controllers. Switch on the light and an accompaning Hurricane was supposed to do the rest. Didn't work too well apparently!
Lots of batteries required to power the light made the plane fly like a brick.
Then early Radar and the Beaufighters, then in Mosquito's. Always the nightfighter.
Ended up in Malta (Luca) 1943 Anzio and the Campaign in Italy. He flew his Mozzy from the UK to Malta. He was rather attached to his Plane but unfortunately it was "borrowed" by Sir Keith Park who crashed it on his return to the airfield, a write-off. Grandpa was not pleased!
Lol! That's a great story!
I agree with Justin Lee. "underrated" doesn't really click in my thick head but "under-appreciated" or "greatest unsung hero" would.
Hey love your videos 😁
All three of those essentially mean the same thing, just verbalised differently.
@@dingodave89 is
I would say under-appreciated goes for a lot of slugs as well.😉
Love your show.
We Aussies never underrated the Beaufighter. It's part of our history and is much loved by those who know its capabilities.
Hello Graham, I'm from Filton Bristol, and spent most of my childhood at the end of the runway, on the A 38 road, and saw every sort of plane take off and land, a bit too late for the Beaufighter, but the Bristol 188, TSR 2, Britannia, Vulcan, Javelin, Meteor, Hunter, and loads more, most flew in for engine maintenance. I just wish every young boy could have experienced what i did in my young days. Greetings from Britain.
@@exb.r.buckeyeman845 That would have been a real thrill. Did you ever take any pictures? or for security reasons, couldn't? I have always liked planes, but as I failed to get into the Airforce, instead, joined the RNZN Navy. Never got to England. Did Rimpac 80 then got put into the Survey Branch, so saw Island's from Campbell to Niue instead.
Greetings from America. I first heard about the Bristol Beaufighter in the video game Blazing Angels 2. While a great way to learn about the existence of some of the lesser known and frankly weirder, bolder, and more impressive pieces of aviation engineering, there was only so much the game could teach me, such as how the Japanese came to fear and respect the Beaufighter as used in the pacific theater, giving it the moniker "Whispering Death" due to how quiet it was at low altitude. As a military history and aviation fanatic, it's good to see that you Aussies still love the Beaufighter.
Yeah first thing to come to mind "Whispering Death"
Very true
Two engines being closely followed by an aeroplane.
Was it the Avro Shacklton was described as a collection of bolts and rivets flying in close formation?
@@DavidOfWhitehills I have been told the Shakelton was considered gruesome enough for the planet to reject it, hence attaining flight
@@DavidOfWhitehills I grew up near RAF St Mawgan whence Shackletons flew for Coastal Command (or whatever it was in the late fifties). The epithet I heard was "40,000 rivets flying in close formation". I can still summon up in memory the sound of contra-rotating propellers droning overhead...
Best youtube comment I've seen today.
~ laughs ~
Out standing comment😄
The Americans liked the Beaufighter too, however it was said that they would have liked them more if they were new when they aquired them. Nevertheless it gave them an effective nightfighter before the Black Widow was ready.
Thank you for a very informative, bullshit and "music" free video. It makes a very pleasant change to hear an American on RUclips praising something British, most especially during WWII.
We Yanks have plenty to praise the British for, you just haven't been watching the right videos.
As an American who constantly has to listen to British people claim they invented or developed literally everything in the world, I think it's a fair trade. ;)
++@@GeneralJackRipper++ Yea... Just think of all those English, Scots Welsh and Irish migrants who, when they'd had enough of fighting each other all over the north American continent, set about inventing and developing the USA.
General Jack Ripper That's mostly because they DID invent a ton of stuff, especially during ww2 and the industrial revolution. Plus, they're also tired of hearing how everything america makes or touches is superior in every way ;)
Come on guys every one knows DEE DEE RAMONE INVENTED EVERYTHING in the beginning there was nothing no light no sound just a dark void of nothingness and then out of the dark void of nothingness a voice SCREAMED 1 2 3 4 and there was light there was sound there was DEE DEE RAMONE and the mighty mighty Ramones
About 10 years ago I met an ex Australian WW2 pilot who had flown both Beaufighters and Mosquitos in RAF Coastal Command (Beaufighters) and RAF Bomber Command (Mosqitoes as daylight interdiction, night fighters and of course Pathfinders). He was in his early 90’s at the time - and still flying his own VansRV and a Yak. He told me an interesting story about the early Beaufighters flying Coastal Command out of Wales. Bristol had subbed out some of the airframe building, and were able to keep up with aircraft production, but early in the war were lagging behind in building their engines (which at that time were dedicated to other types), so they re-engined a number of Beaufighters with Rolls Royce Merlins. But these became known as a death trap for novice pilots learning to fly them. The Bristol radials turn anti-clockwise when viewed from behind - check the pitch on the propellor blades in Greg’s photos - and of course the tail was offset to counteract some of the need for left rudder when applying full throttle on take-off. Now the Merlin and its prop rotate clockwise, requiring heaps of right rudder as throttle is applied - all the more so due to the tail offset. Unfortunately, novice pilots didn’t always feed in throttle slowly so that they could “catch” the left-turning tendency; apply the throttles on the Merlins too fast and the aircraft would corkscrew into the ground almost as soon as it lifted off. A number of novices and their aircraft were regrettably lost this way. Fortunately, the need for Merlins was short-lived and most of the Beaufighters were equipped with the Bristol radials for which they were designed.
FUN FACT, the Lancaster engine installation and nacelle were lifted directly from the Merlin Beaufighter, The Merlin engined Heinkel 111 built post war in Spain also used the same installation.
Your comment echoes my friend’s father who flew Beaufighters in the Pacific Theatre and then after the War in the RAAF. He said it was not a plane for beginners but a very good plane for veteran pilots. He was in the Battle of Bismarck.
I'am behind the times apparently 3 years behind. Been watching a few youtube clips on the Beaufighters apparently 300 planes were equipped with Merlin engines and 100 crashed, mostly on takeoff.
Hi Greg. The Beaufighter might have been “out of view “ , as in out to sea or nighttime. The “Beau” is well remembered and respected here in Australia. I have over 120 model aircraft hanging from my ceiling .😊
@@tonysadler5290 they also had Bristol Centaurus , sleeve valves. Far more quiet.
@@tonysadler5290 yes, my point exactly was that it was far off shore and so was overlooked. In Australia though ; or the Pacific/ Middle East etc. you would not want to be on the receiving end of its concentrated armaments. Or a ship against the torpedoes. By the way I’m a Phantom fan too.
One of my neighbors was a Beaufighter pilot over the north sea. His daughter married the son of a Uboat engineer who emigrated to Canada post war. Their son won a Canadian Legion contest with an essay titled "I am glad my grandfathers did not meet during the War."
My wife's family is from Augsburg, near the Messerschmidt plant. One of my dad's cousins was a Mosquito pilot in a pathfinder squadron. I don't know if he was involved in those operations or not, but he could have been. Both families emigrated to Canada post war, which is where we and our kids now live.
As a young man, I decided to move from eastern Canada to western Canada. I found an ad in the classifieds from someone looking for company on his drive west. I went with him. He told me he was driving the van that his dad, who just passed away, left him in his will. He said his dad was in the Afrika Korps during the war. He had been captured, and sent to Canada as a POW. He liked it so much, he immigrated after the war. I think that was somewhat common.
@@clark9992 A lot of Germans captured during WW2 realised they might have been on the wrong side of history after all when they saw how other sides were treating their prisoners and how _open_ things were outside of Europe
Indoctrination is a sad thing and it's still happening today - only this time the country that's lilkely to come out on the wrong side of history is unlikely to be asian or european
dont mention the war
I would like to read that,,wow,
. Being Australian , I would argue that the Beaufighter was not at all under rated , not in this neck of the woods anyway .
Having recently found out about the all Australian Boomerang fighter, I was amazed how quickly and effectively an aircraft could be designed and built quite independently in response to the threat of invasion from Japan, what an achievement. i have read about the exploits of the Australian Bristol Beaufighter Squadrons they did a fantastic job, but I didn't guess the underrated aircraft in question would be one and the same.
@@ianwilkinson4602 Video from the Past [13] - No. 75 Squadron's Defence of Port Moresby
ruclips.net/video/biDuIzs8CYg/видео.html
I am a computer guy (programmer, analyst) - when I hired onto my company (1981) the paymaster was a guy who had flown Beaus in the India/Burma theatre.
He had been quite a whiz at the IBM Tabulating machines that had preceded computers (which came into my corporation in late 1969).
He didn't like computers and so moved into the payroll area. To the day he retired he proclaimed that we should have never let those (blankety blank) computers onto the property - the Tabulating machines could do anything the computers did!
I actually found a book about the Beaus in the Burma theatre, which mentioned him by name.
@@ianwilkinson4602
R3
Thank you, same here.
They were built here, in Australia as well. The Japanese were terrified of them, according to an old RAAF pilot who I met at the local R.S.L. They called them the Whispering Death.
I spent 2 weeks in hospital back in 2000 and a guy on my ward in his 90s that flew Beaufighters in the far East in ww2 and he had nothing but praise for it .
Hospitals are horrible when you have to spend any amount of time in them but the people you meet can make the experience tolerable!
Hope you’re in good health!
Ian :-: Bristol made a lot of great planes including the Bolingbroke. They also made thousands of great sleeve-valve radial engines.
@@steriskyline4470 20 years ago, my partner spent 3 months in a UK hospital due to severe injury. She has nothing but praise for her treatment.
The Beaufighter will always be special to me as my Dad worked at Filton building them in the early 40's, a much underrated aircraft indeed.
My father ,(still alive) flew the Halifax, he recently came out with the fact Grandad built the wings for the Beaufighter prototype. Grandad was only known to me as a long retired superb craftsman carpenter, but he must have had other talents.
My brother worked at Filton in the 80s. He was an aero engineer.
I like this format. I was 10-11 years old in 65-66 and I built models all the time. Loved mixing the parts and building something that didn't look like the picture on the box. I liked the way you shared your experience at Revell model company. I would've killed to see the factory. I enjoy hearing the lesser known facts about WWII and the people. It makes every story that much more interesting. Thank you for sharing yours.
About 12 years ago on a flight across the country (USA), I met an RAF WW2 veteran. He wife graciously switched seats with me so I could speak with him for 4 wonderful hours. He was a radar operator hunting U Boats, at night over the Bay of Biscay - in a Bristol Beaufighter. What stories he had!
We corresponded by letter weekly until he passed away a couple of years later. It was great to know this man. And to the point of this video, as a reader of all things WW2 for 50 years, I never gave the Beaufighter much thought until I met this gentleman.
Great video Greg - thank you.
@Baz Bazdad
Hi Baz, I've been a pilot for over 40 years and have done some over water flying. I can't imagine flying over water at night down low. Its like flying in ink - Big Balls.
Thanks for your comment. If you have interest, I can send you a one page on the high lights of the stories that this Gentlemen related to me.
@mark jackson
Hi Mark,
I'd be happy to send you a one page comp on the high lights of the stories that he told me.
@mark jackson
Hi Mark - Agreed. I was thinking the same thing.
Give me a day or two and I'll post it.
😉
Hi Baz and Mark,
Ok, I promised you some Beaufighter stories from the RAF veteran that I met on an airline flight….
This Gentleman was the radar operator on a sub hunting Beaufighter over the Bay of Biscay. His job was to seek out conning towers of nighttime surfaced German U-Boats that were charging their batteries with their diesel engines. This could only be done from a low level - within a few hundred feet of the water. They had a searchlight on each wing and when they had a good “contact”, they would make a run at it. When they were ¼ mile away they would switch on the searchlights and depth-charge them as they flew over - also machine-gunning the sub on their pass. To note, he used the term “depth-charge”, not “bombs”. To do this over a black sea, at night with no horizon is a spectacular, fatiguing piloting feat.
One night, he got an “excellent contact” on his scope, and they made their run towards it. When they were ¼ mile out, the searchlights came on only to discover that it was two conning towers that was giving such an “excellent” radar return. There were two U-Boats tied up to each other - with their diesels off. With no noise from their engines, they could hear the Beaufighter hunting for them and had loaded their deck anti aircraft guns. He said that they really “caught Hell” from the two surfaced submarines on their pass over them. An enormous amount of tracers were coming at the airplane from below, and it was shot full of holes. But the engines weren’t hit and they made back home. One crewman was severally wounded.
He said shortly after that, they traded the Beaufighter in for a B-24 Liberator bomber. He said that the bomber had been manufactured for the French Air Force and had been outfitted to their specification, but hadn’t been delivered in time before Germany overran the country. He said that the cockpit was really strange. One of the more annoying features of it was that the engine mixture controls were backwards.
In case you guys aren’t pilots (and I apologize if you are), aircraft piston engines require the fuel mixture to be leaned out with altitude, and that control is also used to kill the engine by leaning the mixture (starving it) for shut down. In just about every aircraft built, the throttle, engine mixture and propeller controls are all forward for take off. But not for the French B-24 that they had. While the throttle and propeller controls were forward for take off, the mixture control was full aft for rich or take off position - and it was forward for lean or engine cut off. He said that that did cause some embarrassing moments at times when the pilot’s training habits caused an engine to quit. He said that when all four of the B-24’s engines were sputtering over the sea at night, it was more than alarming.
As I said, we exchanged letters for about two years, until I sadly rec’d a letter from his wife telling me that he had passed away. In her letter she told me how much he enjoyed conversing with me, and that I had really “brightened” him up. I’ve been reading books on WW2 all of my life (I always have one going), and have had the pleasure of knowing a number of WW2 veterans in my lifetime. So perhaps I was able to communicate with him on a more in-depth level. As I said, he was a great man, I really enjoyed the time I had with him.
Thanks Baz and Mark for the memory trigger.
Thank you again Greg for the video.
@Baz Bazdad
Thanks Baz - I once met a gentleman who flew P-61s in Europe, which surprised me. I thought they were only used in the Pacific. He told me one early evening, at twilight, a FW190 passed him in the opposite direction, and hadn't spotted him. He did a 180 and opened up the throttle, caught up with and shot him down. Told me the .50 caliber turret on top were all removed from his group, due to turbulence over the stabilizer. He loved the airplane. Didn't know that they were slower than the Beaufighter.
I was one of those that guessed correctly, but only after some thought. My wife's late uncle flew them in the RAAF in the Pacific war.
I did not know the beaufighter was underrated..
I'm 70 years old and when I was growing up the war had not been over that long ago, in the beaufighter was right up there with a mosquito
Key word: "was"
Me too. I was an Airfix kid spending hours making difficult decisions in Woolies about which two bob kit I should buy.
I spent every weekend making them and Christmas brought the more expensive Lancasters, Sunderlands and Fortresses.
Still love them,- although now I wonder whether it was the models I enjoyed, or was I getting high sniffing the glue !...
My life story!
I guessed it!!! My favorite Beaufighter story is that of Flt LT Gatwicks flight to Paris to shoot up the Kriegsmarine HQ and drop the French tricolor flag at the Tomb of the Unknown at l'arc de triomphe. That lone Beaufighter instilled confidence in the French that the Brits had not “forgotten their plight” as an occupied nation.
Gatward
One of my favourite teachers at my West Glos sec school in the 70s (when my main hobby was building Airfix etc kits), was a slightly-built, quietly-spoken, polite gentleman who taught us tech drawing and other craft stuff. Never found out until just before he died, but that teacher was Gilbert Fern who was Gatward's navigator. Oh how I'd have loved to ask him abt the raid, and the Beau, built just across the Severn from us in Bristle of course. A hero, RIP Mr Fern DFM.
Dr Mark Felton has a video about that solo attack. Very interesting. Daring solo beaufighter raid Paris 1942.
I built dozens of Revell kits growing up in the 60's. I could afford the 29 cent price tag for their 1/72 scale kits with change left over for a 15 cent tube of Testors plastic cement, if I saved up my 25 cent weekly allowance for a couple weeks. As my allowance increased to 50 cents per week, I moved up to their more detailed 49 cent kits. I could always find them at supermarkets and drug stores. I particularly appreciated the history and info included in the instruction pamphlet. Their was a lot of entertainment and education bundled in those small packages....great memories!
My first model was a Supermarine Seaplane. Airfix. It cost 2/9 (14p). That was in 1967.
The Beaufighter was a tough rugged aircraft.
My father was a engine mechanic in the RAF & he loved them.
The Hurricane is in no way underrated. It is well known, much beloved by many people, and its contribution is well documented.
The Mosquito was my first reaction, but for those who know it it also is well known and much appreciated.
Clearly not the spitfire.
Those suggesting the Beaufighter seem to have the best guess from my perspective. 1940-1960 operational life, numerous countries, numerous theaters of operation.
For those suggesting the Typhoon, the more i learn about this plane, the more overrated I find it to be (including from the perspective of tankers on the ground). I'm also not aware of this aircraft being widespread at all. The Tempest wasn't introduced until late in the war and wasn't widespread as far as I've ever seen.
I thought people liked the Bow, or at least those who knew about it.
I like the Beaufighter. Rugged, dependable with very good forward vision and very versatile.
The Typhoon was an interim fighter, with a whole load of teething problems.
The Tempest on the other hand while overshadowed by the Spitfire was fast, and highly successful against the V1 Buzzbombs. It also had some initial successes against the Me 262 when they were coming in to land.
I gather from the documentaries of those who flew that aircraft that it was a well liked rugged no frills fighter that flew where you pointed it. The top scoring Tempest apparently was an American serving in the Canadian Air force.
Personally I think the Typhoon is massively underrated, it is the black sheep of the RAF thanks to it's poor performance as an interceptor. However I suggest you read 'My Part of the Sky' by Roland Beamont, you follow the development of the Typhoon from it's early woes to it's use as a ground pounder. The Tempest however was the aircraft that the Typhoon should have been, phenomenal performance and without the teething issues that had being addressed by it's predecessor.
I guessed it was going to be the Beaufighter, rugged little aircraft, definitely underrated.
428 Renegade The Typhoon had a structural problem which Roland Beaumont aided in solving, Carbon Monoxide in the cockpit, requiring Oxygen permanently, and the engine reliability was put now to sloppy manufacturing. When resolved the Typhoon was a superb aircraft. It’s performance fell off at high levels, which was recognised , and it was a ground attack aircraft par excellence. With a new low drag wing, and improved engine , it was transformed into the Tempest.
My grandfather flew hurricanes and beaus … he loved the beaufighter. Flew in North Africa and Italy with his squadron.
Great story and pacing. My first guess was absolutely a Bristol Beaufighter, and I’d bet a lot of WW2 aviation buffs agreed on that choice. A powerful, multi-purpose, flexible platform. One of my personal favorites too.
For some reason I really appreciate the fact that Revell was asking for a device or system of devices that wouldn't exist for another few decades. And I also find it interesting that these 3D scanning systems are being used for essentially the same things that Revell probably wanted them for: Scanning Hardware to create digital models to use in video games and scale models.
I hear the Japanese named them whispering death because they relatively quiet and had massive firepower
I thought that was what the Germans called the Mosquito ?
@@stevenpryce7808 sorry, two merlins can never be considered as Whispering! deadly, by all means, quiet, not quite so much.
more aces than the p38? served all over the world? underrated? My guess is the Bristol Beaufighter. Very successful as torpedo bomber, as a night fighter, as a ground attack airplane. Very sturdy, fast at ground level, hard hitting power, powerful engines, very manouverable for its size and weight - yet it always keeps being overshadowed by the DH98 Mosquito. A bit like the Hurricane, which would have been my second choice.
I second your choice. Was certainly used a lot down here by the Australians and the Japanese feared it. As for aces who flew it- John Cunningham springs to mind immediately (night fighter, ETO)
Probably the Beau, because the Hurricane has slowly been getting the love it deserves over the past few years. Meanwhile the Beau stays behind.
No! it's the Boulton paul defiant .. no one could sneak up on them.
@@martijn9568 well the tempest was really good to, sort of a British fw190. The sea fury was excelent to, but a bit late.
And it is very nice plane. Cute, so to speak.
Australian pilots liked flying Beaufighters against the Japanese. Rugged and reliable and hard hitting is worth gold in remote island and anti-shipping sorties.
And they could outrun Japanese fighters at sea level.
Battle of the Bismarck Sea - Out of 6,900 troops who were badly needed in New Guinea, only about 1,200 made it to Lae. Another 2,700 were saved by destroyers and submarines and returned to Rabaul. About 2,890 Japanese soldiers and sailors were killed. The Allies lost 13 aircrew, 10 of whom were lost in combat while three others died in an accident. There were also eight wounded. Aircraft losses were one B-17 and three P-38s in combat, and one B-25 and one Beaufighter in accidents.
My father did the drawings to change the Australian built Beaufighter to the Beaufort Bomber. It took him 3 months. Thank you for your comments!
The Bristol type 152 "Beaufort" came first , and was derived from the Type 142M "Bleheim". The MoS authorized a revision of the Beaufort design to make it into a fighter. The Type 156 "Beaufort Fighter" name was later shortened to Beaufighter.
@@carltonstidsen8806 I spent my life producing drawings for various projects its all gone now CAD has taken over but the effort involved in making hand-drawn plans on, in my case tracing paper, was enormous. They had to be made using hand tee squares and set squares on an a1 or ao drawing board then copied into prints with a printer than in my case involved a carbon-burning electrical charged light it's all very primitive now but I was state of the art in those days.
@@ernestgodfrey3954 we drew on tracing paper, and on sized linen. If you ruined a drawing (think of a spill of india ink) you got a lot of handkerchiefs if you could get someone to hem them.
Must've been for the Revell or Monogram companies before they merged
The Australian built Beaufort had more powerful engines than the British built ones. Perhaps that's what your dad's job was?
I think it’s because it wasn’t as attractive as the Mosquitto, an aircraft much more pleasing on the eye.
Great video by the way, brought back childhood memories. Even in Scotland back in the 70s, every newsagent and corner shop stocked a selection of models, Airfix being the main brand. Changed days.
The twist around dispose of the kits with the card and the bag with the kit in. Decisions decisions, which one
And the artwork on the boxes was sublime!
also the mosquito is far better. 335mph vs 400mph, there's no contest really
. . . and it was a parts bin special being made up from the wings and engines of the Beaufort Bomber mated to a two seat slim fuselage in a hell of a hurry.
Remember those days. Remember when the Matchbox kits came out too. Happy times.
My late adoptive father flew the Beaufighter before moving onto Lancaster’s. His father flew a Bristl fighter during WW1.
My father loved the Bristl Beaufighter for its many assets.
They were extremely rugged, and could deliver its crew back to base alive having taken a lot of damage. It was also extremely heavily armed for its day, with 4 x 20mm cannon and machine guns. Plus rockets, bombs torpedoes etc. I also think that it was not as lethal as the mosquito when suffering an engine failure on takeoff.
Recently of the last two Battle of Britain aircrew one has passed away. He was a radar operator on Beaufighter's although not many people know that they actually took part in the Battle of Britain. They all think it was Spitfire's and Hurricanes! The Beaufighter was a Mark IC, virtually the first aircraft equipped with airborne radar.
Marcus Wardle , than you for letting us know of that gentleman's passing. We should all remember him and say a personal "Thank You" for their service to mankind.
@pete2778 I did not know of the Beaufighter contribution during the Battle of Britain even though it was introduced on 2nd September and the B of B(Battle of Britain) did not finish until 31st October. The period of the Blitz overlaps the B of B. i knew of it due to my wife's niece husband's grandfather was recognised as the last of two of the Few as the man who recently died. He was given a military flyby by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
I remember reading an account of one of the first night fighter kills by an early Beaufighter. Radar guided them to the attack position, the pilot fired off all his initial load and then the second crewman wrestled 60 round drums of 20 mm ammo into position for the reload. Pretty sure the Beaufighter was a reworked Bristol Beaufort light bomber - same engines, wings, and landing gear.
After the Boulton Paul Defiant, the Bristol Blenheim was the only night fighter to take part in the Battle of Britain, which officially ended on Oct 31st. The Beaufighter was a better night fighter than either the Defiant or the Blenhiem, but not in time for the Battle of Britain. I actually saw a Defiant flying low over Tuffnell Park one night in 1940 during the London blitz.
While technically you are correct, their contribution to the "Battle" was virtually negligible. Deliveries of the first Beaufighters were in the low double digits until after the Battle of Britain (ending officially Oct.23, 1940). The first "kill" by a Beaufighter was on the night of November 11th, 1940 when an A.I. Mk IV equipped Beaufighter I destroyed a JU-88. By this time, the 'Beau' was beginning to be delivered in numbers. Successful night interceptions mounted as crews learned how to coordinate vectoring from ground control with an increasing efficiency in the use of the the new on-board radar.
Found this video quite by accident, but it brought back some great memories. High school, circa 1974, my history teacher was this heavy set bearded Englishman, always impeccably dressed and very well spoken. He was one of those types who could make history live in your head. Talking to him one day after class I mentioned my father had been in the RCAF during the war. Then he tells me he was a pilot in the RAF in the far east. And yes, you already know where this is going, he flew the Beaufighter. Now, almost 50 years later, I wish I'd pestered him for the details, but I know that my regard for the man grew by leaps and bounds after that.
The Beaufighter is only underrated by those who don’t know about it, one of the great planes with a pugnacious look to it and the goods to back it up, Dad loved them even though he flew lancs
Marco D'Magnifico I haven’t met anyone who knew more than the name who wasn’t impressed, but the roles that it played were not “high profile” like fighting in the skies over London and the south east of England where the spit and hurry-buster who there glory. Interesting side point the RAF was vilified for not coming to the navy and armies aid at Dunkirk yet they were equally heroic in making it possible to get the men off. They were fighting out of sight, where many died. Humans are fickle beings sometimes. I do understand your point though, it deserves far more respect and “mana” than it has got so far. To my mind it was the A10-warthog of the 2nd ww but prettier.
@@Snagglepuss1952 Good Simile, marvelous gun platform.
Bristol Beaufighter. Fought in every theatre and role, loved by its pilots and crews, took a beating and packed a very big punch. The Australian versions were the most heavily armed fighters of the war , if the stories of my grandfather were to be believed.
B25 strafer with 14 50 cal.s pointed forward. Plus bombs?
@@curtisweaver3682 A-26-15Invader had 8 50cal in the nose with the top turret slaved to the pilot making 10 50's then 4 pods under each wing with dual 50's in them. 26 50cal guns all on one trigger flying in close formation at 375 mph with a decent bomb load to correct what the strafing pass didn't get right the first time through.
Short of pulling the trigger on an A-10 it would be hard to beat that experience.
Check out "We Band of Brothers"' written by Blount, a B25 strafer driver. Super high attrition rate in these squadrons.
The Aussies gave it a good try, but no one can overgun like the Americans. :-)
Most heavily armed FIGHTER, not bomber...
I guessed Bristol Beaufighter when I read your title. I remember reading books about the Desert War and in one there was a story written by a war correspondent who described riding in the Beau at "treetop" level going incredible fast and when the pilot fired his guns, targets just disintegrated. I think he also said it could take a lot of punishment and keep flying. Stayed with me all these years.
Always a fan of the Beaufighter, remember making an Airfix model of one when I was a boy.
So did I. It was a great kit.
Me too - although it was a matchbox beaufighter in 1:72 scale. Always preferred matchbox over airfix. Ah the memories!
Squadron Leader James Biggleworth flew them in Borneo in 1943!
A small and trivial coincidence: I must have been about ten years old and I was staying with an uncle and his family. We ended up in a shop somewhere and they had Airfix models. I had only built one by then, a Supermarine S4 or S6; I had made a terrible mess of it, too. I chose an ME 109 (of some type) and paid for it - out of my pocket money. When we got 'home' my uncle produced an Airfix Beaufighter kit, which he had surreptitiously bought. To cut a long story short, it turned out that he had flown Beaus during the war (I have to admit I hadn't even heard of the type then). We built the two kits together there and then and they turned out a lot better than the Supermarine had.
I had a similar experience with my dad, he flew many bombers but mainly the Lancaster it is a magical experience, he ‘encouraged’ me not to do a messy job on them, and made sure the lettering and camouflage matched the planes he flew.
Didn't the Dogfight Doubles have those to planes .
Snagglepuss195
As an American, I love airfix kits. 'Rivet counters'.....
Side note, I also built the Beaufighter kit. I love the airfix selection of aircraft you can choose from. Not the best kit????? Who cares, they're airfix.
Thanks. You made me remember the model building obsession of my youth. Those models kept me going until I became an Air Force Pilot. Nothing romantic, but a dream fulfilled. thanks, again.
6th
Thank You for this video - being Australian, I hold a keen interest in Australian exploits in this aircraft. I believe that the Beaufighter is the most significant aircraft of the war for Australia. They were effective as you said in New Guinea and Burma. But also they were used by Australian crews against the Germans in Norway from bases in Scotland. This is an incredible story as well.
It is such a shame that such a great aircraft gets so little recognition.
When I visited Duxford, I was drawn to what I recognised as a Beaufighter front cockpit section. There was an old bloke there putting rivets in a section, I asked him if I could help him rivet his Beaufighter. He was shocked that somebody recognised what he was working on because so few know anything about the aircraft. He allowed me to hold his dolly for a while. When we were done, I thanked him, wished him luck with its restoration, because if he gets it airworthy - I believe it will be the only one in the world. And now I can say I helped rebuild a Beaufighter.... :)
So thanks again or shining a light on a very underestimated Aircraft. I believe that you could go as far as saying that the Beaufighter pioneered the "Strike" concept for aircraft, beginning with operations in New Guinea. Check out the actions out of Milne Bay - Gurney Field.
You mentioned the 4 machine guns. It is my understanding that the English built Beaufighters (Straight Tailplane early models) Had 4 303 machine guns in the wings along with the 4 cannons.
Australian made versions (Dihedral Tailplane and bump on the nose) may have got the 50 cals, not sure, but all had 4 machine guns and 4 cannon.
Latter ones added 8 rockets. Wouldn't you love to let that off along with 4 Cannons and 4 M/G's.
Interesting story I read, explained that the American crews in New Guinea were so impressed with the Beaufighters "Strike" abilities that they added 4 machine guns in blisters to the nose of their Mitchels, in the field in New Guinea - so they could "Join in the Fun" - This latter became standard on all Mitchels.
I read that the Japanese Army in New Guinea called the Beaufighter "Whispering Death" because they were so quiet on approach to strafe - This being due to the quiet operation of their Sleeve valve motors. I note that this name also appears in relation to the Corsair in some places, maybe you could get to the bottom of this one for us?
PS, I picked that you were referring to the Beaufighter, just from the title. and I am so glad you did, I believe you are exactly right. Thanks Again...
Thanks for your excellent comment.
The Corsair was nicknamed “ Whistling Death “ because of the loud wind noise it made in a dive on the attack , not “ Whispering “ .
@@rickyelich3908 Whispering Death refers to the Beaufighter not the corsair.
The Beaufighter was one of the planes I was going through in my head at the start of the video .. but I dismissed it as: "can't be .. the Beafighter is not underrated at all .. naaaa .. must be something else."
It wasn't the USS Taney - it was the USCGC Taney She was a Treasury Class cutter (327 foot) that I had the privilege to sailing on as a USCG Academy cadet in the 70's. Just wanted to set the record straight - she served the U.S. Coast Guard for 50 years and was decommissioned in 1986. Of course it is fitting one of the most underrated (and oldest U.S. seagoing services) is slighted in a video honoring the most underrated British plane of WWII :-)
exactly…it might have fought under, got its money from, and had similar ships during the war to the US Navy but like the USMC it was a separate branch!
Im sure the slight was unintentional.
I guessed you were going for the Beaufighter.
When you say under rated, it's highly regarded in the UK. But I would say the under rated star is the Swordfish. Lots of people like it for the nostalgia; but thinking it's record: it crippled the Bismarck; crippled the Italian fleet at Taranto; and could hunt U-boats from small carriers. All early in the war when Britain was fighting with it's back to the wall.
Fairey Swordfish.....aka affectionately “the String Bag”. A surprisingly large aircraft
It even outlasted the Albacore, which was supposed to replace it!
Not just early in the war - my Grandfather was an Observer (FAA speak for Navigator) on Swordfish right up until early 1945. By this point most of the Swordfish were assigned to 836NAS, a huge squadron based out of Maydown (Northern Ireland), that provided the aircraft and aircrew for dozens of tiny 'MAC Ship' carriers that accompanied convoys across the Atlantic. Earlier in the war he'd been with 816NAS on board HMS Tracker and HMS Chaser, and was decorated for the sinking of U-366 during an Arctic Convoy where aircraft from HMS Chaser sank three U-Boats in as many days. Amazing aircraft, and hugely adaptable - by the end of the war they were fitted with Radar, Anti-Shipping Rockets, and even RATO!
The swordfish was affectionately known as the string bag
I built a Tamiya Bristol Beaufighter when I was about 10. I knew of its success in many roles, but as you say you never hear it mentioned.
My favourite as a kid was Beaufighter's rival - the Wesland Whirlwind which carried the same guns and was 40 mph faster on half the power (and very pretty).
Unfortunately it was killed off by it's underdeveloped engines being discontinued . Apparently it was too much work install Merlins in its diminutive airframe, so it was dropped.
Actually, that's not quite correct. The Whirlwind was originally intended to have Merlins, but due to the need for them for Hurricanes and Spitfires they decided to change the Whirlwinds engines to Peregrines. A pity really, as with Merlins it would have been far more effective that it was. It still didn't do too bad though considering it had the wrong engines.
Greg is amazing. I am thankful people like him exist, so our history is not lost.
This plane can be compared with the Warthog A10 nowadays.
Not pretty but gets the job done.
Just without the immense survivability, terrifying main armament, capacity for ground attack munitions of the day, and ridiculous loiter time.
@@knifedance2402 The Beaufighter was tough, had a forward firing armament of 4 20mm cannon in the nose and 6 .303 mg, plus either a 2000lb torpedo or the equivalent in bombs or rockets.
Against ships it was absolutely devastating being able to supress any AA fire and then hit hard.
It was very quiet, because of the valve sleeves used on the engines, and it was effective in the early part of the war as a night fighter.
Nobody. with any sense in their head, should underestimate the A-10.
@@knifedance2402 You realy don't know what you're taliking about do you?
Lol, I knew it. You're right. The Bristol Beaufighter, an incredibly underappreciated aircraft.
My late Father flew Beaufighters during WW2. He was with 603 squadron, City of Edinburgh and was shot down in 1944 near the Greek Island of Kefalonia. He was on a strafing run with 2 other Beaufighters when he was hit mid fuselage by harbour based AA guns. The navigator was killed instantly and the plane now badly damage caught fire. He was able to ditch the plane off shore but was badly injured from the crash landing in the sea as well as the burns he suffered when the plane caught fire. Although the other 2 pilots reported a perfect ditching my Father always said " a hand greater than his, flew the plane that day". Despite his injuries he was able to get to shore in the dingy before passing out and being woken by the German patrol sent out to look for any survivors. He spent the rest of the war as a POW before being liberated by the Russian army.
I’d guessed the Beaufighter....happy with that.
Most people forget it was a fighter first, despite, erm, the name.
At 1:29 I was still guessing wildly. ....but couldn't get my brain around the length of service
I'd guessed the Beaufighter, too; but, in my imagination, flying plastic my models around my childhood bedroom, I never doubted my ability to land a Hawker Typhoon, and survive. I see, from the internet, that my hero 'Matt Braddock' flew the Mosquito. He would have been able to achieve far more in a Beaufighter, I am sure. The Hercules engine was a superb design. I think the Australians were producing American Radial engines for their Beaufighters.
Cheers. It was used by the USAAF until their Black Widows arrived.
Can't say the Black Widdow was any better!!!
@@derekambler my father called the Black Widow the Whistling Sh*thouse due to how the air just blew through them.
My father fought in New Guinea in WW2. He said the Japanese called the Beaufighter "Whispering Death".
It was called the whispering death because the Bristol sleeve valve engines were extremely quiet as the aircraft flew towards you. Also as well as the 4 20 mm cannons if not equiped with 4 .5 machine guns it would have had 6 .303’s instead a total of 10 forward firing guns.
Thank you. Loved the story about Revell. Brings back memories.
Thank you so much for your doco on the Beaufighter, I had never even considered this aircraft as having such a significant role in the Pacific theatre. I will give it the respect it deserves in the future.
My late father would have appreciated this presentation. He was a non-com radar "mechanic" (as they were called back then). He was in the RCAF, but upon landing in Britain, he was transferred to the RAF where he remained until being sent back to Canada in August '45. Out of sense of adventure - as well as the bacon and eggs breakfast aircrew were given after night "ops" - he volunteered to crew in night fighters as the radar observer. Thus he piled up a lot of hours in RAF 604 Squadron Beaufighters, and later, RAF 151 Squadron Mosquitos. He was flying in both types when they sustained battle damage and survived a crash landing 'write-off' in a Mosquito. He had great admiration for the Mosquito. But, I distinctly remember him telling me that his "first love" was the Beaufighter. It was evident that he had a special attachment for this machine - something I've encountered in film and text from anyone who either flew or serviced these aircraft. Greg: this off-the-cuff episode was very nicely done ... and BTW, I did guess at the beginning that the "Beau" was the airplane you were going to feature.
Called the "whispering death" by those who had to face it in the Pacific theatre.
Reading all these comments shows how discerning of an audience Greg has. Hoping its a very obscure plane like a BPD or Lysander. Would even be happy with the Beaufighter, but honestly Greg does good with all his videos so I'm hyped.
I guessed Beaufighter within a minute.
It's not underrated? It might be in the US but it's highly regarded in the UK and commonwealth. There are even comic books about the beast.
@@gunner678 It does have a cult following, myself among them but it hasn't received the attention that other aircraft like the Spitfire, Mosquito and Lancaster have had.
However, besides the comic books and what not, there are also some interesting RUclips videos on this aircraft, including WWII footage as well as one featuring an aircraft that has been restored.
@@sigeberhtmercia767 well it wouldn't would it? Its not a fighter after all. I'm not being argumentative, but there are many aircraft with colourful histories. One could even mention the workhorse Bristol Blenhiem as an example. I think you know what I mean.
@@gunner678 It's the comic books and the plastic models that help keep the Beaufighter's memory alive. It was the case for me.
As you say, there are many aircraft that have a story to tell.
The Blenheim was initially a light bomber that was also converted and used in a night fighter role. A multi task aircraft that predates both the Beaufighter and the Mosquito. Ahead of its competitors when first introduced but obsolete at the start of the war.
The Blenheims and Beauforts were designed as bombers, the latter also serving in Australia. I had conversations with a navigator who served on one of those aircraft in New Guinea. The Beaufighter while derived from the Beaufort was designed from the start as a heavy fighter and fighter-bomber replacing the Blenheim night fighter. I was reminded of the movie and book Catch 22 with the shenanigans of the B-25 crews when he said that sometimes if they couldn't find their primary target they would just bomb some part of the jungle in Japanese hands hoping to hit something.
Along with the Mosquito, I consider the Beaufighter to be one of the most versatile aircraft of the war.
One definite downside of the Beaufighter was the pilot's poor vision downwards to each quarter, caused by those big radial engines at each side of the cockpit. Forward vision was excellent, but as soon as you went into a turn in combat that whole 90 degrees to left or right and downwards was blanked out, unless you turned very steeply. Excellent ground strafing and bombing plane IF you had a straight in approach to the target, but a curving approach exposed the Beau to fire from the ground or enemy aircraft (this by the way was my father's impression of the aircraft when he flew it a few times in WW2, he normally flew Hurricanes). It was however an excellent plane in many ways, even to the extent that the USAAF used a few of them in North Africa.
The placement of the engines relative to the cockpit gives the plane the most unusual look and of course causes obstructed vision .
Beaufighter was my second choice, after Hawker Tempest!
Well done, Hard to believe that was 14 min., it was interesting and succinct. The personal tangents, of visiting the model factory, and hearing the opinion of one that lived it, is unique. That's what people want to hear. I was born in the early 60's, lived in Singapore in the early 70's. I was a fairly avid WW2 events fan, reading what I could, building some models, etc. There, the war was still alive, in that many structures and folks from that era were still around. The British were very much the stiff upper lipped, as proud and self righteous as imaginable. I moved to England in Nov., '76. The folks could not have been more different, very warm and very personable. My father married a British girl, her parents had lived through the war . Their house was meticulous, their work ethic part of their fabric. I learned what efficient meant, in keeping the garden, and the household. The English school I attended for a year was - by a long shot, the most advanced education I've ever known. The people of the Northeast were as accommodating as any I've ever known, keenly aware of the world, and their place in it. Her Dad, would quietly close his eyes, or simply get up for a minute when anything German or Japanese came on the TV. He didn't cuss them, or say a word even. You don't forget getting bombed. Neither did you dwell on it.
Following on from your comments about the differences between the British snooty upper classes abroad versus those Brits who lived at home. I could not believe how Singapore fell in 1942, when many years earlier an MI6 field officer visited Singapore and advised the British establishment there of the exact same method that Singapore would be taken by the Japanese. His recommendations were totally ignored and he was promptly sacked on the basis that if the people of Singapore found out they would loose Singapore, which they eventually did in 1942. The Japanese conquests did put on notice the far East parts of the European empires were no longer defendable; given the fact that many of these countries were fighting the Japanese themselves rightly stoked the independence movements. Then there's Rudyard Kipling's observations about the British in India and he seemed to think they were not the 'best of British!' (pun intended) as a Brit you ask yourself did we really deserve to run an empire when we weren't looking after it's people, which in my book is the most important thing.
Bristol Beaufighter was a heavy fighter variant of the Beaufort torpedo bomber. It was the first high performance night fighter equipped with airborne interception radar.introduced in the winter 1940-41; aircrew had gone through operational conversion training (OTU) on 51(NF) OTU with Blenheim Mk IVF at RAF Cranfiled in which my father served under its commanding officer (OC) Squadron Leader Guy Gibson of the Dambusters fame.
I am going with the "Hurricane" and then the "Beaufighter."
china type2 bass rocker
you might be right. anyway It would be a close call between the two I'd say.
Yea, I'm gonna go with Hurricane.
I would choose the Wellington but Gregg mostly talk about fighter, so the Typhoon
I don't know, these days the Hurricane gets a lot of recognition. Any video on the Spitfire or Battle of Britain I see comments about how the Hurricane was more important and won the battle. I wouldn't call it particularly underrated.
The Beaufighter however, now there's an underrated plane.
The fun thing about the Hurricane is that it is a family member with the Sopwith Camel and Harrier...
Huh, should have guess the Bristol Beaufighter. Now that I think about it and based on its history, yeah it is definetly underrated. Came and did its job to virtually no fanfare.
Loved the story too. That modeling was such a thing back then is strange to me, although with virtual representations of them that I can now play with in games and sims and the need to avoid clutter, I can see why modeling has certainly fallen off. Still the past seems so strange to me sometimes.
Great video Greg.
I'm constantly thinking about how great it would be if I could get my young boys interested in one of those old classic hobbies, but their interests are so much different from even when I was a kid.
The Hobby of model building has Not fallen off . It's still going strong along with model Rail Roading
Model Trains broke it's own record of 1 . 5 billion annually to 2 . 75 billion this last year .
You want your kids to try a New / old hobby .
Tell them that the internet is down and then set with them and build the models together .
I built dozens of 1/72 scale planes back in the 70’s. Even built a base on a 4’ x 8’ table complete with runway, lake, a mountain with a hidden door for the Me 262s. 😮🤔🤗😑🇨🇦
My uncle earned his DFC in this.
What was his name? Was his name Alfred Gatward? If it is then we're related.
Looks like I split the uprights with my guess. Secretly I always thought the Beaufighter looked nicer than the Mosquito, the inboard section of the Mosquito's wing really ruin its lines for me; sort of like it has the wings from an early Fairey Firefly. I would also have guessed the Handley Page Halifax, which in my opinion was unfairly lambasted by Air Marshall Harris because it couldn't drop his absurd car sized bombs. I actually think the collective view of history has evolved enough since the 1960's that the Hurricane is now receiving its due. The whole Spitfire vs Hurricane rivalry is pretty silly in my opinion, and probably a moot point to bring up any way. Both were highly effective, and the RAF was surely glad to have every fighter they did when Germany brought the fight to their front door.
My grandfather was an aerial surveyor who mainly flew in mosquitos during the war but apparently also flew in beaufighters at some point. He was a big fan of them.
My grandfather was a bomber/ navigator (and stunning aerial photographer) in India during the war. Started off in Bristol Blenheims but by the end they were in Beaufighters. Never got the chance to discuss with him, he died when I was very young, however we still have his diaries and photographs in the family. There are some amazing pictures he took of the officers' club at their base in Sikkim, with elephants pulling rollers across the cricket pitch.
I remember reading in a book about WW2 air combat how an entire squadron of Beaufighters were sent out to escort a Mediterranean convoy, only to be shot down by the ships they were meant to be escorting. "Friendly fire" is not a new thing, and works both ways. There's a Churchill quote having had a British ship attacked by our own air force that "The acerage pilot couldn't tell the difference between the Bismark and the Isle of Wight ferry"
I built a 1:48 scale model of one of these a few years ago for my mum's cousin who had been a navigator in 22 Squadron. They converted from Beauforts to Beaufighters out in the far east in late '43 or early '44 I believe. Alas he died very recently, his funeral was last week (couldn't go- thanks COVID). But he'd had a good inning at 99. RIP Wilf. You'll be missed.
Sorry for your loss and not being able to see him off properly. May he Rest In Peace.
Good lad, dave, well done. Your kind gesture likely meant the world to wilf. Damn the cowardly fool narcistic fascists of coronavirus.
-Edit: Ha ha I’m gloriously wrong.-Excellent. Looking forward to this. I’m going to guess Hawker Hurricane over the Beaufighter. Reasons, the Hurricane did all the RAF heavy lifting in the Battle of France. More than half the kills in the Battle of Britain even though over shadowed in the public imagination by the beautiful Spitfire. Fought in Malta, North Africa and Greece all before the USA entered the war. It fought in the Far East in Malaya and Singapore. It was also fought on the Eastern Front for the USSR. It was modified for carrier and catapult operation. After it became obsolete for fighter operations it was a useful ground attack aircraft armed with bombs, rockets, 40mm tank busting cannons. I’m thinking the Beaufighter, while an excellent night fighter, was surpassed by the Mossie and relegated to a strike role where its air to air opportunities would be limited and therefore I’ll be surprised if it was flown by more aces than the P38.
you might be right - thinking of it now... the Hurricane saw service on the eastern front too. I forgot about this one - that's the only place the Beaufighter did not serve. Yet - don't forget that many aces did fly more than one type of aircraft. there were many Mosquito aces that flew the Beaufighter for a while. Some of them began their string of victories on one type and finished it on the other. Also it was the mainstay of the british night fighter force when the Luftwaffe was most active over britain. Btw: it wasn't "relegated" to the strike role, being able to hit naval and ground targets was one of it's main purposes when the type was designed. So it attacked planes as long as there were enemy planes to attack and it attacked ships or ground targets when supporting ground troops or interdicting convoys became the most important duty. In all those missions it served with distinction....
but comming back to the Hurricane - all the mentioned attributes could apply to this type too, so I would not be too surprised if you would be right and greg indeed presents the Hurricane
@@JosipRadnik1 Perhaps relegated was too strong a word for the Beaufighter. I think I'm basing this on a biography of a RAF night fighter pilot or navigator/radar op, who started on Beaufighters and whose squadron was "upgraded" to Mosquitoes as they moved from defending the Blitz to Intruder operations in support of Bomber Command over the continent. I apologise but I forget his name. I remember the author describing diving down on to a v1 at night for the first time, with the navigator/radar op call out the ranges as they closed in and when they opened fire the nose of the Mossie suffered damage, I think from the high speed and/or blast effects. This required all Mossies to receive additional strengthening if they were to fire their cannons at high speed. I also remember him describing joining the circuit of an enemy airbase and shooting down German night fighters as they came into land.
JosipRadnik1 You were right! And to be honest if I was a young pilot in 1941 I’d not be unhappy to be equiped with Beaufighters.
@@JosipRadnik1 the hurricane was also flown by the Rumanians an axis power.......
@@peterforden5917 Are you sure about that ? I heard about JU88, Bf109 and some IAR (local built and designed). Never heard about Hurricanes being used. And it's romanians not rumanians :).
I'm something of a history buff (I taught it), and when it came to the British aircraft of WWII, I was smitten with the Beaufighter. Of course, I was also intrigued with the Battle of the North Atlantic against the Wolf Packs and their suppliers, and the Beaufighter was reputedly the answer to the Condor, the German Navy's support aircraft. The Beaufighter had the legs to keep up with the Condor and the weapons to take them down. Coastal Command was the most underrated military command of WWII; both Bomber Command and Fighter Command got oodles of kudos, while Coastal Command largely worked in the dark, pulling loooong boring flights out over the featureless ocean in search of surfaced submersibles or their suppliers.
I'm going for the mighty
Avro Anson. A reliable Jack of all trades and master of many, from communications trainer , light bomber and coastal command stalwart, even upsetting a 109 drivers plans for a quiet afternoon, the Annie served throughout the war and into civilian life, yep just has to be.
Love the channel Greg.
Edit
Oh darn, just read the description about the aces part,,,,, still, The Mighty Avro is a winner in my eyes.
You have a point there on the ox box
I wish I still had all the models I built when I was a kid. I used to like to take thread and replicate the wires on WWI aircraft. Something today's kids will never understand I guess.
I did the same on my sixties model cars as a kid, lol
Today’s kids do similar things, it’s just gone to a different medium- video games.
@@skyflier8955 True, I think the modeling and similar hobbies were probably much more useful for developing practical skills and knowledge though.
dirty pure I’m sure modeling has many practical applications to real life. Some video games can also have practical applications, it’s just hard to realize that because the results aren’t as visible as for modeling.
I remember as a kid i got a Revell kit from the cutty sark as a Birthday gift
OMG that was alot of threads, rigging and alot of surface to paint.
Never build a shipmodel so that was a very big challenge.
The arial and wing threads of aircraft models i always tensionend between to spikes and dripped it with glue to fix it.
I also used that technic to make overhead telegraph lines on my model railroad.
Mom ofcourse very angry when you "borrowed" that black sewing thread you need 😁
Those were the days.
My Dad was a Photographer with 31 Squadron RAAF which was using the Bristol Beaufighter during the Second World War. He managed to keep numerous photos that he had taken during his time in Tarakan, and Lapu Lapu.
He, and his ANZAC Day buddies ALWAYS spoke extremely highly favoured the Beaufighter.
I knew immediately that you were talking about the Bristol Beaufighter. I always loved the get-outta-my-way, extremely brutish look of this brawler, not nearly as sleek and handsome as the Mossie but just as impressive in a different way. A truly unappreciated classic Warbird, thank you for posting this.
Love your story about Revell kits, my dad saved all of mine which I recently recovered and will be restoring them when I got mine.
I always thought that they were more detailed than the others and I now know why. It all starts with the people leading the company.
Revell made the best models, period. At least the best available to us American kids during the 60s/70s. I have a vague recollection of higher end Japanese kits to which I had no retail access but I don't know for a fact that they were any better than Revell. I built dozens of ships, only a few planes.
I remember in the late 60's to mid 70's when i built plastic model aircraft and ships. The only model manufacturer was a company called "Airfix". There kits had the aircraft, transfer decals (that you cut out, soak in water, and slide into place on the model), and a sheet of paper with the printed instructions. "FULL STOP".
Can you imagine this young boy's delight when "REVELL" models came into the English shops with Glue (plastic cement), Paint's, YES Paint's with an "S", all the colours you needed for the model, and a Paint brush. All for just a few penny's more than the same model from "Airfix". In some cases buying all the glue, paints, etc, would make the "Airfix" model double the price of the same model from "REVELL".
The Hawker Hurricane. It carried the load during the battle of Britain.
Dwight E Howell never ever been 'underrated'.
Hurricanes are famous. Always were. They were the sexy fighter pre-war. Everyone wanted to fly hurricanes untilabout 1939.
I believe that the Hurricanes shot down more Luftwaffe aircraft than the Spitfire, because they went after the bombers, and the Spit's went after the escorting fighters.
The Hurricane was also easier to repair with patches to the fabric skin, and more rugged construction with a steel tube fuselage construction covered in fabric, which apparently meant that the German cannon shells would fly right through the fuselage without exploding, as they would hitting the Spitfire covered in aluminium skins.
Hurricanes were more versatile than the Spit's, as they could be fitted with two Vickers 'S' 40mm cannons, one under each wing for ground attacks.
I still love the Spitfire though as they played two different roles.
Yup...Hurricane, Mosquito and Beaufighter...
Much later...the Vampire...but this is another story!!!
@@Trillock-hy1cf Spitfire was a genious/ beautiful plane and design...but....but ...
A rugged tool is better than a fine tuned one...
@@robgoodsight6216
It's hard to choose between them as they both have their good points and bad, and very good at the job they did. .But bloody glad we had them in WWII, along with the Mossie, Beaufighter, Lancaster, Wellington, and a few others. Then the Meteor which didn't see much action, because I believe it was banned from flying near, or over Germany for fear that the Germans might get their hands on one to examine its secrets.
Nice video. But as an aside, a few years ago I was on holiday in Northumberland and the house we were staying in was only a couple of hundred yards from the north east main rail line. I was sitting in the garden one day and heard what l thought was a high speed diesel train. Much to my surprise a P38, complete with D-Day stripes, came past only a few hundred feet off the ground following the tracks. Before l could grab my camera was out of range. Just a brief few seconds of history that will stay with me forever.
Yeah ... I know what you mean. On one of the anniversaries of the Doolittle Raid - the Constellation sailed north just off the coast where I could see it from a point. It turned south into the wind and then launched two B-25 Mitchells. They were in the air half way down the deck. I'll never forget seeing that. They had two F-4U's flying "CAP" orbiting the ship at a distance.
.
In 1960 I was 9 years old and building models from the dime store up the street. Now I am doing LEGOS with the grandkids.
You should look at the new Airfix Beaufighters !
See alot of people hear talking about fighters, but I think it would be hilarious if it turns out to be the wellington bomber. :P
"flown by more aces than the P-38". I didn't think pilots of bombers were given credit for aircraft their gunners may have downed. So I think that eliminates the idea any bomber without forward fixed guns.
The Wellington was used in a night fighter role and had its own aces !!!
yikes. the wellington had a 3 mission life expectancy for the tail gunner!
@@omerashraf9357 references?
@@egocyclic made the guess before the video was released. Still would have been a funny video. :P
"Fighter Test Pilot, from Hurricane to Tornado" by Commander Roland Beaumont, OBE > the Ace says > HURRICANE
A true great. He was also a test pilot on the Lightning!!!
It does depend on just how late into the war you go. My guess behind the Hurricane is the Sea Fury. The Sea Fury actually scored a kill against a Mig 15 in Korea.
@Dalle Smalhals (Not for you Dalle, you already know. For those that doubt). Winkle Brown just has more history and flying records and amazing war stories and events - and the rest - than maybe the whole of the RAF put together..Seriously, that is how extraordinary his life and he was.
Just a taste:
His record of aircraft types flown will never be beaten. It is impossible now. He was to fly the Miles M-52. He tested all the German aircraft including the jets and rockets. He interviewed Goering. He helped capture Himmler and was at Belsen when it was liberated. He landed the first aircraft on a carrier and the first jet, a Vampire. he made the most landings on a carrier ever too. He was at the Berlin olympics and he saw Hannah Reitsch fly the first helicopter and it just goes on and on. Extraordinary hardly describes him.
I agree Dalle big balls too.
Edit Oh and he survived being torpedoed...Only two survived in the water...
indeed Sidney Cam really knew what he was doing. Wide track undercarriage and you could have 3 Hurricanes for 2 Spitfires in 1/2 the time a Spitfire took to make. Seeing that later on in the war 30% of Spitfire accidents were just takeoff and landing, it's important. Could out-turn the Spitfire also (cant remember if Tuck or Beamont said).
The Hurricane was truly the backbone of the RAF in the summer of 1940 but only because of numbers. It was designed and put into production earlier and faster than the Spit, but was already considered to be somewhat outdated when introduced. By 1942 the Hurricane was no longer competitive even in secondary combat zones like North Africa and the Med.
All of the pilots speak highly of it. All of the best stories in 'Commando comics' were the stories about the Beufighter and the P40 kittyhawk in Africa. That's how I remember it. I know the comics were heavily influenced by first-hand accounts.
Our twin engine fighter bombers were the fastest things around until jets turned up. They climb faster than mono props. That saved many many pilots.
Unfortunately we all often "Judge a book by it's cover"
The Mossi was not underrated... so may be, it’s indeed the Beaufighter!
No mossy in bob
@Dalle Smalhals loop
Great to see the Beaufighter getting some love for a change 👍🏻
Hell yeah. I also love how this thing looks. Just a rugged, purposeful workhorse yet somehow still sleek. Like a 1989 toyota 4runner or a mercedes W124 wagon. Its also what i'd imagine Mad Max would be flying if they had warbirds instead of cars.
The engines on the Beau were very quiet on approach so it was known as "whispering death", largely because being strafed by 4 20mm cannon and up to 6 Browning .303 machine guns was not a recipe for a long life.
It was a great aircraft, not far behind the incomparable Mossie in many roles and even capable of some that that esteemed aircraft could not do.
I am someone who grew up building models very recently (well, I am quite young), I can't imagine a time when everyone built them.
My hobby has been shaped by cheap models sold by stores trying to get rid of them. I was struggling to find affordable models and I would buy at least one when I had the opportunity.
I love Revell. You could get a very interesting model for around 5-15€ (f.ex. I had a Tu-95 for 10 Euros). Sadly, the company entered a downward spiral of adults not liking the quality and new designs being expensive, leading to shrinking catalogues and even less sales.
I think one of the main factors that harms the last few generations is the easy availability of entertainment. A model is not only a hobby, but it sparks interest in the real-life version, it makes an eye for detail more developed and it enables pride after completion.
As an Australian whose great uncle flew the Beaufighter, I can confirm that I believed it was the Beaufighter you were talking about. Thank you for making this awesome video on this awesome plane.
And the awesome Aussies that flew them! Between you, the Kiwis and us Brits we’ve got the rest of the world surrounded. Not forgetting the Canadians too!
I've always been a "fan" of the Beaufighter. Reminds me in a way of the A-10; solid, purposeful and a bit homely.
Yep, and like the A10 it was usually armed to the teeth! Love the Beaufighter!