Bristol Beaufighter

Here's a look at a Beafighter examples I saw on display during my visit to England in February 2008. Photos were taken by Steve Heeb, and are intended as reference to assist model builders in creating accurate representations of this fine aircraft. There are more than 20 shots from a wide variety of angles. I kept the photos pretty big so that they can be used as references by model builders who do not have access to planes like this. Hope these shots will be of some help.

Some captions and details may be included to the right of the photos. I do not claim to be an expert (by any means) but have pointed out a few items that I found interesting. Please forgive any inaccuracies on my part.

Note: This plane were on display in England at the Royal Air Force museum  in London and as part of the restoration for display some details may have been altered from their original operational condition. The lighting was fairly poor for certain angles and I bumped up the contrast on some photos to bring out the details, sometimes sacrificing the color values in favor of surface detail. I hope there is enough detail here to be a help.

Back to Walkarounds and Reference Pics

The Beaufighter in the Royal Air Force Museum in London.
Gun tubes under the chin and a variety of small bumps on the engine cowling.
Looking back at the port engine and wheel well
Closer look at the port side landing gear arms
Note that the exhaust on the port wing is on the inboard side of the engine. Both engines had the exhaust on the left side, so on the starboard wing the exhaust was outboard.
Here is the starboard engine cowling and landing gear. Highlighted to show some of the details better.
Looking forward up into the starboard landing gear area.
Closer and lightened. (The lighting in this area of the museum was very poor for taking photos so some color accuracy has been sacrificed to better bring out the contrast and better reveal details.)
 
starboard engine cowling and exhaust
 
Hinge detail under the starboard wing
Under the starboard wing
Looking forward at the gear door on the starboard wing
Starboard side of the rudder
A slightly different shot in case this one has different details
Note the control arm  toward the end of the tail surface actually originates on an extension that cuts into the tail surface several inches. I'm pretty sure that would make this a later Beaufighter (Mk X?) because the Mk 1F didn't have it according to my reference book.
Pretty extreme dihedral on the tail
Note that there is a covering over the area where the plane and rudder meet. I don't know if that was standard on the active planes or if that was added for the plane to be displayed
Tail wheel arm and small access plates under he stabilizer on the port side of the plane
Port Wing looking inward to engine. Note that the exhaust is on the left side of the engine on both wings, making it inboard on this side and outboard on the starboard wing.

 

Back to Walkarounds and Reference Pics