ICM Bristol Beaufort Mk.I 1:48

The Bristol Beaufort torpedo-bomber, which was widely used in the RAF Coastal Command, was also a part of the air units of the British Dominion countries. Thus, in August 1941, the 489th squadron was formed from pilots of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). They received several Bristol Beaufort Mk.I, which operated until the winter of 1942. In late 1941, 18 Beaufort Mk.I aircraft were received by the South African Air Force (SAAF) to protect the vital shipping lanes around the Cape of Good Hope. In the winter of 1942, two divisions were created in the SAAF – the 36th and 37th Coastal Flight, which included these aircraft. At first, they performed patrol functions and later were involved in combat operations against the French forces of the Vichy regime in the region of Madagascar. The Canadian Air Force (RCAF) also operated the Beaufort BeaufortMk.I – these were the 415th and 149th squadrons. Canadian Beauforts were used until 1943, engaging in patrol flights and solving anti-submarine defense tasks.

The Bristol Beaufort is a British medium-range bomber-torpedo all-metal structure. The plane was designed for Coastal Command in 1936, and the flight of the prototype took place on October 15, 1938. In total, only two versions of the aircraft were made: Mk.I (955 copies) and Mk.II (450 pieces). Due to the fact that the plane was intended for coastal operations, an air chamber was placed in the lower part of the fuselage, extending buoyancy in the event of being shot down over the sea. The plane was additionally equipped with the necessary equipment in the event of a ditching, incl. a lifeboat. After the outbreak of the war, the plane was also equipped with a radar, which increased the efficiency of the plane in tracking submarines. Bristol Beaufort planes conducted mine water mining operations, patrolled shipping routes in the Atlantic, North Sea and the English Channel. They conducted combat operations over the Mediterranean Sea and the Western Desert. They successfully attacked the Kriegsmarine and the Italian Navy. These planes were also used in Australia and in the years 1941-1944 were the basic equipment of Australian aviation. They were used as patrol planes, bombers, bombers and fighter planes, etc., and proved to be particularly effective in tracking Japanese submarines during fighting in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea. Beauforts remained in service until the end of the Pacific War. They remained in Australian aviation as training planes Beauforty until 1946. Later, they were used sporadically in civil aviation. Technical data: Maximum speed: 425 km / h, maximum ceiling 5030 m, maximum range: 1660 km, armament: fixed - four 7.7 mm Browning machine guns, suspended - up to 906 kg of bombs or a torpedo of this weight.