Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA2303 Bristol Beaufighter Mk. VIF “KW147”, 415th NFS, 12th USAAF, Le Vallon, France, September 1944

Die-cast metal. Pre-painted with pad applied markings. Fully assembled. Weapons that are not permanently attached. Comes with crew figures Display stand included. Option to display model with wheels up or down. Movable propellers. Minimum use of plastic. Hobby Master doesn’t flood the market with huge numbers of each model and with the pre-production interest shown world wide this definitely will be a very rare bird and extremely sought after.

AI Mark VIII radar. The Mk. VI had the improved Hercules engines with over 1,000 aircraft of this variant being made. Most of the Beau night-fighters were eventually replaced in this role by the faster Mosquito but the Beau continued to fight on performing anti- shipping duty as well as ground attack and long range interdiction. The Beaufighter was produced in 14 variants and operated by 11 countries.

The 415th NFS (Night Fighter Squadron) known as “The Nitefiters” was activated on February 8, 1943 with its first posting to Algeria in June. As part of the 12th USAAF the squadron flew reverse lend-lease night-fighter Bristol Beaufighters that retained the standard RAF night fighter scheme but with US markings.. During 1943 the 415th flew in the MTO and in 1944 and 1945 they moved to France and eventually into Germany. Their first station in France was Le Vallon from September 1st - 25th 1944. The squadron was inactivated September 1, 1947.

Specifications Bristol Beaufighter Mk. VIF Aircraft Type - Night Fighter Crew - 2 Performance Engine - (2) Bristol Hercules VI, 14 cylinder radial, 1,670 hp each turning (3) bladed propellers Speed - 333 mph (536kph) @ 15,600 ft (4,755 m) Time To Climb to 15,000 ft (4,572 m) - 7.8 minutes Service Ceiling - 26,500 ft (8,077 m) Range - 1,540 miles (2,478 km)

Dimensions Wingspan - 57 ft 10 in (17.64 m) Length - 41 ft 8 in (12.7 m) Height - 15 ft 10 in (4.82 m) Wing Area - 503 ft sq (46.73 m sq)

Weight Empty - 14,600 lbs (6,623 kg) Loaded - 21,600 lbs (9,798 kg)

Armament Nose - (4) 20 mm Port Wing - (2) 7.7 mm Machine guns Starboard Wing - (4) 7.7 mm Machine guns