Hobby Master Archive

The Bristol Beaufighter was designed as a two-seat long-range fighter. To speed up production many parts of the older Bristol Beaufort were used. The tail, landing gear and wings of the Beaufort were transplanted to the Beaufighter and most units were equipped with airborne radar located in the nose for night-fighting. The Mk. IF was the initial production and fitted with four 20 mm cannons in the nose along with six 7.7 mm machine guns in the wings. The Beaufighter TF Mk.X was the last major version with 2,231 built.

No. 455 Squadron RAAF was formed on May 23, 1941 in Williamtown, NSW. Late in 1943 Bristol Beaufighters replaced the aging Hampdens so RAAF 455 Sqn stationed along side the RNZAF 489 Sqn were formed into a strike force and developed new tactics. This force was known as the ANZAC Wing and moved to Langham on April 12, 1944.. From this base the ANZAC Wing conducted operations in an effort to clear the English Channel of German vessels in preparation for D-Day and during the D-Day landings. A photograph was taken of Beaufighter UB-E NE548 firing a salvo of rockets has become the iconic photo of a T.F.X or perhaps of any Beaufighter.

Specifications: Bristol Beaufighter T.F.X Dimensions Wing span - 57 ft. 10 in. (17.64 m) Length - 41 ft. 4 in. (12.59 m) Height - 15 ft. 10 in. (4.84 m)

Weight Empty - 15,592 lb (7,072 kg) Maximum - 25,400 lb. (11,521 kg) Disposable Load - 9,808 lb. (4,448 kg)

Performance Powerplant - 2 x Bristol Hercules XVII fourteen-cylinder two-row sleeve-valve radial engines rated @ 1,725 hp (1,286 kw) @ 2,900 rpm for take-off rated @ 1,395 hp (1,040 kw) @ 2,400 rpm at 1,500 ft. (457 m) Maximum Speed - @ sea-level - 320 mph (514 km/h) Service Ceiling - 19,000 ft. (5,791 m) (without torpedo) Range with torpedo and normal fuel - 1,400 miles (2,253 km) with torpedo and long-range tanks - 1,750 miles (2,816 km)

Armament 4 x 20-mm. Hispano cannon in the fuselage nose 6 x 0.303-in. machine-guns in the wings 1 x 0.303-in Vickers “K” or 1 x Browning gun in the dorsal position 1 x 18-in. torpedo under fuselage 8 x rocket projectiles instead of wing guns.

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA2310 Bristol Beaufighter TF.X NE548, 455 Sqn., RAAF, mid-1944 “UB-E”

Die-cast metal. Superb detailing in 1/72 scale. 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.