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.

In 1944 the Turkish Air Force received approximately nine Bristol Beaufighter TF MK.X aircraft that had been taken directly from front-line units. In 1946 they added another 23 of these aircraft that were destined to replace their Bristol Beauforts and Blenheims that had been used for anti-shipping. This #11 Beaufighter TF MK.X has the Turkish Air Force serial 6111 and was ex-RAF RD492. It was delivered in June 1947 and was assigned to Torpil- Bomardiman 105, Torpil Grubu 1.Bl. This aircraft was withdrawn from service in 1951.

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 HA2312 Bristol Beaufighter TF Mk.X Torpil-Bombardiman-105. Torpil Grubu/1.BI. THvKv No.6111 (ex-RAF RD492) Delivery date : June, 1947

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. Propellers spin freely. Minimum use of plastic.