page_title: Bristol Beaufighter
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: Bristol Beaufighter / Development / Production
caption_attribution_description: English: Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1939-1945. RAF armourers loading belts of 20mm Hispano cannon shells into a Bristol Beaufighter NF Mark VI of No. 96 Squadron RAF at Honiley, Warwickshire.
context_page_description: The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter was a multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the UK. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber. The Beaufighter proved to be an effective night fighter, which came into service with the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain, its large size allowing it to carry heavy armament and early airborne interception radar without major performance penalties.
  The Beaufighter was used in many roles; receiving the nicknames Rockbeau for its use as a rocket-armed ground attack aircraft and Torbeau as a torpedo bomber against Axis shipping, in which it replaced the Beaufort. In later operations, it served mainly as a maritime strike/ground attack aircraft, RAF Coastal Command having operated the largest number of Beaufighters amongst all other commands at one point. The Royal Australian Air Force also made extensive use of the type as an anti-shipping aircraft, such as during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.
context_section_description: Large orders for the Beaufighter were placed around the outbreak of the Second World War, including one for 918 aircraft shortly after the arrival of the initial production examples. In mid-1940, during an official visit to Bristol's Filton facility by the Minister of Aircraft Production, Lord Beaverbrook, the minister spoke of the importance of the Beaufighter to the war effort and urged its rapid service entry. While the aircraft's size had once caused scepticism, the Beaufighter became the highest performance aircraft capable of carrying the bulky early airborne interception radars used for night fighter operations, without incurring substantial endurance or armament penalties, and was invaluable as a night fighter.
  For the maximum rate of production, sub-contracting of the major components was used wherever possible and two large shadow factories to perform final assembly work on the Beaufighter were established via the Ministry of Aircraft Production; the first, operated by the Fairey Aviation Company, was at Stockport, Greater Manchester and the second shadow, run by Bristol, was at Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. Output of the Beaufighter rose rapidly upon the commencement of production.
  Through 1940–41, the manufacturing rate of the Beaufighter steadily rose. On 7 December 1940, the 100th Filton-built aircraft was dispatched; the 200th Filton-built aircraft followed on 10 May 1941. On 7 March 1941, the first Fairey-built Beaufighter Mk I performed its first test flight; the first Weston-built aircraft reached the same milestone on 20 February 1941. The volume of production involved, along with other factors, had led to a shortage of Hercules engines being expected, jeopardising the aircraft's manufacturing rate. The next variant, the Beaufighter Mk II, used the Merlin engine instead. On 22 March 1941, the first production Beaufighter Mk II, R2270, conducted its maiden flight; squadron deliveries commenced in late April 1941.
  By mid-1941, manufacture of the Beaufighter varied to meet the demands of RAF Fighter Command and RAF Coastal Command. Early aircraft were able to be outfitted and perform with either command but later, the roles and equipment diverged, leading to the production of distinct models, distinguished by the suffixes F for Fighter Command and C for Coastal Command were used. Often, one command opted for modifications and features that the other did not. This occurred with the bellows-type dive brake that became standard for Coastal Command Beaufighters for its usefulness in torpedo-bombing.
  Production of the earlier Beaufort in Australia and the great success of British-made Beaufighters by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), contributed to the Australian government deciding in January 1943 to manufacture Beaufighters under the Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) organisation at Fishermans Bend, Melbourne, Victoria from 1944. The DAP Beaufighter was an attack and torpedo bomber known as the "Mark 21". Design changes included Hercules VII or XVIII engines and some minor changes in armament. By September 1945, when British production ended, 5,564 Beaufighters had been built by Bristol and the Fairey Aviation Company at Stockport and RAF Ringway (498); also by the Ministry of Aircraft Production (3336) and Rootes at Blythe Bridge (260). When Australian production ceased in 1946, 364 Mk.21s had been built.
caption: Ground crew loading ammunition for the cannon of an RAF Beaufighter Mk VI night fighter
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