BEAUFIGHTER MERITS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20639, 20 August 1941, Page 9

BEAUFIGHTER MERITS

OFFENCE AND DEFENCE ‘ HEAVILY ARMED PLANES LONDON, August 4. ' The Beaufighter, probably the largest and most heavily armed fighter in the world, is one of the greatest weapons of offence and defence in Britain’s armament. Hundreds of them are now coming off production lines at factories located somewhere in England to join their fellows, which have done so much to ease the night bombing of England. They are built on a scale which suggests a bomber rather than a fighter. They carry four 20-millimetre' Hispana cannon and six Browning machine-guns, and are powered by two great Bristol Hercules Illengines, developing a maximum ot 1400 horsepower. They ha%'e an operational speed of more than 330 miles an hour, a nominal range of 1500 miles, a normal fuel capacity of 39601 b., and a crew of two—a pilot and -an observer. The enormous size of the fighter is indicated bv the following dimensions: Span, 57ft. 10in.; length, 40ft. 4in.; height in rigging position, 15ft. lOin. A crack test pilot who flew one machine in a display said later: The machine is one of the "easiest I have ever, handled. It is manoeuvrable and responsive. I can understand why the Royal Air Force boys like them.”