"remanufactured to the similar ""Defiant TT Mk III"" standard; roughly 150 such conversion took place during 1943-1944. So that the type could be used to meet the growing overseas demand for target-towing aircraft, the Defiant was tropicalized, a large portion of which was the installation of large filters underneath the aircraft's nose. The P.85 was Boulton Paul's tender to Specification O.30/35 for the naval turret fighter. A version of the Defiant for Fleet Air Arm (FAA), it had leading edge slats and a deeper fuselage, for the lower landing speeds required of carrier aircraft. The engine would be either a"
"had reached the RAF, and these were only for trial purposes, by the outbreak of the Second World War. Due to delays with the type entering production, there were not enough available Defiants to begin standing patrols in 1940, by which point the introduction of not only more advanced fighters but bombers as well had allegedly undermined the usefulness of the type. On 30 July 1939, the first production Defiant, ""L6950"", conducted its maiden flight; it commenced official trials with the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) in September that year. Apart from some detail changes, the production ""Defiant Mk"
"Paul Defiants and specialised Miles Martinet aircraft. Hawker Henley The Hawker Henley was a British two-seat target tug derived from the Hawker Hurricane that was operated by the RAF during the Second World War. In 1934 Air Ministry Specification P.4/34 was issued which called for a light bomber that could also be deployed in a close-support role as a dive-bomber. Fairey, Gloster and Hawker attempted to fulfil this need and competition was tight to attain the highest performance possible. As the aircraft required only a modest bomb load and with performance being paramount, the Hawker design team chose to focus"
"up with a number of overseas assignments with both the RAF and Fleet Air Arm in the Middle East, Africa and India. Further deployments occurred to Canada, where the Defiant was used as a target tug and trainer with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Defiants were also used for ""special"" work including tactical evaluations with the RAF Gunnery Research Unit and the Air Fighting Development Unit (AFDU) at Farnborough. Two Defiants were issued for ejection seat development work; to R Malcolm Ltd and Martin-Baker. On 11 December 1944, Defiant ""DR944"" was delivered to Martin-Baker's facility at Denham; sometime thereafter,"
"to 563 Defiant Mk Is on order, while a further 280 were ordered under a rearranged manufacturing plan issued in mid-1940. However, the performance of the Defiant had been determined to be inadequate by this point, which led to manufacturing being sustained principally for economic reasons. A total of 713 Defiant Mk I aircraft were completed. In response to a service request which sought greater performance, the ""Defiant Mk II"", powered by the 1,260 hp Merlin XX engine, was promptly developed. On 20 July 1940, ""N1550"", the first production Defiant Mk II performed its initial flight. The Mk II featured"
"duties. By March 1940, 264 Squadron had two flights operational with Defiants and No. 141 Squadron received its first Defiant. When the Defiant was first introduced to the public, the RAF put out a disinformation campaign, stating that the Defiant had 21 guns: four in the turret, 14 in the wings and three cannon in the nose. On 12 May 1940, the first operational sortie occurred as a flight of six Defiants flew with six Spitfires of 66 Squadron over the English Channel to the coastline in the vicinity of The Hague, Netherlands; during this flight, a single Ju 88,"
"and took no further part in daytime operations. However, the Defiant was found to be more effective as a night fighter. It equipped four squadrons and during the winter ""Blitz"" on London of 1940–41, Defiants shot down more enemy aircraft than any other type. The Fiat CR.42 was a biplane fighter used by the Italian Air Corps (""Corpo Aereo Italiano""). They only made one mission during the battle itself when on 29 October they provided a bomber escort on a raid on Ramsgate. Following the end of the battle, the Italian force continued to carry out limited raids on England,"
"Paul Defiant crashed at the airfield, and was so badly damaged that it was scrapped. In October 1943 a B-17 Flying Fortress from 547th Bombardment Squadron, based at RAF Grafton Underwood, became lost on returning from a raid on Germany. It landed at Desford, but overshot the runway and crashed into a hangar, injuring two of the crew. The aircraft was later dismantled on site. From January 1940 Desford also housed units of the Civilian Repair Organisation, engaged in aircraft repairs and modifications, originally the Boulton Paul Defiant, and later the B-25 Mitchell. Vickers-Armstrongs also had a factory at Desford"
"down more enemy aircraft than any other type. The Defiant Mk II was fitted with AI.IV radar and a Merlin XX engine. A total of 207 Defiant Mk IIs were built but the Defiant was retired as radar-equipped Beaufighter and Mosquito night fighters entered service in 1941 and 1942. Turret fighters with four 20mm cannon were specified under F.11/37 but got no further than a scaled prototype. A Douglas Havoc, ""BD126"", was fitted with six upward firing machine guns in the fuselage behind the cockpit. The guns could be controlled in elevation from 30–50 degrees and 15 degrees in the"
"Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 was a British two-seat biplane reconnaissance and bomber aircraft of the First World War designed and produced at the Royal Aircraft Factory. It was also built under contract by Austin Motors, Daimler, Standard Motors, Siddeley-Deasy and the Coventry Ordnance Works. Intended as a replacement for the vulnerable B.E.2, the R.E.8 was widely regarded as more difficult to fly and gained a reputation in the Royal Flying Corps for being ""unsafe"" that was never entirely dispelled. Although eventually it gave reasonably satisfactory service, it was never an outstanding combat aircraft. Nonetheless, it"
"Defiant is to be seen on display at the RAF Museum at RAF Hendon. In August 1941 the squadron converted to Beaufighters which it flew until being re-equipped with Mosquitoes in late 1942. Between April 1941 and April 1943 the squadron was based at RAF Clyst Honiton, now Exeter Airport, defending the South West of England from enemy night bombers. In May 1942 when 40 Junkers-88 bombers attacked Exeter as part of the Exeter Blitz of the Baedeker raids there were only four Polish 307 Squadron Beaufighters available to defend the city. Despite being heavily outnumbered the squadron managed to"
"Bristol Beaufort The Bristol Beaufort (manufacturer designation Type 152) was a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber. At least 1,180 Beauforts were built by Bristol and other British manufacturers. The Australian government's Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) also manufactured variants of the Beaufort. These are often known collectively as the DAP Beaufort. More than 700 Australian-built Beauforts saw service with the Royal Australian Air Force in the South West Pacific theatre, where they were used until the end of the war. Beauforts first"
"in the United Kingdom. The Britten-Norman Group is the last remaining independent aircraft manufacturer in the United Kingdom, with about 100 employees. It is best known for its design of rugged transport aircraft, such as the Islander, Trislander and Defender 4000. To reduce costs, the company (resident on the Isle of Wight) did not perform manufacture of the airframes, but instead outsourced this to Romania. However, it has now moved production of all aircraft back to Daedalus Airfield and also performs in the European hub for the Cirrus SR20 and SR22 final assembly and delivery. The Canadian company, Bombardier, employs"
"in June 2012 and undertook a number of flights painted as 'A3930' of No. 9 Squadron Royal Flying Corps, before being sent by road to Hendon in November 2012. It is now on static display in the Grahame-White Factory. Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 was a British two-seat biplane reconnaissance and bomber aircraft of the First World War designed and produced at the Royal Aircraft Factory. It was also built under contract by Austin Motors, Daimler, Standard Motors, Siddeley-Deasy and the Coventry Ordnance Works. Intended as a replacement for the vulnerable B.E.2, the R.E.8 was widely"
"Pacific was probably of greater importance than that of any other single aircraft type."" Bristol Beaufort The Bristol Beaufort (manufacturer designation Type 152) was a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber. At least 1,180 Beauforts were built by Bristol and other British manufacturers. The Australian government's Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) also manufactured variants of the Beaufort. These are often known collectively as the DAP Beaufort. More than 700 Australian-built Beauforts saw service with the Royal Australian Air Force in the South West"
"B-25 Mitchell bombers. Work on Defiant airframes finished in June 1945 and the last Mitchells left Desford in November the same year. After the Second World War the company was requested by the British government to produce the Reid camera based on the Leica patents and drawings which had been seized by the Allies. The first camera went on general sale in 1951 and the company produced cameras until 1964. Reid and Sigrist Reid and Sigrist was an English engineering company based at New Malden in Surrey. It later acquired sites at Desford and Braunstone in Leicestershire. Initially it developed"
"Challenger 2 The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MOD designation ""CR2"") is a British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. It was designed and built by the British company Vickers Defence Systems (now known as BAE Systems Land & Armaments). Vickers Defence Systems began to develop a successor to Challenger 1 as a private venture in 1986. A £90 million deal for a demonstrator vehicle was finalised in January 1989. In June 1991, the Ministry of Defence placed a £520 million order for 140 vehicles, with a further 268 ordered in 1994. Production"
"Bristol F.2 Fighter The Bristol F.2 Fighter was a British two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, other popular names include the """"Brisfit"""" or """"Biff"""". Although the type was intended initially as a replacement for the pre-war Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c reconnaissance aircraft, the newly-available Rolls-Royce Falcon V12 engine gave it the performance of a two-seat fighter. Despite a disastrous start to its career, the definitive F.2B version proved to be an agile aircraft that was able to hold"
"Only a handful of production aircraft were actually completed by the Royal Aircraft Factory; instead, the bulk of the work was issued out to several private companies, who were responsible for the type throughout its production life, including Austin Motors, Daimler, Standard Motors, Siddeley-Deasy and the Coventry Ordnance Works. The first production aircraft reached 52 Squadron Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in France in November 1916. The inexperienced pilots of 52 Squadron found their new mounts thoroughly dangerous and several were killed spinning in off a stall while attempting to land; they were grateful to return to the B.E.2e by exchanging"
"I"" looked similar to the two Defiant prototypes. It was powered by the Rolls Royce Merlin III engine, which was capable of generating 1,030 hp/768 kW or 1,160 hp/865 kW of thrust. By January 1940, over half of the original production batch had been completed. Beyond the initial production order in April 1937, follow-on orders had been issued for the type; in February 1938, an additional 202 Defiant Mk I aircraft were ordered; three months later, another 161 aircraft were ordered. In December 1939, yet another 150 aircraft were ordered, raising the overall total to 513. In 1940, this rose"
"Victory Aircraft Victory Aircraft Limited was a Canadian manufacturing company that, during the Second World War, built mainly British-designed aircraft under licence. It acted as a ""shadow factory"", safe from the reach of German bombers. Initially the major wartime contract to manufacture Avro Lancaster heavy bombers was to go to the National Steel Car Ltd. headquartered in Hamilton, utilizing the Malton factory (near today's Toronto Pearson International Airport). National Steel Car was already producing Westland Lysander aircraft and involved as a subcontractor in the manufacture of Hawker Hurricane fighters, Avro Anson trainers and Handley Page Hampden bombers. Questions arising as"
"on public display. Its identity is thought possibly to be ""T5298"". Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often referred to simply as the ""Beau"") is a multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the United Kingdom. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort bomber. Upon its entry to service, the Beaufighter proved to be well suited to the night fighter role, for which the Royal Air Force (RAF) initially deployed the type during the height of the Battle of Britain, in part due to its large"
"had teamed up with leading aircraftman Frederick James Barker from Bow in London. They formed part of the flight commanded by Nicholas Gresham Cooke. In early operations the Defiant was often mistaken for the similarly-shaped Hawker Hurricane by German pilots who dived to attack from above and behind, the blind spot for a Hurricane pilot, but directly into the fire from the gunner’s turret on a Defiant. On 27 May 1940 Thorn and Barker are reported to have shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109 near Dunkirk, but this is not mentioned in other records. On 28 May 1940, just north"
"English Electric Lightning The English Electric Lightning is a fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s and 1970s. It remains the only UK-designed and -built fighter capable of Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufactured by English Electric, which was subsequently absorbed by the newly-formed British Aircraft Corporation. Later the type was marketed as the BAC Lightning. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Kuwait Air Force (KAF) and the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF). A unique feature of the Lightning's design is the vertical, staggered configuration of its two Rolls-Royce Avon"
"Noteworthy were several original features designed and fabricated by the engines with technical support from several persons and companies. The airframe was fabricated from palosapis wood and the skin from tanguile veneer plywood. The engine mount was fabricated from chrome molybdenum steel. Most significant of all was the fabrication and assembly of a one-piece plastic canopy. Fuel tanks were constructed with 5052-H34 aluminum alloys. Instrument panel, electrical, hydraulic and pitot-static systems were laid out with the help of reference books and articles. PADC Defiant The PADC Defiant was a trainer and light attack aircraft that was developed by the Philippine"
"realised only when it was converted to night fighting. It was supplanted in the night fighter role by the Bristol Beaufighter and de Havilland Mosquito. The Defiant found use in gunnery training, target towing, electronic countermeasures and air-sea rescue. Among RAF pilots it had the nickname ""Daffy"". During the 1930s, the increasing speed of military aircraft posed a particular challenge to anti-aircraft defences. Advances in aircraft design achieved during the 1920s and 1930s had resulted in a generation of multi-engined monoplane bombers that were substantially faster than their contemporary single-engined biplane fighters then in service. The RAF came to believe"
"England's Glory England's Glory is a brand of non-safety matches, available in the United Kingdom, using a celebrated image of a Victorian battleship, HMS Devastation. The product was originally made in the still-standing 'Moreland's Match Manufactory' in Bristol Road, Gloucester by S.J. Moreland and Sons, who became a subsidiary of Bryant and May in 1913, although full ownership by Bryant and May only came in 1938. Consolidation of match production within Great Britain led to Bryant and May's matches being made at Garston in Liverpool, London and Glasgow. ""England's Glory"" then became a Brand Name for matches made at Bryant"
"the companies incorporated into the Civilian Repair Organisation set up by the British Air Ministry to co-ordinate the repair of damaged RAF aircraft. This work was carried out at the Desford site. The initial contract covered the repair of Boulton Paul Defiant two-seat turret fighter, with the first airframe being delivered to Desford in January 1940. This was later followed by an additional contract to covert the obsolete Defiants into the TT target towing version of the aircraft. Reid and Sigrist also undertook repairs of RAF Bell P-39 Airacobra fighters and also signed contracts to repair and convert North American"
"firms within the London Aircraft Production Group, Fairey Aviation, and Rootes Motors. Because of this scheme and other initiatives, the Halifax was manufactured by a variety of aviation companies at sites across the British isles. The Halifax was produced in large numbers during the war: of the 10,018 heavy bombers produced in Britain between 1940 and 1944, 4,046 were various models of the Halifax – in excess of 40%. In all, 6,178 Halifaxes were built, the last delivered in April 1945. At the peak, 41 separate factories and dispersed units were involved in production, along with 600 subcontractors and 51,000"
"that point, a more definitive development had been started, the R.S.3 ""Desford"" which was intended for postwar use. Reid and Sigrist R.S.1 The Reid and Sigrist R.S. 1 was a British twin-engined, three-seat advanced trainer developed in the Second World War. Reid and Sigrist in Desford, Leicester, United Kingdom, were an important instrument manufacturer in the interwar era, specialising in aircraft applications leading to the forming of an aviation division in 1937 at New Malden, Surrey factory site. The first product was a unique twin-engined advanced trainer powered by a pair of de Havilland Gipsy Six II (205 hp, 152"
"board'. The order for the rival Hotspur was cancelled in 1938. Completing its acceptance tests with the turret installed, the Defiant attained a top speed of and subsequently was declared the victor of the turret fighter competition. Flight trials had revealed the aircraft to possess positive flight characteristics and considerable stability, which was of particular value when using the turret. According to aviation author Michael Bowyers, the usefulness of the Defiant had suffered due to the overly long development time for the type, observing that the Defiant's service entry was delayed to such an extent that only three production aircraft"
"preserved at the RAF Museum Cosford. This aircraft was repainted before being displayed under cover at the National Cold War Exhibition. Short Belfast The Short Belfast (or Shorts Belfast) is a heavy lift turboprop freighter that was built by British manufacturer Short Brothers at Belfast. Only 10 aircraft were constructed, all of which entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF), who operated it under the designation Short Belfast C.1. Upon its entry into service, the Belfast held the distinction of becoming the largest aircraft that the British military had ever operated up to that time. It was also notable"
"furnished Defiants were introduced in late 1941. Later versions of the AI radar were adopted over time, such as the AI Mk VI. The need for both the Defiant and the Hurricane in the night fighter role petered out by 1942 as the larger Bristol Beaufighter became the RAF's primary night fighter type, freeing both aircraft for other duties. In the search for alternative uses for the Defiant, which included limited service with the RAF Search and Rescue Force and suitability trials for cooperative operations with the British Army, it was determined that Defiant production would continue in order to"