Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter Twin-Engine Fighter Family
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter was a twin-engine British combat aircraft that became one of the most capable radar-equipped night fighters of the Second World War. It also served as a Coastal Command strike aircraft, carrying rockets and torpedoes against maritime targets, and remained in service across Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific before later target-tug work.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Bristol BeaufighterBristol Type 156BeaufighterBeaufighter Mk VIBeaufighter TF Mk X
- Family Name
- Bristol Beaufighter
- Full Name
- Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter Twin-Engine Fighter Family
- Roles
- military
- Status
- retired
- Type
- aircraft
Details
- Aircraft Specs
- Configuration
- fixed_wing
- Operating Modes
- land
- Takeoff Landing Capabilities
- conventional
- Description
- The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter was a twin-engine British combat aircraft that became one of the most capable radar-equipped night fighters of the Second World War. It also served as a Coastal Command strike aircraft, carrying rockets and torpedoes against maritime targets, and remained in service across Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific before later target-tug work.
- First Flight Year
- 1,939
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Count
- 2
- Placement
- nacelle
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Stage
- airframe
- Variant Notes
- Two Bristol Hercules family 14-cylinder radial piston engines in the Beaufighter nacelles; Hercules VI is source-backed, but exact branch mark boundaries remain unresolved.
- Name
- Bristol Beaufighter Bristol Hercules installation
- Notes
- Smithsonian evidence identifies Bristol Hercules VI power for the Beaufighter; the canonical Bristol Hercules family node is linked without inferring a specific Hercules mark beyond the sourced VI application.
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- Creation Time
- August 7, 2026 at 03:23:27 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 14, 2026 at 21:03:59 UTC