Boulton Paul Defiant Question

re;

good point. Now to the modeling bench to build one with rockets!

Would that make a decent nightfighter?

As it was already a decent nightfighter – in the stopgap zone before the heavier armed twins came in – not really, as there were better alternatives due; in the interim, it did a sterling job, just overshadowed.

My emphasis:

Defiant night-fighter squadrons racked up more kills per interception than any of their contemporaries. However, as more radar-equipped aircraft like the Beaufighter and Mosquito entered service, the Defiant found itself out-gunned and out-performed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10427140

The spitfire was deemed to have more potential hence the Hurricane wasnt developed as much so the poor old Defiant never really stood a chance – I still dream of one flying, more unlikely types have emerged so who knows?

Remember the ‘developed Hurricane’ was the Typhoon, Tempest, Fury and Sea Fury, paralleling the Supermarine’s stretch of the one 1935 design.

re;

sounds like a good idea to me. Plenty of us have redundant airfix kits to chop up with the new firms bringing out better ones.

The spitfire was deemed to have more potential hence the Hurricane wasnt developed as much so the poor old Defiant never really stood a chance – I still dream of one flying, more unlikely types have emerged so who knows?

I think it’s time for the plastic modellers amongst us to step up and show us what it could have become!

What about?

Replace the hefty turret with a fixed Schräge Musik installation, give the rear seater a radar screen, add a Griffon

Would that make a decent nightfighter?

Moggy

There were enough Hurricanes and that other single seater I can’t quite recall the name of…

Regards,

Funniest thing I have read in ages !

I think you have posted everything I think I may have had in the library at home 🙂 , interesting point on what battle the type fought, when attacking unescorted bombers it did achieve kills, also, I remember reading (I think in Enemy Coast Ahead but may be wrong….) that BF-110’s attacked Hampdens by pulling up to the 11 or 1 o’clock, and the BF-110 rear gunner would target the pilot, surely a “turret fighter” style of tactic ?

A couple of questions I’ve pondered and had answered. Here’s some handy web refs, no guarantee as to the accuracy in detail, but the broad facts are correct.

From Tony Buttler’s ‘British Secret Projects, Fighters and Bombers 1935-1950.

Prototype Defiant K8310 eventually had its turret removed and in August 1940 was flown as an unarmed flying demonstrator for a fixed-gun version called P.94, which was intended for rapid production using many complete Defiant components. The P94 had the turret replaced by 12 0.303” MG disposed in each side of the wing centre section in nests of six – 4 20mm cannon replacing 8 of the 0.303” in two nests of two each were an alternative while the MG could also be depressed 17 degrees for ground attack work. P.94 had a 1,100hp Merlin XX, which offered a maximum speed of 360mph at 21.700ft, a sea level climb of 3,250ft.min and would get to 25,000ft in 8.1 minutes. To allow the type to act as a long range fighter two 30-gallon auxiliary tanks could be carried and in production the aircraft would use standard Defiant jigs. The P94 was never ordered but Boulton Paul also proposed to convert the now single seat Defiant prototype into a 4 cannon fighter demonstrator. The Air Ministry’s rejection of this idea was recorded at a company board meeting on 26th September 1940.

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=936.0

… The performance of the Defiant wasn’t brilliant as a day fighter, …

The Defiant’s problem then was the battle it was designed to fight didn’t happen, and the problem now is most people don’t understand what it was. It wasn’t a day fighter or air superiority fighter, but a bomber destroyer, intended to knock down unescorted enemy bombers. The fall of France meant that the Germans had fighter bases close enough to the UK to defend their bombers.

On 26 June 1935, the Air Ministry issued Specification F.9/35 calling for a two-seat fighter with all its armament concentrated in a turret. Peformance was to be similar to that of the single-seat monoplane fighters then being developed. It was envisioned that the new fighter would be employed as destroyer of unescorted enemy bomber formations. Protected from the slipstream, the turret gunner would be able to bring much greater firepower to bear on rapidly moving targets than was previously possible.
…
Defiant Single-Seat Fighter Projected conversion with turret space faired over and armament of two 0.303 machine guns in each wing. Mock-up up built by converting first prototype, but no production.

P.94 Project for improved single-seat fighter version with Merkin XX engine, cut-down rear fuselage and wings equipped for 12 machine guns or four 20 mm cannon + 4 machine guns.

http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/aircraft/types/boulton-paul-defiant.htm

Like the Miles M-20 and other ‘stopgap’ Battle of Britain fighter options, production and supply of fighters wasn’t a problem, but the pilot shortage was. There were enough Hurricanes and that other single seater I can’t quite recall the name of…

Regards,

Cheers.

Its a fine book I love it !

A single Defiant was modified to have the turret removed and an (IIRC) an 8 gun wing, there is a picture of it in the Crowood series book about the type. There were also plans for a Griffon engined, cannon armed (in the wings) for a “bomber destroyer” type of role.

I guess that even if it was Ok as a single seater fighter, with the Spitfire and Hurricane in full production, would it have been needed ?

I’ll dig out the books when I get home and see if it says anything about performance figures etc, it is also (IIRC) in the Tony Buttler “secret WW 2 projects” book.