Beaufighter Mk 21

Beaufighter Mk 21

Beaufighter Mk X

Tempest Mk V (Vickers P)

Beaufighter Mk 21

Beaufighter Mk X

Tempest Mk V (Vickers P)

Britain

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.0	3.7	4.0

Class:

Strike aircraft

Torpedo bomber

Research:6 900

Purchase:32 000

This page is about the British twin-engine fighter Beaufighter Mk 21. For other versions, see Beaufighter (Family).

Description

The Beaufighter Mk 21 is a rank II British twin-engine fighter with a battle rating of 3.0 (AB), 3.7 (RB), and 4.0 (SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27. This variant of the Beaufighter represents a version which was manufactured in Australia by the Australian government's Department of Aircraft Production (DAP).

The Beaufighter Mk 21 plays very similarly to its predecessor, the Mk X. However the Mk 21 features heavily improved weapons, boosting its ground attack abilities significantly. As before, you are still able to fulfil the roles of a heavy fighter, torpedo bomber, and an attacker. Once again though, added weapon mass will make you slower, and less manoeuvrable, so remember that you cant turn like the Mk 6c. In the ground attack role, the available rockets, combined with the cannons make it very good at defeating convoys. This option also has the benefit of allowing you to largely sidestep the Mk 21's issues of poor top speed and a bad climb rate. When used for bomber hunting as a heavy fighter, you will quickly find the replacement of the Mk X's 7.7 mm machine guns with 12.7 mm machine guns to be of great benefit. The climb rate works heavily against you however, so only medium and low altitude bombers should be targeted. The torpedo bomber role, however, should still be avoided. The torpedo drop requirements are still very bad, making any run against an enemy ship a very risky move. Long story short, stick to medium and low altitude and attack any bombers or ground targets you get the chance to. You should also equip your ammo belts accordingly, to ensure maximum effectiveness. Lastly, try to get fighter cover. More than any other version of the Beaufighter, the Mk 21 will struggle with lighter, more nimble opponents. Stick to what this aircraft is good at, and you can greatly improve your teams chance at victory.

General info

Flight performance

As mentioned earlier, the flight characteristics of the airplane are very similar to its predecessor, the Beaufighter Mk X. Both fighters carry Bristol Hercules XVII engines, however, Mk X carries variant optimized for low-altitude performance, featuring 1581 hp engines that can carry the plane up to 4575 meters, while the Mk 21 features 1369 hp engines for the maximum altitude of 9382 meters. This, combined with the upgraded armament makes it far more suitable to engage enemy bombers, even though the climb rate is still rather unimpressive 14.6 m/s (AB, Upgraded).

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 5,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	498	480	9382	43.3	44.2	6.6	6.6	478
Upgraded	545	520		41.0	42.2	14.6	10.1

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
0	242	440	242	216	~7	~4

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 330	< 390	< 410	> 300

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
152 m	3,640 hp	N/A
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
2,438 m	3,200 hp	N/A

Survivability and armour

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass - Armoured windscreen
• 25 mm Steel - Armoured plate in the nose
• 25 mm Steel - Armoured plate in front of gunner (note that the gunner is facing backwards)
• 1 mm Steel - Armoured plates behind the engine
• Self-sealing fuel tanks (2 in each wing)

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Beaufighter Mk 21 is armed with:

• 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannons, belly-mounted (283 rpg = 1,132 total)
• 4 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns, wing-mounted (600 rpg = 2,400 total)

Suspended armament

The Beaufighter Mk 21 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 1 x 450 mm 18 inch Mark XII torpedo
• 8 x RP-3 rockets

Defensive armament

The Beaufighter Mk 21 is defended by:

• 1 x 7.7 mm Vickers K machine gun, dorsal turret (1,000 rpg)

Usage in battles

The final Beaufighter in the research tree can be characterized primarily by its main armament. In its BR there's barely anything that comes close to the combination of 4 x 20mm cannons and 2 x 12.7 mm machine guns, especially considering the superior layout of the cannons, with all four clustered right under the cockpit, making precise aiming far easier. If there's anything to be desired - it's the Minengeschoß of the German counterpart for the 20 mm cannons. Beaufighter can swiftly tear apart enemy fighters and bombers alike, typically in a single sweep if aimed accurately. This makes it a potent fighter in a number of circumstances and giving it a fighting chance even if its an underdog in the encounter.

In the Arcade Battles, the most favorable encounters are against unsuspecting targets, and ideally, only such should be picked, preferably diving in and out of the main battle, or picking off strugglers nearby. Good survivability, combined with outstanding firepower allows it to quickly take the enemies down before they manage to react. What should be avoided at all costs are turn fights or prolonged chases. Mk 21 neither has speed nor a turning rate to stand a chance against anything but bombers or other heavy fighters. Similarly fighting against high-altitude fighters (such as Fw 190 A-4) might be extremely problematic due to their superior climb rate, which will give them the energy advantage, and through that - an opportunity to easily outfly you at any given time.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Combined	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 12 mm	Offensive 20 mm	TSC mk.II
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 12 mm MGs	New 20 mm cannons	RSC mk.II
III	Wings repair	Engine		Turret 7 mm	Mk.II year 1942
IV		Engine injection	Cover	New 7 mm MGs (turret)	Mk.II year 1943

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Very heavily armed. Has arguably the heaviest offensive weapons of any British aircraft
• Fairly rugged aircraft that can survive a fair share of damage
• Radial engines don't have to worry about liquid coolant
• Can carry rockets for a potent ground attack
• Fuselage mounted cannons assist in accuracy
• Excellent at strafing ground targets
• Crew is surprisingly well armoured against attacks from behind

Cons:

• Slow at all altitudes
• Added weapon mass over predecessor makes turning the worst of all Beaufighters
• Cannons overheat quickly, even when upgraded
• Turret is fairly ineffective, given the small weapon calibre of 7.7 mm
• Torpedoes are notoriously bad for the drop requirements
• As with most British aircraft, the cockpits frontal armoured glass is thin at only 38 mm
• All M2 Brownings are placed centre-wing away from the fuselage, requires setting close convergence of guns to be effective

History

In-game description

A design rapidly born from the wings and tail of the earlier Beaufort, the Beaufighter was a two seat, twin engine heavy fighter designed for long range, ground strike and night fighter duties. Equipped with an early AI radar, the Beaufighter was one of the world's first successful night fighters.

In 1944, after Australia's aircraft manufacturing contract expired, the Australian Department of Aircraft Production was commissioned to build 500 aircraft based on the Beaufighter Mk X. The Australian version of the aircraft was named the Beaufighter Mk 21 and differed from its predecessor in its armament; the nose mounted 0.303 inch Browning machine guns were replaced with Browning M2 50 calibre guns now fitted in the wings, and the Hercules XVII engines were replaced with Hercules CVIIs. Only 365 of these aircraft were built, since the war ended before completion of the first order and the rest of the torpedo bombers' production was cancelled.

Media

The Shooting Range #9 - Metal Beasts section at 06:20 discusses the Bristol Beaufighter.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Wikipedia] Bristol Beaufighter
• [https://www.baesystems.com/en/heritage/bristol-156-beaufighter|[BAE Systems] Bristol Beaufighter]