Beaufighter Mk VIc

Beaufighter Mk VIc

Hurricane Mk IV

Beaufighter Mk X

Beaufighter Mk VIc

Hurricane Mk IV

Beaufighter Mk X

Britain

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	3.0	3.3

Class:

Strike aircraft

Torpedo bomber

Research:9 200

Purchase:16 000

This page is about the aircraft Beaufighter Mk VIc. For other uses, see Beaufighter (Disambiguation)

Description

The Beaufighter Mk VIc in the garage

The Beaufighter Mk VIc is a Rank II British twin-engine fighter with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB), 3.0 (RB), and 3.3 (SB). This aircraft has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.29.

One of the best early-tiered heavy fighters. When the engines and survivability is fully upgraded, it is truly a bomber killer to behold. Capable of bringing down any Rank 1, 2 or 3 plane with ease. Unfortunately, there are several drawbacks to the amazing power of the 4 Hispano 20mm cannons. You will normally spawn quite high, so use that to your advantage when attacking enemy planes. The recommended speed of this plane is only around 320 mph. Any higher results in severe and poor handling, making the heavy armament useless if your quarry turns. Therefore, the Beaufighter is not suited for BnZ, but better for head-on and tail-end combat. If you are caught by any single-engine fighter, try to dive and climb. If that does not work, resort to the turret or turning. The high fire rate of the turret makes it especially effective for pilot shots, if you are accurate enough.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at ?,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
512	498	8100	25.2	25.7	7.3	7.3	371
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at ?,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
559	5536	8100	22.3	23.7	17.7	10.5	371

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
0	242	440	~6	~4

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 330	< 390	< 410	> 200

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
440 m	2,800 hp	3,024 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
3,400 m	2,600 hp	2,808 hp

Survivability and armour

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass in cockpit front.
• 25 mm Steel plate in the nose.
• 25 mm Steel plate in the fuselage.
• 1 mm Steel plate behind the engines.

• Critical components located in the front and wings of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
• More fuel tanks located in wings near the fuselage

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Beaufighter Mk VIc is armed with:

• 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.I cannons, belly-mounted (240 rpg = 960 total)

Defensive armament

The Beaufighter Mk VIc is defended by:

• 1 x 7.7 mm Browning machine gun, dorsal turret (1,000 RPG)

Usage in the battles

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable	Not controllable	Controllable	Combined	Controllable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator
II		Compressor	Airframe
III	Wings Repair	Engine
IV		Engine Injection	Cover

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 4x 20mm cannons can take down any plane in no time (when aimed properly).
• Good turn time for a heavy fighter.
• Can take a few hits.
• Has a defensive turret.

Cons:

• Poor acceleration and top speed in level flight.
• Not the best turning and climbing abilities.
• Can't carry bombs, only torpedoes.
• Only has cannons, so the reload time for all the main guns is 40 seconds.
• Cannons also jam quickly unless upgraded.
• Cannons are highly inaccurate unless upgraded.

History

As Britain geared up for war in the late 1930s, it became apparent that the RAF lacked modern fighters, particularly any long range aircraft or night fighters. Bristol had already began work on the Beaufort, itself developed from their earlier Blenheim design, and decided that to develop a long range fighter in as short a time period as possible, it would be quicker to develop an existing design than start a new one. The wings and tail were taken from the Beaufort and, with a new fuselage and two Bristol Hercules engines, the Beaufighter was born.

For use in the maritime theatre, some modifications were designed to patrol coastal areas and escort vessels. The designations of these variants ended with the letter C to indicate that they were used by the Coastal Command. The first modification for Coastal Command appeared in 1940 and had the designation Beaufighter Mk IC; this design included the addition of a maritime radio and navigation equipment. The next model designed for Coastal Command operations was the Mk VIC. After the various interim models had been powered mainly by the Rolls Royce Merlin, the Mk VI returned to the original Bristol Hercules engines. This powerful engine allowed the options of replacing the wing mounted guns with extra fuel tanks for longer range and the addition of bombs or rockets. By the end of 1942, most of the Beaufighter Mk.VICs had been modified to carry torpedoes, and in April 1943 they made their first torpedo attack, sinking two merchant ships off of the Norwegian coast.

A total of 5,928 Beaufighters were built.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read 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.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• page on aircraft encyclopedia;
• other literature.