A pair of 264 Squadron Defiants. (PS-V was shot down on 28 August 1940 over Kent by Bf 109s.)

The Boulton Paul Defiant was an early World War II fighter aircraft of the Royal Air Force built by Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd. Boulton-Paul Defiant two-seater fighters of No. ... Boulton-Paul Defiant two-seater fighters of No. ... August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ... (Bf 109 was the official Reichsluftfahrtministerium designation, though some late-war aircraft actually carried the Me 109 designation stamped onto their aircraft type plates. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb. ... A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for attacking other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the UK Armed Forces. ... Boulton Paul Defiant Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer that operated between 1914 and 1961. ...

The design of the aircraft was an attempt to overcome the need to point the nose of a fighter at its target in order to bring the guns to bear. Instead of forward-facing guns, the Defiant was fitted with a powered dorsal turret equipped with four 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns. In theory, the Defiant would approach an enemy bomber from below and destroy it with a concentrated burst of fire. The concept was similar to the successful World War I Bristol Fighter but in practice the Defiant was cannon fodder for the more agile Luftwaffe Bf 109s. It was later used in the night fighter role where it had considerable success against less agile bombers, before it was phased out of combat operations. The word dorsal can refer to many different things. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... The Bristol F.2 Fighter was a two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War flown by the Royal Flying Corps. ... Cannon Fodder is an expression used to denote the treatment of armed forces as a worthless commodity to be expended. ... The   Luftwaffe? (German: air force, IPA: [luftvafÉ™]) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ... (Bf 109 was the official Reichsluftfahrtministerium designation, though some late_war aircraft actually carried the Me 109 designation stamped onto their aircraft type plates. ... A night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night, or in other times of bad visibility. ...

Development

The idea of a fighter that carried its armament in a turret had cogent arguments and the Defiant was designed to Air Ministry Specification F.9/35 which required a powered turret as the sole armament. The Boulton Paul design was selected ahead of one submitted by Hawker Aviation. While the Defiant prototype first flew on August 11, 1937 and immediately went into production as the Defiant Mk.I, its entry into service was delayed such that only three aircraft had reached the RAF by the start of the war. The Mk.I was powered by the Rolls Royce Merlin III and a total of 713 were built. The Air Ministry was formerly a department of the United Kingdom Government, established in 1918 with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the (then newly formed) Royal Air Force. ... Hawker-Siddeley was a British aircraft manufacturing company. ... August 11 is the 223rd day of the year (224th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1937: Events March March 5 - Imperial Airways opens a new flying boat base at Hythe, Hampshire. ... The Merlin is an aircraft engine built during World War II by Rolls-Royce. ...

In practice the turret-only-armed fighter idea would be shown to be flawed, the additional weight of the turret (and second crewman) and the aerodynamic drag gave the Defiant much poorer performance, and opposing fighters were able to out-maneouvre it and attack it from below where the turret offered no defence. Its performance problems when known early on, but the requirment for any fighters to supplement the Hurricances and Spitfires meant production proceeded.

According to the recent book by renown aviation historian Alec Brew in his book "The Turret Fighters" 264 Squadron had developed effective countermeasures against single seat aircraft such as the Bf109, it was simply to form an ever descending circle, therebye eliminating the chance that a plane could attack from underneath and also it gives a 360 degree circle of defensive fire. This tactic was used successfully against Bf109's in action, but 141 squadron chose to ignore this advice with devastating consequences.

The final nail in the turret fighter concept came with radar equipped airplanes that could simply bring their forward armanents to bear on an enemy, for example the De Haviland Mosquito proved to be very effetive throughout the war at night fighting (and many other things).

Combat history

No. 264 Squadron was the first to be equipped with the Defiant Mk.I in December 1939. The first operational sortie came on May 12, 1940. On May 13, a flight of six Defiants were attacked by Bf 109Es; five of the Defiants were shot down from a frontal attack. This is a list of aviation-related events from 1939: Events January January 12 - the RAF Auxiliary Air Force Reserve is formed February February 9 - Alex Henshaw sets a new speed record for the round trip between England and Cape Town in 4 days 10 minutes in a Percival Mew... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (134th in leap years). ...

In late May during the evacuation of the BEF from Dunkirk, the Defiant had some success. Being visually similar to the Hawker Hurricane, it was initially able to surprise fighters attacking from the rear, but by the Battle of France a few months later its weaknesses were known and exploited. On July 19 six out of nine Defiants of No. 141 Squadron were shot down and the remaining three only survived due to the intervention of Hurricanes of No. 111 Squadron. During [[World War II]], Operation Dynamo was the name given to the evacuation from Dunkirk conducted from 27 May to 4 June 1940. ... Dunkirk is the English name for the city of Dunkerque in northern France: see Dunkirk, France. ... In World War II, Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, executed 10 May 1940 which ended the Phony War. ... July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 165 days remaining. ... The Hawker Hurricane is a fighter design from the 1930s which was used extensively by the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain. ... No. ...

The Defiant was moved to night fighting duties and as a night fighter the Defiant achieved more success. The Defiant Mk.II model was fitted with the AI Mk IV airborne interception radar and a Merlin XX engine. A total of 207 Mk.II Defiants were built. During the winter Blitz on London of 1940-41, the Defiant was the highest scoring night fighter. This long range radar antenna (approximately 40m (130ft) in diameter) rotates on a track to observe activities near the horizon. ... St. ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Defiant was removed from combat duties in 1942 and thereafter used for air/sea rescue, training and target towing. A further 140 Defiant Mk.III aircraft were built; this model lacked the dorsal turret and was used as a target tug. Many of the surviving Mk.I and Mk.II Defiants also had their turrets removed. This article is about the year. ... A target tug is an aircraft which tows a drone or otherwise unmanned target, for the purposes of gun or missile target practice. ...

In May 1945, Martin-Baker used a Defiant to test their first ejection seat. 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Martin-Baker Aircraft is a manufacturer of aircraft seats and is the oldest existing maker of ejector seats. ... US Air Force F/A-22 Raptor ejection seat test using a mannequin. ...

Boulton Paul also built the Blackburn Roc (from a design by Blackburn) which was the naval equivalent of the Defiant. The Blackburn Roc was a World War II-era Fleet Air Arm fighter aircraft named for the mythical bird. ... Blackburn Beverley photographed in 1964. ...

Specifications (Mk.I)

General Characteristics

• Crew: two (pilot, gunner)
• Length: 35 ft 4 in (10.77 m)
• Wingspan: 39 ft 4 in (11.99 m)
• Height: 12 ft 2 in (3.71 m)
• Wing area: ft² ( m²)
• Weight

Empty: 6,078lb ( kg)

Loaded: 8,318 lb (3,773 kg)

Maximum takeoff: lb ( kg)

• Powerplant: Rolls Royce Merlin III V-type engine

Power: 1,030 hp (780 kW)

The Merlin is an aircraft engine built during World War II by Rolls-Royce. ... A V engine is a common configuration for an internal combustion engine in which the pistons are aligned so that, if viewed along the line of the crankshaft, they appear to be in a V. The V configuration reduces the overall engine length and weight compared to an equivalent straight...

Performance

• Maximum speed: 304 mph (489 km/h)
• Range: 465 miles (748 km)
• Service ceiling: 30,350 ft (9,250 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,900 ft/min (m/min)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² ( kg/m²)
• Power/Mass:

Armament

• 4x .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in fully powered dorsal turret

.303 cartridge The . ... Browning Model 1919 Type Machine Gun Nationality U.S. Era World War II History Date of design 1919 Production period 1919 - 1945 Service duration 1919 - 1990s Operators U.S. and Allies War service WWII - Korea Specifications Type Calibre . ... The word dorsal can refer to many different things. ...

Related content

Related development: None

Comparable aircraft: Blackburn Roc The Blackburn Roc was a World War II-era Fleet Air Arm fighter aircraft named for the mythical bird. ...

Designation sequence: P.9 - P.29 - P.75 - P.82 - P.108 The Boulton Paul P.29 Sidestrand was an twin_engine biplane medium bomber of the Royal Air Force. ... The Boulton Paul P.75 Overstrand was the last of the twin_engine biplane medium bombers of the Royal Air Force, a series that had begun during the First World War with the likes of the Vickers Vimy and Handley Page Type O. The Overstrand only saw brief service in the...

See also

• List of aircraft of the RAF

Many aircraft types have served in the Royal Air Force since it was formed in 1918 by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. ...