Boulton Paul Defiant

Download or read book Boulton Paul Defiant written by Alec Brew and published by Amberley Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2019-06-15 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over 200 rare and previously unpublished illustrations of this iconic aircraft - the Boulton Paul Defiant.

Download or read book Defiant, Blenheim and Havoc Aces written by Andrew Thomas and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-11-20 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An illustrated history of three pioneering fighters. The Defiant and the Blenheim enjoying early successes until they came up against the vastly superior Messerschmitt Bf 109, and the American-built Havoc. The Blenheim IF flew some of Fighter Command's early offensive operations, and the type soon proved vulnerable when pitted against single-seat fighters. However, for much of 1940 the Blenheim fighter squadrons provided the RAF's main long-range convoy escort and nightfighter capability. In the mid-1930s, in an attempt to capitalise on its expertise in power-operated gun turrets, the Boulton Paul Company developed the Defiant, a single-engined fighter in which all the armament was concentrated in the turret behind the pilot. Intended as a 'bomber destroyer', the Defiant had its combat debut over Dunkirk, and initially achieved some considerable success. A number of American-built aircraft called Douglas DB-7 light bombers (named Havoc by the RAF), were fitted with radar for nightfighter duties and others successfully replaced the Blenheim as night intruders. As this book outlines, a total of 11 pilots claimed five or more victories when flying these three types to become aces, whilst no fewer than 33 who became aces claimed at least part of their scores when flying the Blenheim, Defiant or Havoc.

Download or read book British Secret Projects 3 written by Tony Buttler and published by . This book was released on 2018-10-31 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The British Secret Projects series covers the design and development of UK military aircraft since the mid-1930s with strong emphasis on designs that were never built, particularly those types generated by various design competitions. The original Volume Three (Fighters and Bombers 1935 to 1950) has now been split into separate volumes with this book covering fighters and a new Volume Four in preparation solely devoted to bomber designs. This split has allowed space for the inclusion of much new information and many new photographs. This book describes the design and development of the British fighter from the end of the biplane fighter to the start of the jet era. The projects and programmes which feature in its pages begin with those prepared in the mid-1930s in the knowledge that war was coming and go through to some which appeared after the war had ended. During this period the art of fighter design took some big and important steps forward and here can be found fixed-gun fighters and turret fighters, in both single and twin-engine form, plus the first generation of jet fighters. Types designed to meet the requirements of both the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm are included. Drawings new to this volume include the Folland Fo.118 and the Westland P.13. As with the companion volumes, the author has undertaken extensive research and made full use of primary source material. Three-view drawings plus photographs of models or original artist's impressions combine to show how these unbuilt designs would have appeared. Data and appendices summarise the projects, contracts and specifications and provide a detailed insight into many fascinating aircraft.

Download or read book Boulton Paul 1917-1961: Aircraft, Projects and Studies written by Les Whitehouse and published by Titan Comics. This book was released on 2021 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A prolific sub-contractor building airframes during the first World War, Boulton & Paul entered the field of design and manufacture in 1917 with the formation of an Aeronautical and Research Division under John Dudley North. Never destined to be one of the big players, they produced a relatively modest output of prototype aircraft and then in 1937 a series of bombers and a small batch of civilian two-seaters. The relatively unsuccessful Defiant was their best-known aircraft. However, hidden from public view was a prolific output of proposals, trials and inventions. From biplane fighters through the novel turret fighters and into the supersonic age with VTOL lift-fan jets, Boulton Paul were always at the forefront of development. Based upon over 60 years of research, this book recounts many of these radical and innovative projects using development layouts, final schemes, drawings and photographs of mock-ups, models and prototype airframes. Many projects are recreated in CAD and other drawings by the author previously an apprentice and a technical engineer with the company and archivist of the Boulton Paul Association. This book sheds much new light on the activities of an often overlooked company which was in many respects at the forefront of aeronautical innovation in Britain for several decades.

Download or read book Boulton Paul Defiant written by Mark Ansell and published by Yellow. This book was released on 2015-03-19 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Boulton Paul Defiant is one Britain's most famous night fighter aircraft. First used as a day, then night during the Battle of Britain; and thus saw service as an auxiliary aircraft. Details are provided of a wide selection of historic machines and fascinating color schemes, as well as full technical details. The book is very well illustrated with many period black and white photos as well as a number of walk-around color photos, taken at the RAF Museum Hendon, of the only surviving Defiant. Also included in the book are a number of excellent 1/72nd scale plans and multiple view drawings of all the significant variants as well a numerous color profiles for both RAF and USAAF operated aircraft. It contains 53 black and white wartime photos, 18 black and white line drawings of various marks in 1/72nd scale, 136 color photos that are walk-around shots of the last existing example of a Defiant in the Hendon Museum, UK, several information charts, 16 illustrations out maintenance manuals and 35 full color side profile paintings (a couple of which are three-views). This book will have great appeal to model builders, aircraft enthusiasts, and aviation historians.

Download or read book Defiant written by Robert Verkaik and published by Robinson. This book was released on 2021-06-03 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ''Robert Verkaik makes a revisionist case for an unsung aircraft, the Boulton Paul Defiant. This two-seat gun-turret fighter is, argues Verkaik, the forgotten fighter of Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain; the effectiveness as well as the courage of its crews is overlooked in standard accounts. To advance his case, he notes that a Defiant squadron still holds the record for the number of enemy aircraft shot down in a single day, with a claimed figure of 38'' Times ''Robert Verkaik tells the story of the Battle of Britain''s unlikeliest hero with verve and phenomenal grasp of detail. He brings the Defiant fighter back into focus as an important part of the victorious RAF in the hour of its greatest trial'' Mark Urban ''Meticulously researched and rich in human and social as well as military interest, Defiant fills a crucial gap in our understanding of that most perilous time'' David Kynaston, author of Austerity Britain ''Firmly establishes the aircraft''s role in those crucial aerial battles of 1940 and elevates the brave aircrews who fought and died in their forgotten Defiants, to rank alongside their comrades in the better remembered Hurricanes and Spitfires.'' David Fairhead, director of Spitfire ''Verkaik is an excellent guide, making his case with a restrained passion, taking us through the inter-war rearmament before cataloguing the muddled thinking, the political infighting, the inter-service and personality rivalries. His research was clearly a labour of love, leaving no Whitehall paper or airman''s letter unturned in his search for the truth, and he never forgets the human dimension behind the losses'' Simon Humphreys, Mail on Sunday, five stars ''Defiant is both a stirring testament to the courage of the men who flew them and a welcome new examination of one of the Second World War''s most famous conflicts'' Alexander Larman, Observer Praise for Jihadi John: ''An exemplary account . . . The book''s most important contribution is to highlight the difficulties faced by the intelligence services . . . a first-class primer on Muslim extremism in Britain.'' Max Hastings, Sunday Times Praise for Posh Boys: ''The latest in the series of powerful books on the divisions in modern Britain, and will take its place on many bookshelves beside Reni Eddo-Lodge''s Why I''m No Longer Talking to White People About Race and Owen Jones''s Chavs.'' Andrew Marr, Sunday Times ''Inspired, committed, careful and kind.'' Danny Dorling, author of Inequality and the 1% In this startling new perspective on the Battle of Britain, Robert Verkaik reveals the surprising truth about the battle''s forgotten fighter, the Boulton Paul Defiant. The crucial role played by the Spitfire and the Hurricane has been exhaustively recorded, but, to date, next to nothing has been written about the third British fighter which took part in the battle. By writing from the unique perspective of the pilots who flew the Defiant and their air-gunners, Verkaik helps to set the record straight. The Air Staff regarded the Defiant as a state-of-the-art bomber destroyer and wanted to equip a third of all Fighter Command squadrons with this new plane. But the head of Fighter Command, Hugh Dowding, had other ideas and went to war with Whitehall over its plan to saddle him with hundreds of ''obsolete'' turret fighters. Then at Dunkirk, a Defiant squadron scored a huge success against the Luftwaffe by shooting down more German planes in one day than any other RAF unit before or since. Fighter Command, enthusiastically urged on by the Air Ministry, now committed its third fighter to the coming air battle over southern England. In the desperate dogfights of the battle, Defiants shot down both German bombers and fighters but suffered heavy losses too - one squadron was almost wiped out when it was ambushed by a superior force of Messerschmitt 109s. On 30 August 1940 all Defiant squadrons were withdrawn from the front line. The families of the Defiant air crews believed that their husbands, brothers and sons had died in vain, but the truth is that their vital contribution to the battle over Dunkirk and their role in the Battle of Britain has been all but erased from the official history. The story of the Defiant has not been allowed to mar the glorious victory won by the Spitfire and the Hurricane. But Verkaik has uncovered new records, including top-secret memos written by Hugh Dowding and his deputy Keith Park as well as correspondence with the Air Staff, combat and squadron reports, pilot logs and recordings of the last interviews with Defiant crews. He has also succeeded in tracing relatives of Defiant pilots and gunners to tell the story of the Battle of Britain as it has never been told before. He reveals how the myths which have grown up around the Defiant mask some inconvenient truths.

Download or read book Boulton Paul Aircraft written by Alec Brew and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book records the aeronautical activities of this Norfolk-based company, with a brief history of its origins by William Moore in 1797, and its work during the First World War. It pioneered metal construction after the war and produced parts for the R-101 airship. As Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd at Wolverhampton, the Defiant was conceived, and its gun turrets would defend RAF bombers during WWII.