The Pacific Profiles series presents the most accurate WWII profiles of aircraft which saw action in the Pacific War. This Volume 18 covers two British designed types that served with the RAAF in large numbers. A combined total of some 1,280 Beauforts and Beaufighters were delivered and served with fifteen wartime squadrons plus a variety of training and support units.
From late 1942 both types were on the frontlines of the war with Japan. The Beaufort initially had a niche as a torpedo bomber, but subsequently made its mark throughout Australia, New Guinea and the Netherlands East Indies as a light bomber, a maritime patrol aircraft and by undertaking numerous support activities.
The Beaufighter was a heavily armed low-level attack fighter that served across the same theatres, often undertaking coastal sweeps to hunt Japanese barges. Later versions introduced the use of rocket projectiles by the RAAF.
Remarkably, both types were manufactured in Australia and their immense contribution to the RAAF war effort is often overlooked. Such was the intensity of operations that some 600 young men lost their lives flying Beauforts and Beaufighters both in combat and due to a myriad of accidents.
This volume provides technical detail on the various versions of both types and showcases the surprisingly varied markings schemes used by each operating unit. Brief squadron histories are also provided.