AEROTRANSTORNADOS Nº60 - Bristol Beaufighter

Bristol Beaufighter Mk.X (1945 – 1946)

 

a/c arrived between 13 and 28 March 1945, except for BF-17 a TF.X with radar, arrived in 1946 as replacement for BF-7 for Esquadrilha B, of  the Forças Aéreas da Armada

 

AN	c/n	s/n	Remarks
BF-1		RD134	1945.03.13 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.; 1949 - fleet wfu and dismantled;
BF-2		RD148	1945.03.13 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.; 1949 - fleet wfu and dismantled;
BF-3		RD173	1945.03.13 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.; 1949 - fleet wfu and dismantled;
BF-4		RD189	1945.03.13 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.; 1949 - fleet wfu and dismantled;
BF-5		RD197	1945.03.13 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.; 1949 - fleet wfu and dismantled;
BF-6		RD199	1945.03.13 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.; 1949 - fleet wfu and dismantled;
BF-7		RD206	1945.03.28 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.; 1945.10.22 - w/o during mission to S.Jacinto suffered an engine malfunction and while the pilot was atempting an emergency landing on the beach (near Torreira), the a/c broke in half and caught fire (3k);
BF-8		RD209	1945.03.28 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.;  1949 - fleet wfu and dismantled;
BF-9		RD216	1945.03.28 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.;  1949 - fleet wfu and dismantled;
BF-10		RD220	1945.03.28 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.; 1949 - fleet wfu;  1950's - to Instituto Superior Técnico - l/n 1965 1965 - noted  DGMFA Alverca open storage -l/n1967; 1983.05.27 - arr. SAfrica for restoratin for South African Air Force Museum ; 2000 - sold to to  National Museum of Flight, East Fortune (£ 190,000) - arr. NMF 12.12.2000; 2013.10.09 - noted under restoration; 2014.03.02 - noted under restoration; 2022.05 - n/n said to be in restoration;
BF-11		RD250	1945.03.28 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.; 1949 - fleet wfu and dismantled;
BF-12		RD252	1945.03.28 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.; 1949 - fleet wfu and dismantled;
BF-13		RD253	1944.10 - b/y 1945.03.22 ? - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.; 1949 - fleet wfu; 1950's - to Instituto Superior Técnico - l/n 1965 1965 - to DGMFA Alverca open storage; 1965.07 - offered to RAFMuseum; 1967.02 - started restoration at St. Athan, Wales; 1968 - noted restored at RAF Colerne Air Display; 1971.03.15 -  f/n displayed at RAF Museum/Hendon - l/n 8Sept2022;
BF-14		RD261	1945.03.28 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.;  1949 - fleet wfu and dismantled;
BF-15		RD319	1945.03.28 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.;  1949 - fleet wfu and dismantled;
BF-16		RD320	1945.03.28 - arr. Lisbon for Esq.B - F.A.A.;  1949 - fleet wfu and dismantled;
BF-17		RD862	1946.04.26 - arr. to replace the BF-7 lost in accident; a/c equipped with a Mk.VIII radar nose 1949 - a/c logged the last fllight of the fleet; 1949 - fleet wfu and dismantled;

 

Acknowledgement: Fernando Moreira, António Conceição e Silva, Andy Marden, 

References:

Adelino Cardoso, in "Aeronaves Militares Portuguesas do Século XX"

Carlos Guereiro, in book "Aterrem em Portugal!" and "Portugal 1939-1945" website

Filipe Conceição e Silva, in "Bullfighters"

Mário Canongia Lopes, in "Os Aviões da Cruz de Cristo", "Spitfires e Hurricanes em Portugal", 

"Les Blenheim et Beaufighter au Portugal 1941-1949" in Avions no.117 December 2002;

Viriato Tadeu, in "Quando a Marinha tinha asas..."

Aditional references:

https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/74-A-13-Beaufighter-X-RD253.pdf

https://toylandhobbymodelingmagazine.com/category/scheme-b-bristol-beaufighter-tf-mk-x-squadrilia-b-aviacao-maritima-portela-de-sacavem-lisbon-portugal-1946/

https://acesflyinghigh.wordpress.com/2019/07/13/the-survivors-bristol-beaufighter-the-whispering-death-of-the-pacific-and-beyond/

http://plane-crazy.k-hosting.co.uk/Aircraft/WW2-Planes/Beaufighter/beaufighter.htm

https://www.silverhawkauthor.com/post/warplanes-of-the-second-world-war-preserved-in-united-kingdom-bristol-beaufort-and-bristol-beaufighter

https://110.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/arquivos/episodio-50-portugal-o-hidroplanador/

Documentos:

Informação nº244, da Direcção daAeronáutica Naval, de 10 de Abril de 1946