60 BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER M k.X
Thus began the command’s
long association with the mighty
‘Beau’. Much of 252 Squadron’s 15
aircraft, together with the other
Aldergrove-based early adopter
of the Mk.IC, 272 Sqn, would be
whisked away to Malta and the
Middle East within the coming
month, but the foundation was
set nonetheless. In the wake of
these departures, 143 Squadron
set up shop at Aldergrove and, on
June 15, 1941, received the seven
Beaufighters left behind by 252
Squadron. They too would only
be operational for a very short
period until shortages of crews
and aircraft conspired to make
them a de facto training unit for
long-range fighter crews. Such was
the nature of Coastal Command’s
fighter community in those days;
aircraft, spares, aircrew, and
specialist ground crew were all in
short supply and high demand.Mainstay units
Trudging on stubbornly from
these tenuous beginnings,
nine more firmly committedfrontline Beaufighter squadrons
operated within Coastal Command
throughout the course of World
War Two. This commenced with
248 Squadron, which gave up its
hard-worked Blenheim IVFs for
new Beaufighter Mk.ICs in July- These were operated until
replaced by Mk.VIFs in February
1942, in turn usurped by TF.Xs in
June 1943. 248 Squadron would
continue to operate Beaufighters
until it converted to Mosquitos at
the beginning of 1944.
In October 1941, 236 Squadron
became the next to stand up on
Mk.ICs. However, a temporary
paucity of aircraft meant its
precious new Beaufighters would
all go to other squadrons, and
this effectively reduced it to a
cadre unit between early February
and mid-March 1942. Thereafter,
it remained a Beaufighter unit
until war’s end, and traded-up
to Mk.VICs in May 1943, with
newer TF.Xs in operation alongside
them from June. The later mark
was the more predominant from
September, during which the
earlier examples were phased out.
The third Blenheim unit to convert
was 235 Squadron which, after a
brief flirtation with a lone early
example in December 1940, flew
its first ‘real’ Beaufighter Mk.IC on
operations in December 1941, and
completed its transition through
the early months of 1942. By May,
more powerful Mk.VICs began to
arrive, but a number of the older
mark persisted in the inventory
as late as spring 1943. From
October 1943 later Mk.IXCs and
TF.Xs dominated the squadron’s
dispersal at Portreath. This mix
remained effective operationally
into June 1944, while the
squadron made an expedited
transition to the Mosquito FB.VI.
Of the four original squadrons
‘inherited’ from Fighter Command
in June 1942, 254 Squadron was
the last to give up its Blenheims.
Unlike the others, 254 went
straight to Mk.VICs and, by
November, became central to the
service introduction of the first
of the ‘Torbeaux’ – the modified
Mk.VIC Interim Torpedo Fighter- into service. A TF.X user by
October 1943, this squadron
was unique in maintaining its
torpedo specialisation through
into the early post-war period,
although one flight had a brief
flirtation with ‘Tsetse’ (6-pdr gun)
Mosquitos in the closing weeks of
the hostilities.
To backtrack a little, 404
Squadron had become Canada’s
initial Article XV contribution to
Coastal Command when it formed
at Thorney Island on May 1, 1941,
and had operated Blenheims in
the Coastal Fighter role prior to
converting to Beaufighter IIFs
through September–November
- The Royal Canadian Air
Force unit was one of just two
frontline Coastal Command
squadrons to operate the Merlin-
engined Beaufighter (all were
surplus Fighter Command aircraft
refitted with a minimum of coastal
equipment). These were given
up for the much more capable
Mk.XICs in March 1943. The
squadron converted to TF.Xs, as a
rocket projectile (R/P) specialist
This, the Special Duties Scheme A, comprised Sky under surfaces, Dark Sea Grey sides, and EDSG uppers. Comparing several other 404 Squadron aircraft of the period, there
appears to have been liberal interpretation of the spec’ by user-units, for the wings and tailplane uppers appear to be more Dark Sea Grey than Extra Dark Sea Grey. The
overpainting behind the ‘2’ was where the aircraft letter was applied prior to the numeral coming into use. Dive brakes are still present but venturis have been removed.LZ295/Z, 404 Sqn, RCAF, Davidstow Moor Strike Wing, circa May 1944TF.X LZ293 of 236 Squadron after refinishing, from the short-lived (at least on Beaufighters) mostly white ASW scheme (see profile) to the Beaufighter
special EDSG over Sky. The fuselage just below the Gee whip aerial retains the outline of the DF loop fairing while the newly installed venturi box
ahead of the windscreen also features darker paint. This latter appears to have been exclusive to Coastal Command TF.Xs. (author’s collection)58-64_History.CC.indd 60 19/03/2015 15:17