Boulton Paul Defiant | World War Photos

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: Boulton Paul Defiant Mk I V1123

: Defiant turret

: Defiant N1572 KO-I No. 2 Squadron RAF at Cambridge September 1940

: Defiant Mk I L7012, December 1939

: Defiant III N1697 Target Tug

: A cadet gunner in an AGS Defiant equipped with only two guns.

: The most successful Defiant crew was that of Ted Thorn (pilot, right) and Fred Barker (gunner, left).

: Defiant AA370 August 1941

: Night fighter Defiant NF II AA370

: Defiant at night

: Defiants of 264 Squadron RAF

: Boulton Paul Defiant NF IA

: Defiant JT-S N1744 in flight of No. 256 Squadron RAF

: 264 Squadron Defiant

: Defiant N1573

: Defiant T4106 1941

: Boulton Paul test pilots: Feather. Evans and Neale 1940

: Night fighter Defiant Mk I V1110 RA-H of No. 410 Squadron RCAF early 1942

: Factory fresh Boulton Paul Defiants factory line up 1939

: Defiant in flight 1940

: Defiant Mk II AA370 at Boscombe Down, August 1941

: Boulton Paul Defiant of No. 125 Squadron RAF 1942

: Defiant N1673 in flight

: Defiants after completion at the Boulton Paul factory

: Defiant nose

: Mechanic removes twisted prop of RAF No. 264 Squadron Defiant 1940

: Defiant gunner in his turret, No. 264 Squadron RAF 1940

: Defiant Mk I L7012

: 264 Squadron crew: Sgt Ted Thorn and his gunner Sgt Fred Barker, Spring 1941

: The first P.82 prototype Defiant K8310 3

: Defiants at factory 1939

: Defiant K8310 after being fitted with its dorsal turret, 1939

: Target tug Defiant TT Mk I DR863

: Target tug Defiant TT III DR972

: Defiant Mk I N1536 PS-R of No. 264 Squadron RAF 1940

: TT Mk III 1944

: Prototype Defiant K8310

: Defiant of No. 264 Squadron RAF 1940

: Defiant L7025 PS-Z being refuelled. No. 264 Squadron RAF 1940

: Defiant N3377

: Boulton Paul Defiant PS-K f No. 264 Squadron RAF 1940

: Boulton Paul Defiant TT Mk I

: Defiant in flight

: Defiant PS-Z L7025 being refuelled 2

: Defiant K8310 1939

: Damaged Defiant L6957 PS-T of No. 264 Squadron RAF 29 May 1940

: Defiant PS-L of No. 264 Squadron RAF July 1940

: Defiant in flight 2

: Defiants of No 264 Squadron RAF, Summer 1940

: Sqn Ldr Phillip Hunter Leads of RAF No 264 Squadron

: Defiant Gunner wearing the GQ Parasuit

: Defiant N1801 PS-B “Coimbatore II” of No 264 Squadron RAF

: Defiant L7005 PS-X of No 264 Squadron RAF Battle of Britain

: Defiants 2

: Defiant N1536 PS-R 264 Squadron lined up at Kirton-in-Lindsey, August 1940

: Night fighter with fairing retracted to firing position

: Defiant of No 264 Squadron RAF Duxford 31 May 1940. Squadron Leader Phillip Hunter (back to camera) briefs his crews.

The Boulton Paul Defiant was a World War II fighter aircraft of the RAF built by Boulton Paul. The design of the aircraft was a flawed 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 fodder for the more agile Luftwaffe Bf 109s. It was quickly relegated to a night fighter role where it had considerable success before it was phased out of combat operations.
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. 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.
No. 264 Squadron was the first to be equipped with the Defiant Mk.I in December 1939 and 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. 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.
The Defiant was briefly successful as a day fighter when flying in formation with the visually similar Hawker Hurricane as it could surprise fighters attacking from the rear. The novelty of this trick soon wore off and the Defiant was moved to night fighting duties.
As a night fighter the Defiant achieved some 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.
The Defiant was removed from combat duties in 1942 and 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.