INTERMEDIATE BUILD
Richard Spreckley completes ICM’s new-tool 1/48 Beaufort Mk.I, adding aftermarket extras and trialling ICM’s own-brand acrylic paints.
Born from a requirement for a land-based torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, Bristol’s Beaufort design married a pair of Taurus radial engines with an airframe based on the firm’s earlier Blenheim light bomber. The type’s initial flight occurred on October 15, 1938 and it entered RAF service two years later, with the first aircraft delivered to 22 Squadron, based at RAF Thorney Island. Eventually, four UK-based squadrons (22, 42, 86 and 217) became the primary Beaufort units, with operations focused on aerial mining, bombing of coastal targets and torpedo attacks on shipping.
Overseas, 39 and 47 Squadrons utilised the torpedo bomber extensively (the latter with a detachment from 42 Squadron), while two general reconnaissance units – 48 and 69 Squadrons – operated them alongside Avro Ansons and/or Martin Marylands. More than 25 RAF squadrons eventually used Beauforts to some degree, along with at least five in the Royal Navy. Overseas, the Royal Australian Air Force was the largest user, with more than 30 Squadrons operating the type; other export customers included Ca…
