The Boulton Paul Defiant is a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force during World War II. The Defiant was designed as a turret fighter, without any forward-firing guns.
Boulton Paul Defiant Prototype K8310 at Northolt, 22 May 1939The prototype Boulton Paul Defiant, K8310, which first flew in August 1937
Under Construction
Boulton Paul Defiant production line
264 Squadron – Day Fighters
Boulton Paul Defiant Mk Is N1536 PS-RBoulton Paul Defiant Mark Is, N1536, PS-R nearest, of No. 264 Squadron RAF, lined up at Kirton-in-LindseyBoulton Paul Defiant of No. 264 Squadron being refuelled, July 1940.264 Squadron Defiant PS-Z L7025Boulton Paul Defiant of No. 264 Squadron being refuelled, July 1940.Boulton Paul Defiant of No. 264 Squadron being refuelled, July 1940.Crews being taken out to their Boulton Paul Defiants of No. 264 Squadron, July 1940Boulton Paul Defiant Mark Is (L7006 ‘PS-X’ nearest) of No. 264 Squadron RAF, being prepared for take off by groundcrew at Kirton-in-Lindsey264 Squadron Defiant264 Squadron Defiant PS-H264 Squadron Defiant PS-V264 Squadron Defiant PS-Z L7025264 Squadron Defiant264 Squadron Defiant L7025 PS-Z264 Squadron Defiant PS-KAir Gunner Leslie Plimmer Russell standing beside his No. 264 Squadron Defiant PS-LPilot Officer MH Young (pilot)(left) and Leslie Plimmer Russell (Air Gunner)(right) standing beside their No. 264 Squadron DefiantBoulton Paul DefiantThe pilots of 264 Squadron in front of a Boulton Paul Defiant264 Squadron Defiant PS-ABoulton Paul DefiantDefiants of No 264 Squadron The Squadron Leaders aircraft signified by the A on the fuselageNo 264 Squadron’s CO, Squadron Leader Philip Hunter, leads a ‘vic’ of Defiants up from Kirton-in-Lindsey, early August 1940Boulton Paul Defiants of 264 SquadronSix Boulton Paul Defiant Mark I night fighters of No. 264 Squadron RAF based at West Malling, Kent, flying in port echelon formation.Boulton Paul Defiants of No 264 Squadron 1940Defiants of 264 Squadron in formation
264 Squadron – Night Fighters
Air Gunner with No. 264 Squadron, wearing an oxygen mask, standing beside his DefiantBoulton Paul Defiant Mark I night fighter, N1801 ‘PS-B’ ‘Coimbatore II’, of No. 264 Squadron RAF, undergoing a routine service in a dispersal, probably at Colerne, Wiltshire. This aircraft was flown by the effective night-fighting team of Flying Officer F D Hughes (pilot) and Sergeant F Gash (gunner), and displays a victory tally of 5 enemy aircraft shot down.Boulton Paul Defiant Mark I night fighter, N3313 PS-P, of No. 264 Squadron RAF based at West Malling, Kent, in flightBouton Paul Defiant Group of No. 264 Squadron personnel pose for the camera during clearing snow from one of their aircraftBoulton Paul Defiant Mk I night-fighter of No. 264 Squadron RAF
Miscellaneous Day Fighters
Boulton Paul Defiant ZJ-KBoulton Paul DefiantBoulton Paul Defiant
Polish Night Fighters
Boulton Paul DefiantBoulton Paul DefiantBoulton Paul Defiant
Night Fighters
Boulton Paul Defiant Boulton Paul Defiant Mark I night fighter, T4037 JT-T, of No. 256 Squadron RAF, on the ground at Squires Gate, Blackpool, Lancashire. The retractable fuselage fairings aft of the turret have been lowered for firing.
Target Tugs
Boulton Paul DefiantBoulton Paul Defiants from 777 Naval Air Squadron after taking off from HMS SpurwingBoulton Paul Defiant Mark III, N1697 target tug at Desford, Leicestershire Previously a Mark 1 fighter with No 256 Squadron RAFBoulton Paul Defiant TT Mk 1Boulton Paul Defiant TT Mark I, DR863, on the ground at the Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd aerodrome, Wolverhampton.
Turret Detail
An airgunner of 264 Squadron wearing a GQ Parasuit or rhino suit August 1940Flight Sergeant E R Thorn pilot and Sergeant F J Barker air gunner pose with their Boulton Paul Defiant after their 13th victoryBoulton Paul Defiant Gun TurretBoulton Paul Defiant Turret
Undergoing Maintenance
Fitters working on the 1,030hp Rolls-Royce Merlin III of a No 125 Squadron Defiant at Fairwood Common, January 1942
Damaged
Riggers examining the damage to the elevators of a Boulton-Paul Defiant Mark I, of No. 264 Squadron RAF in a hangar at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, following their battle with German fighters over Dunkirk on 29 May 1940.
Shot Down
Hit by fire from enemy fighters by Bf 109s of 5.JG 26, L6960 exploded in mid-air, the aircraft breaking up and both Pilot Officer Gordon Chandler and LAC Douglas McLeish dying in the crashHit by fire from enemy fighters by Bf 109s of 5.JG 26, L6960 exploded in mid-air, the aircraft breaking up and both Pilot Officer Gordon Chandler and LAC Douglas McLeish dying in the crashAnother Defiant shot down by 5.JG 26 in the same action, was L6969, ‘R’
Photographs of scale models of the Defiant can be found here
