Bristol Beaufighter Mk IIF
Originally designed as a heavy fighter version of the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber, the Beaufighter developed into a multi-role aircraft. Its large size enabled it to carry early AI radar sets along with a heavy armament of four 20mm cannon and six .303 machine guns, making it an effective night fighter.
Later variants were able to carry torpedoes and rockets for the strike role, where it was employed for anti-shipping strikes and ground attack.
Bristol Beaufighter Mk IIF
The Bristol Beaufighter Mk IIF was similar to the proceeding Mk IF, except for the use of Rolls Royce Merlin XX engines. At the time, Bristol Hercules engines were also used on the Short Stirling bomber, which had priority allocation. To ensure the continuation of Beaufighter production, a trial use of Merlins was used. This resulted in the Mk IIF. As the production of Hercules engines kept up with demand, there was no need to permanently switch, and later versions reverted to the Hercules.
