Bristol Beaufort Mk VIII DD931

The Bristol Beaufort was a Second World War torpedo bomber that served with Coastal Command from 1938 until 1943. In total 1,380 were built, with 700 being built in Australia.

The Beaufort operated very successfully as a torpedo bomber, but also carried out the essential role of mine layer. In the spring of 1940 they began dropping magnetic mines in enemy coastal waters and continued to do so until mid-1943. While operating in Coastal Command, Beauforts saw action over the North Sea, the English Channel and the Atlantic. In 1942, all Beaufort squadrons were deployed to the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean to meet a changing enemy threat. Malta-based aircraft were particularly successful in attacks on Axis shipping at a critical time in the war in North Africa. The RAF Museum's Beaufort was assembled from original parts recovered from several wrecks in the jungles of New Guinea and from specially fabricated parts made by an American firm. It is painted in the markings of No. 39 Squadron to portray a typical RAF Beaufort operating from Malta in 1942.