One Defiant defied all the odds!

Have you ever heard of the “Boulton Paul Defiant?” the Defiant was a World War 2 British built fighter aircraft.  There is only one example left in the world today!  In 1935 four years before WW2 broke out the British government ordered a fighter aircraft to be built, with a rear-ward facing turret as armament, the order was (FD/35)

The Air Ministry had an idea that when WW2 broke out Germany would be invading British airspace on intruder bombing missions.  The ministry wanted a modern mono-plane (One wing) fighter with a rearward facing power operated turret.  The turret was to have four Browning 0.303 machine guns.  Each high powered gun would have 600 rounds of ammunition.  With four machine guns this gave the gunner 2,400 rounds of high powered 0.303 ammunition.

The last Defiant on display in the I.W.M. Hendon

The British air ministry theorised that if a Boulton Paul Defiant could infiltrate a Germany bomber stream the gunner of the Defiant would wreak havoc with the 4 gunned turret, shooting down enemy bombers in a large volume.

The prototype aircraft first flew in May 1937, the aircraft was powered by the outstanding “Rolls Royce Merlin” V12 water-cooled engine.  The ministry were impressed by the Defiant and ordered 400 to be delivered as soon as possible.  Delays in production meant by the onset of  WW2 only 4 aircraft were in R.A.F. hands.

Production problems were ironed out and with the war in Europe escalating Defiant Nos swelled and several R.A.F. Squadrons were equipped with this unique looking aircraft.  Defiant’s first saw combat over the beaches on  “Dunkirk” with Britain’s retreat from France.  The British Expeditionary Force were in full retreat from Hitler’s “Blitzkrieg” taking of France.

British ships and boats of all sizes ferried soldiers across the English channel to save them from imprisonment by Nazi troopers.  The R.A.F. was giving aerial cover to the mass retreat.  The famous “Spitfire” and Hawker “Hurricane” were fending off German dive bombers who were trying to blow up the lines of retreating British soldiers.