Boulton Paul Defiant Scale Models

The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British fighter that served with the Royal Air Force during World War II. The Defiant was designed as a turret fighter, without any forward-firing guns, also found in the Blackburn Roc of the Royal Navy.

In combat, the Defiant was found to be reasonably effective at destroying bombers but was vulnerable to the Luftwaffe’s more manoeuvrable, single-seat Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. The lack of forward-firing armament proved to be a great weakness in daylight combat and its potential was realised only when it was converted to night fighting. It was supplanted as a night fighter by the Bristol Beaufighter and de Havilland Mosquito. The Defiant found use in gunnery training, target towing, electronic countermeasures and air-sea rescue.

Specifications (Mk I)

General characteristics

Crew: two: pilot, gunner
Length: 35 ft 4 in (10.77 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 4 in (11.99 m)
Height: 11 ft 4 in (3.45 m)
Wing area: 250 sq ft (23 m2)
Empty weight: 6,078 lb (2,757 kg)
Gross weight: 8,318 lb (3,773 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 8,600 lb (3,901 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Merlin III liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,030 hp (770 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 304 mph (489 km/h, 264 kn) at 17,000 ft (5,200 m)
Cruise speed: 175 mph (282 km/h, 152 kn) at 15,000 ft (4,600 m)
Range: 465 mi (748 km, 404 nmi)
Endurance: 1.78 hr
Service ceiling: 31,000 ft (9,400 m) [56]
Time to altitude: 8.5 min to 15,000 ft (4,600 m)