The Most Underrated British Plane of WW2?

I was recently asked "what British airplanes or accomplishments in WW2 are underrated?" There are quite a few, and one airplane in particular is at the top of my list. Obviously this is a matter of opinion, but I thought I would share my thoughts.

Dozens of British pilots became aces while flying this plane. It fought all over the world, has a good combat record, yet for some reason, just doesn't get the respect it deserves.

I also tie in a personal story from my childhood about my meeting a pilot of this plane. This video is in a very different format than normal for this channel. It's non technical, non scripted, no manuals, no charts, I'm just sharing my thoughts opinions, and some memories.

If you want to guess what airplane it is by posting in the comment section before the premier, please be my guest. Remember, it an opinion so there are no wrong answers on this one. UPDATE, about 4 hours until the premier. A lot of people have guessed correctly, and almost all of the guesses are on solid ground.

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[phillipdavies]

My Dad worked as a quality control inspector at London Artid Plastics in Slough, Buckinghamshire when I was a kid. They made Revell model kits there and I was able to build quite a few of them. When the manager of the company saw one of my models he had me build a selection of them for a display case in their front lobby. I was the luckiest kid in Britain!!

[MrRugbylane]

"It showed up, it worked well and for some reason it never gets the respect it deserves". A lot of us know that feeling.

[kymvalleygardensdesign]

The Japanese called the Beaufighter "Whispering Death" on account of the very quiet nature of the Bristol Hercules engines. A little realised fact is that this company not only built the airfarmes but developed their own engines as well. An example of a Bristol Beaufighter MK X1C is under restoration to flying condition at Duxford, this has taken over 25 years so far but is finally starting to resemble a Beaufighter. I cannot wait to see it fly.

[bushyfromoz]

Short Sunderland is also highly underrated, some of the things those crews did were unbelievable

[stevehazelton]

I had the privilege of chatting to a Beaufighter pilot many years ago in a pub in Kent. He had some incredible stories of his missions all told in that understated fashion of that generation. A noble polite chap always immaculately turned out.Deep respect, a better generation IMO

[warwickkinscher]

About 10 years ago I met an ex Australian WW2 pilot who had flown both Beaufighters and Mosquitos in RAF Coastal Command (Beaufighters) and RAF Bomber Command (Mosqitoes as daylight interdiction, night fighters and of course Pathfinders). He was in his early 90’s at the time - and still flying his own VansRV and a Yak. He told me an interesting story about the early Beaufighters flying Coastal Command out of Wales. Bristol had subbed out some of the airframe building, and were able to keep up with aircraft production, but early in the war were lagging behind in building their engines (which at that time were dedicated to other types), so they re-engined a number of Beaufighters with Rolls Royce Merlins. But these became known as a death trap for novice pilots learning to fly them. The Bristol radials turn anti-clockwise when viewed from behind - check the pitch on the propellor blades in Greg’s photos - and of course the tail was offset to counteract some of the need for left rudder when applying full throttle on take-off. Now the Merlin and its prop rotate clockwise, requiring heaps of right rudder as throttle is applied - all the more so due to the tail offset. Unfortunately, novice pilots didn’t always feed in throttle slowly so that they could “catch” the left-turning tendency; apply the throttles on the Merlins too fast and the aircraft would corkscrew into the ground almost as soon as it lifted off. A number of novices and their aircraft were regrettably lost this way. Fortunately, the need for Merlins was short-lived and most of the Beaufighters were equipped with the Bristol radials for which they were designed.

[mattargo]

I'm 72 and knew several Hurricane, Spitfire and P-51 pilots who flew in WWII. The Spitfire had a narrow undercarriage that was very difficult to land in crosswinds on rough grass fields and many low time pilots were killed on landing especially toward the end of the Battle of Britain in October 1940. Many pilots were afraid of the Spit for that reason but never talked about it until many years after the war.

[gyrene_asea]

I really appreciated your story of tagging-along to the Revell operation in the 1970's. I was one of those obsessive kids during the '60s who had half the world's aircraft hanging from fishing lines in my room. I think that all people were just more respectful of each other in the work environment back then, and displayed their pride (usually justified) in what they collectively accomplished as a business, to the world and to each other.

[theslowlearner]

What a lovely way to tell a plane story, taking a detour through childhood memories...

[richardgoffin-lecar]

The Bristol Beaufighter was a superb aircraft. Fast, heavily armed, and extremely rugged. Great aeroplane!

[petervollhiem]

About 12 years ago on a flight across the country (USA), I met an RAF WW2 veteran. He wife graciously switched seats with me so I could speak with him for 4 wonderful hours. He was a radar operator hunting U Boats, at night over the Bay of Biscay - in a Bristol Beaufighter. What stories he had!
We corresponded by letter weekly until he passed away a couple of years later. It was great to know this man. And to the point of this video, as a reader of all things WW2 for 50 years, I never gave the Beaufighter much thought until I met this gentleman.
Great video Greg - thank you.

[peterroberts]

Very nice piece. My father knew a RCAF pilot who chased and shot down a Feisler Storch THROUGH the streets of Paris just after D-Day in a Beaufighter! And think it was a "thrown-together" design using the wings and tail from the Blenhiem bomber with the engines from the Beaufort torpedo bomber married to a new 2 crew fuselage. Great airplane!
And I have one of those kits in my stash! Great model and subject.

[petergregory]

My Wife's Grandfather flew Havocs, Beaufighters and Mosquito's. He started with Havoc nightfighters that carried a Turbinlight in the nose. This was supposed to illuminate German aircraft in the Dark to which they were guided by ground Radar controllers. Switch on the light and an accompaning Hurricane was supposed to do the rest. Didn't work too well apparently!
Lots of batteries required to power the light made the plane fly like a brick.
Then early Radar and the Beaufighters, then in Mosquito's. Always the nightfighter.
Ended up in Malta (Luca) 1943 Anzio and the Campaign in Italy. He flew his Mozzy from the UK to Malta. He was rather attached to his Plane but unfortunately it was "borrowed" by Sir Keith Park who crashed it on his return to the airfield, a write-off. Grandpa was not pleased!

[JohnSmith-pdfz]

Thank you for a very informative, bullshit and "music" free video. It makes a very pleasant change to hear an American on Youtube praising something British, most especially during WWII.

[ianstransporthistorystuff]

I spent 2 weeks in hospital back in 2000 and a guy on my ward in his 90s that flew Beaufighters in the far East in ww2 and he had nothing but praise for it .

[napoliansolo]

I like this format. I was 10-11 years old in 65-66 and I built models all the time. Loved mixing the parts and building something that didn't look like the picture on the box. I liked the way you shared your experience at Revell model company. I would've killed to see the factory. I enjoy hearing the lesser known facts about WWII and the people. It makes every story that much more interesting. Thank you for sharing yours.

[micko]

The Beaufighter was a tough rugged aircraft.
My father was a engine mechanic in the RAF & he loved them.

[malcolmlane-ley]

The Beaufighter will always be special to me as my Dad worked at Filton building them in the early 40's, a much underrated aircraft indeed.

[ericyeoman]

They were built here, in Australia as well. The Japanese were terrified of them, according to an old RAAF pilot who I met at the local R.S.L. They called them the Whispering Death.

[ericadams]

The Americans liked the Beaufighter too, however it was said that they would have liked them more if they were new when they aquired them. Nevertheless it gave them an effective nightfighter before the Black Widow was ready.