Boulton Paul Defiant "Turret fighter" ...

[dhfan]

Off-topic really but IIRC, Bernard Lynch quite comfortably (probably not the right word) holds the world record for the number of live ejections.
From the Martin-Baker website, including the initial static ejection, it appears to be 18 in total.

A brave man, in an unusual way.

[L-188]

Always a pleasure to post what I dig up, just wish I knew more lol.

Below Boulton Paul Defiant 1 RAF Boscombe Down, UK 1939.

On the frames with turret facing forward " excuse me sir you may want to cover your ears and shut your eyes"

[Larry Kraus]

Let’s not forget the Blackburn Roc. That was the Royal Navy’s turret fighter it was based on the Blackburn Skua which was a combination dive bomber and fighter.

The Roc

2290E5FE-FEF9-45F8-97B7-CE353916AEB5 by tanker622001, on

B75F3E65-8C7F-4C1B-A831-C2077A19E6D5 by tanker622001, on Flickr

65A282EF-7664-4DDA-8105-7431257B8832 by tanker622001, on Flickr

[junkman9096]

Both were real life examples of militaries being prepared to fight the last war. When the Roc and Defiant came to the fore, the RAF decisions makers were recalling their halcyon days of the Bristol F2 in WW1.

[dhfan]

On the frames with turret facing forward " excuse me sir you may want to cover your ears and shut your eyes"

The guns couldn't fire when the turret was facing forwards.
Some feeble excuse about there being a propeller in the way...

[dhfan]

Let’s not forget the Blackburn Roc. That was the Royal Navy’s turret fighter it was based on the Blackburn Skua which was a combination dive bomber and fighter.

Mentioned by me on page 1, admittedly with no pictures.

Even more useless than the Defiant, and looked it.

[Larry Kraus]

Sorry, dhfan, I missed your post. Still pictures always help.

[Dan K]

...Even more useless than the Defiant, and looked it.

The Defiant...useless? Just don't tell these two.

12 daytime kills + 1 more at night.

Ed Thorn and Fred Barker: Defiant legends!

[LysanderUK]

Great to see another thread on unsung RAF types, some fantastic pics too.

Regards the question about converting to a single seater, the prototype (K8310) was first flown in 1937 with ballast in place of the turret. The same prototype had the turret removed again in 1940 and was demonstrated with a view to producing a single seat fighter version. In the end, it wasn't proceeded with as supplies of Spit and Hurri were sufficient and the factories were already tooled up for these, and the performance was only marginally better than the Hurri.

It's also a little known fact that the pilot could fire the turret guns, there was a cut-in/out on the electric triggering mechanism that connecting up to a conventional fire button on the pilot's spade grip. The turret had to be faced forward and elevated about 20 degrees to clear the prop. There was no gunsight in the cockpit, the pilot had to spray in the general direction. I've often wondered if this was the inspiration for Schrage Musik??

Lastly, there was a mention about the aerials under the belly. These were a real hazard for gunners trying to bail out through the belly hatch. The aerials were interconnected to the landing gear, the gear went down and the aerials came up.

Seasons' Greeting to you all, and I hope you're all having a great end to '22 and a great start to '23.