Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3, part two.

 

The prototype of the LaGG-3 was called I-301 and was designed by Semyon A. Lavochkin, Vladimir P. Gorbunov and Mikhail I. Gudkov. That prototype was renamed to LaGG-1 (to which we dedicated an entire post, not very long ago, check it out by clicking here ) and production machines were named LaGG-3. 
The prototype was completed at the GAZ-301 factory, North-West of Moscow and the design was approved for production in January 1940. The I-301 was a single-seat, low-wing monoplane with a semi-monocoque fuselage and skinned with birch veneer and plywood. On 14th June it was accepted for trials and it achieved the speed of 510 km/h (320 mph) with a climb to 5.000 m (16.400 ft) in 5.85 minutes. Later, it achieved the speed of 604 km/h with its radiator doors closed, making it the fastest M-105P powered aircraft.

The first series commenced on 29th June 1940 and its production progressed slowly as there were teething problems with the aircraft due to an untrained workforce with no previous experience in aircraft manufacturing (GAZ factory had manufactured tanks and cars to that date). The lack of knowledge with the delta wood structure (the main material of the fuselage), incomplete technical drawings, lack of jigs and the fact that some factories didn't complete the transition from manufacturing the Polikarpov I-16 and I-153 to the LaGG-3 were the cause of those problems. The Series 1 differed from the prototypes in having a strengthened landing gear, 10 mm seat armour, enlarged carburetor air intake and were armed with two 12,7 mm Berezin UBS machine gun and two 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns. Some machines were fitted with a radio transmitter/receiver device, which were allocated to flight leader aircrafts only, while the other aircraft had either one receiver or no radio at all. 

In order to balance the mass, weights were added above and below the rudder to eliminate control surface flutter. The LaGG-3 had also an unique fire suppression system which collected exhaust using a tube on the port side of the exhaust manifold that ran to a condenser, where the gasses were cooled and pumped into the empty fuel tanks. 

This first series was powered by a Klimov M-105P engine which yielded 1.100 hp of power and was equipped with a centrifugal two-speed two-stage supercharger. Given the additional equipment, the Series 1 aircraft was heavier than the prototype, which had a negative impact in overall performance. Therefore the LaGG-3 was slow, with a top speed of 549 km/h (341 mph) at 5.000 m (16.500 ft) high and it had also a considerably slower rate of climb. It also required a longer take-off run.

As the production process was very slow, it wasn't until spring 1941 that initial conversion training for Fighter Aviation Regiments based in Soviet Asia began. This training required time and great effort. Those Aviation Regiments were chosen in order to reinforce the Soviet-Manchurian border as both Japan and the USSR had clashed in 1939 (see the Battles of Khalkin-Gol or Nomohan Incident). During training, as most Soviet pilots were used to flight the extremely maneuverable Polikarpov I-152, the Series 1 as unforgiving and unmaneuverable as it was, it was very unpopular. Mechanically speaking, also suffered a lot with mechanical failures such as landing gear not deploying, guns not firing or brakes not working, were the rule, forcing many machines to be back into factories for reparations. Those teething problems were ordered to be fixed on 31st May 1941 by the People's Commissariat for Aircraft Industry. 

When Operation Barbarossa was launched on 21st June 1941 there were only 322 LaGG-3 of the Series 1 available. None of them clashed with the Luftwaffe as they were all stationed in the Far East. Most of the LaGG-3 remained in Asia until summer when it was clear that Japan would honor the neutrality pact signed with the USSR. 

The LaGG-3's existence was kept in secret, specially for Germany which, although they knew the VVS (Red Air Force) was equipping a new fighter, they ignored its characteristics. 

During combat patrols, many pilots flew with the canopy open, and some of them even removed it entirely. This was done because it couldn't be jettisoned and its poor-quality plexiglass was almost opaque. 

When LaGG-3 pilots met their enemies for the first time, they lacked training and initiative and most leaders were unable to command their units, so when they were shot down, the rest of the flight, usually, continued to fly in formation without changing direction until them all were shot down. 

Some pilots, however, managed to fully control the LaGG-3. For instance, Captain V.I. Popkov, who would eventually be a VVS ace, scored his initial victories with the LaGG-3 Series 1. 

When operating from unprepared fields, the lower landing gear doors were removed, in order to keep mud from building up on the landing gear.

The Series 1 kept operating on the main frontlines until 1942 when they were sent to more secondary frontlines like the Finnish ones. 

There was also an anti-tank specialized version. This was called Gudkov K-37 and was equipped with a 37 mm Shpitalny Sh-37 axial cannon firing through the propeller hub. Twenty were built in summer 1942 and served with the 42nd IAP (Fighter Aircraft Regiment). This machine proved it could shot down an enemy fighter with a single shot, but it could barely damage enemy tanks. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov_LaGG-3

2. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 163 - LaGG Fighters in Action

3. https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/lagg3/lagg3.html

Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3, part one. Foreign users

 

The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 was a Soviet fighter aircraft of the World War 2 which was an improved version of the previous Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-1. It was one of the most modern fighters available for the VVS (Soviet Air Force) at the time of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, together with the Yakovlev Yak-1.

Some foreign countries got their hands at the LaGG-3:

• Finland: During Continuation War (1941-1944), the Finnish Air Force captured a single LaGG-3 of the first series which had to make a wheels-up forced landing on Finnish territory during early 1942. Coded as "Red 33", it was dismantled on 20th May and transported to a repair depot by truck.
  As the machine had sustained considerable damage during forced landing, reparations were not complete until 30th June 1944 as it had low priority. This machine received the registration of LG-2 and was assigned to Hävittäjälentolaivue 32, a fighter squadron equipped with the American-built Curtiss Hawk 75A. 
  On 19th July 1944 the LaGG-3 series 1 made another forced landing at Mensuvaara airfield due to an engine malfunction. It was repaired, but it was damaged again, beyond reparation on 30th August 1944 after the landing gear malfunctioned. 
  Another single LaGG-3 Series 4th was captured by the Finnish Air Force during Continuation War. It was coded as "Red 29" and made a forced wheels-up landing near Aunus, Karelia in early February 1942. It was later dismantled and sent to repair on 20th May. This machine was the first LaGG-3 to serve with the Finnish Air Force and was assigned to Lentolaivue 32 and, under the registration of LG-1, it was piloted by Warrant Officer V. Ikonen. 
  The LaGG-3 was intended to be used as an interceptor against the Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber. The first combat took place on 23rd March 1943 when a Pe-2 was chased, but was never caught. Despite many attempts during the Continuation War, the three Finnish LaGG-3 (another one was captured and received the code LG-3) never managed to shot down the Pe-2.
  Under normal circumstances only one LaGG was airworthy at a time, so they had to fly alone. The only patrol flight with more than one LaGG took place on 27th October 1943 and they got involved in a dogfight with a Pe-2 bomber and its escort of two MiG-3 fighters, but it ended up without losses for any side. 
  On 4th November LG-1 had a landing accident, where the pilot left uninjured, but LG-1 was sent for reparations. It was quickly repaired and reassigned to Lentolaivue 32 in early 1944. On 16th February it was involved in an aerial combat against a group of Pe-2 with an escort of two LaGG-3 with LG-1 shooting down one Soviet LaGG-3. After the end of Continuation War on 4th September 1944 an armistice was signed with the Soviet Union and the Finnish LaGG-3 were put in storage. On 1st April 1945 they received new markings, replacing the Finnish blue swastika with white/blue/white roundels. They were scrapped shortly after.
• Japan: In the spring of 1942 a Soviet pilot defected with his LaGG-3 Series 8th flying it to Manchukuo and making a wheels-up landing at a field near the town of Chiasmus. As the machine was in need of reparations, these were completed on 27th September and the machine undertook some evaluation flight supervised by Major Yamamoto from the Imperial Japanese Army Air Test Center. Those trials took place at Mutanchiang Air Base, in Manchukuo and the LaGG-3 lacked the lower wheels doors. The original pitot tube was replaced by a Japanese made one and the propeller remained in silver colours with red bands at the tips. The Soviet red stars were replaced by the Japanese Hinomaru. 
• Germany: After Operation Barbarossa, the Luftwaffe captured many LaGG-3. Some were used for evaluation and it is known that one appeared at a propaganda movie in 1943. As we couldn't find graphical evidence of this, the colours and registration displayed should be considered as speculative. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov_LaGG-3

2. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 163 - LaGG Fighters in Action

3. https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/lagg3/lagg3.html

Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-1

 

The Lavochking-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-1 was a Soviet fighter of the World War 2. It served as the prototype of more sophisticated Soviet fighters of the time.

It was designed in September 1938 by Semyon A. Lavochkin and V.P. Gorbunov as a light-weight fighter powered by the Klimov M-105 inline engine. It was internally called as I-22 and, in order to save strategic materials, it was made out of plastic-impregnated wood known as delta drevesina, with a stressed bakelite plywood skinning. 

The first prototype flew for the first time on 30th March 1940 and, although it showed some flaws, it proved to be promising. It didn't, however, live up to the expectations raised by the designers. Considering the need for the VVS (Soviet Air Force) to have a modern fighter, specially after the catastrophic losses they sustained during the Winter War, the type was ordered into production. Around 100 were made and sent to evaluation squadrons, where their shortcomings were made obvious. The LaGG-1 was underpowered, it lacked agility and it was too short-ranged. Furthermore, while the first few prototypes were carefully made, the manufactured exemplars were crudely made. 

The LaGG-1 was powered by a single Klimov M-105P V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine with a theoretical power of 1.000 hp. The first prototypes were armed with a 23 mm  ShVAK cannon  mounted between the cylinder banks, firing through the propeller's hub and two 12.7 mm UB machine guns mounted on the upper decking. Production version were, however down-armed as they were armed with a single 20 mm ShVAK cannon mounted between the cylinder banks and firing through the propeller's hub plus two 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns on the forward upper decking. The prototypes with modified armament were internally referred as the I-301 (from the numerical designation of the factory GAZ-301). The manufactured versions had also redesigned outer panel wings with additional fuel tanks. The I-301 went to flight testing on 14th June 1940, with its denomination being changed to LaGG-3 and the remaining exemplars of the LaGG-1 to be completed being finished to the later standard.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov_LaGG-1

2. http://www.aviastar.org/air/russia/lagg-1.php

Bristol Beaufort. Part Six. British Users, part three.

 

In late 1941 the Royal Air Force (RAF) ordered 180 Australian-built Beauforts, which were manufactured by the Australian Department of Aircraft Production (DAP),  to serve with the RAF Far East Command to act in the South-East Asia Theatre of Operation. The Australian-built Beauforts were to replace the extremely outdated Vickers Vildebeests, which were active since the year 1928, operated by the No. 100 Squadron which was based at Singapore with a detachment, Q flight, in Australia for operational conversion purposes. 

When Japan invaded Malaya on 8th December 1941, approximately 20 DAP Beauforts were completed and were delivered to the Q flight. Of those twenty, only six managed to reach Singapore, just after combats began. No. 100 Squadron kept on operating the Vildebeest over Singapore, sustaining heavy losses. One Beaufort of Air Headquarters was performing reconnaissance duties when it was attacked by Japanese fighters, which heavily damaged it and the Beaufort was, therefore, written off. The RAF decided that the Beaufort lacked defensive armament against the more modern fighters and that No. 100 Squadron lacked training and familiarization on the type. 

As the Japanese conquered Malaya, the RAF evacuated Malaya and its airfields taking both Beauforts and personnel to Australia. As the type wasn't liked by the crews, the remaining DAP Beauforts were sent to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

The Beaufort was also sent to the Indian Ocean. On 28th April 1942 the first Beaufort arrived in Colombo, Ceylon, operating with No. 22 Squadron. Beaufort's operations here were fruitless because there were no sightings of Japanese ships for the next two years plus. 

However, a great number of patrols were performed there in support of Allied shipping in the area. The last operational mission of a Beaufort in the Indian Ocean took part on 15th July 1944 when some airplanes of No. 217 Squadron flew a patrol. Although this unit kept the Beauforts in inventory until early September. 

In the late war, on the British isles the last units to operate the Beaufort were Nos. 51 and 54 Operational Training Units (OTU), two Flying Instructors' Schools and No.1 Ferry Unit.

The Beaufort was also used as an experimental platform and trainer. In fact, for most of the war Beaufort-equipped OTUs undertook al flying and armament tuition except for almost all of the torpedo dropping, which was performed by Nos. 1 and 2 Torpedo Training Units. The Beaufort also proved to be a good training platform for night-fighting OTUs. 

The last 121 exemplars of the Beaufort Mk.IIA were completed as trainers, using stock-pilled parts. Other machines, which were operational, were converted, during the late-war to trainers. One hundred Beauforts served also with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA) mainly as trainers. 

The Beaufort also served as the platform for some experimental modifications such as new turret types, new ASV radars and a new airborne flamethrower designed to deter enemy fighters from rear attacks. However, this idea didn't prosper. 

Sources:

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Beaufort

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bristol_Beaufort_operators

3 Hall Park Books - Warpaint 50 - Bristol Beaufort

Bristol Beaufort. Part Five. British Users, part two.

 

The first major Beaufort operation in Europe, took place on the night of 15th to 16th April 1940 when nine Beauforts dropped mines on the Schillig Roads maritime area, north of Wilhelmshaven, one of the major German ports of the North Sea. On this operation one Beaufort didn't make it back home. 

Another squadron, No.42 began to re-equip with Beauforts in April. The Beaufort had still some unsolved problems and, a Court of Enquiry came to the conclusion in June 1940 that the Taurus engine were not reliable, so both operational squadrons were grounded until engines could be modified.

The first torpedo attack in World War 2 carried out by the Royal Air Force (RAF) took place on 11th September 1940 when five Beauforts of No.22 Squadron attack a convoy of three merchant ships off Ostend, in Belgium. Shortly later, on 15th September, a "Rover" operation (an armed reconnaissance mission against enemy shipping made by small independent airplanes) took place. These were very common missions for the following 18 months.

The other United Kingdom based Beaufort-equipped squadrons were Nos. 86 and 217, which were not fully operational until 1941. 

The Beauforts were involved in many attacks on German capital ships. The first of which took place on 21st June 1940 when nine Beauforts of No.42 squadron attacked the German Battleship Scharnhorst off the Norwegian coast. They had to employ bombs as they had no torpedoes available. From this sortie, only four Beaufort returned as they encountered a force of some Messerschmitt Bf.109 and, shortly later, the Beaufort were grounded to modify their Taurus engines. 

Later, in early April 1941 a raid against the German naval base at Brest took place. However, due to bad weather, the raid was a failure. Later, on the night of 11th to 12th June 1941 thirteen Beauforts of No. 42 Squadron plus five Beaufort of No. 22 Squadron were dispatched from RAF Wick, Scotland to find the German Cruiser Lützow with an escort of four destroyers which were sighted off the coast of Norway. This attack was a failure too, because the Beauforts turned out to be too slow. The Court of Enquiry reached the conclusion that a faster land-based torpedo-bomber was needed, so Bristol began to work on a torpedo-bomber conversion of the Beaufighter.

During the famous Channel Dash, when various German ships crossed the English Channel, some Beauforts made fake torpedo runs and acted as flak-suppressers to reduce attention on the real torpedo bombers. After that, the Beaufort was sent to other operational theatres of the war, namely the Mediterranean and the Far East.

In the Mediterranean, No. 39 Squadron transitioned from the Martin Maryland to the Beaufort in August 1941 and, on 28th January 1942 they attacked an Italian convoy, making it the first Beaufort attack in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations (MTO). 

During the early hours of 15th June 1942 Beauforts of No. 217 Squadron torpedoed the Italian Heavy Cruiser Trento which was left crippled and was sunk by the British submarine HMS Umbra which had witnessed the aerial attack.

By July 1942 both No 86 Squadron arrived in Malta to be absorbed by the No. 39 Squadron, with No. 217 Squadron being rebased to Ceylon.

For the following 11 months, the Beaufort force, this time accompanied with Beaufighter and torpedo-equipped Vickers Wellington at night, were instrumental at attacking Axis convoy lines that were supplying Axis forces in North Africa. In June 1943 No.39 Squadron, converted to Beaufighters.

Sources:

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Beaufort

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bristol_Beaufort_operators

3 Hall Park Books - Warpaint 50 - Bristol Beaufort

Bristol Beaufort. Part Four. British Users, part one.

 

The Bristol Beaufort came from a specification of the Air Ministry calling for a general reconnaissance airplane to replace the Avro Anson. It requested a land-based torpedo-bomber powered by two engines. Bristol's design 152 was selected, together with the other contender, the Blackburn Botha, in an unprecedented decision as the Royal Air Force (RAF) was in great need of a torpedo-bomber. In 1936 the type was given green light for mass production. It got the name Beaufort from the Duke of Beaufort. The initial production order was placed for 320 machines, 78 of which were built by Bristol, at their Filton factory and the remaining 242 being built by Blackburn.

The design resembled that of the Bristol Blenheim. It was, however, larger and had a wider wingspan. The fuselage had a longer nose and was taller to accomodate a fourth crew member, making the aircraft considerably heavier. The larger bomb bay was designed to hold a semi-recessed torpedo or an increased bomb-load. Given the heavier weight, the original Bristol Mercury engines, which powered the Blenheim were replaced by the more powerful sleeve-valved Bristol Perseus engine. However, it was determined that even with the Perseus, the Beaufort would be slower than the Blenheim. Therefore, the Bristol Taurus, another sleeve-valve engine was chosen. For those engines, a special NACA-cowling was developed which exhausted air through vertical slots flanking the nacelles under the wings, air flow being controlled by adjustable flaps.

The basic structure introduced many improvements from the previous Blenheim design, making it lighter. 

The first prototype was completed in mid-1938. When tested, problems arose with Taurus engines overheating in ground testing, forcing the engineers to design new engine cowlings with circumferential cooling gills. As a result, the first flight was delayed until 15th October 1938. During test flight it was found that undercarriage doors, similar to those of the Blenheim, were causing the aircraft to yaw on landing, so they were removed for subsequent flights. On the second prototype, more conventional split doors were used which left a small part of the tyres exposed when retracted, were installed.

The testing carried out at Boscombe Down, was not satisfactory and that, coupled with the overheating problems of the Taurus engine, gave the Beaufort low manufacturing priority. In fact, it wasn't until November 1939 that production began and it wasn't until January 1940 when the first operational machines were assigned to No. 22 Squadron of RAF Coastal Command.

No. 22 Squadron replaced their outdated Vickers Vildebeest in January 1940. As the Beaufort was a more modern torpedo-bombing platform, it required further extensive training and different flight patterns. Because of those, the first operations carried out by the squadron consisted on laying magnetic mines and dropping some bombs. During one sortie that took place on 7th May 1940, a Beaufort dropped a bomb on a German cruiser anchored off Norderney, Germany. 

Sources:

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Beaufort

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bristol_Beaufort_operators

3 Hall Park Books - Warpaint 50 - Bristol Beaufort

Bristol Beaufort. Part Three. Australian Users, part two.

 

Australian Beauforts served first on a detachment of No.100 Squadron Royal Air Force (RAF). This squadron was based in Bankstown, Sydney, to form squadrons on the Australian-built Beauforts.

During early December 1941 six machines were sent to Malaya and, when based at Singapore, some Beauforts located, during long-range reconnaissance missions, the Japanese invasion fleet. On 25th February 1942, after the Fall of Singapore, No.100 Squadron was transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as RAF abandoned its own plans to have a torpedo-bombing unit operating in the South Pacific Area. All Australian Marks served with various RAAF squadrons and Operational Training Units (OTU). Much of the Beauforts operational flying was centered around maritime roles, specially anti-shipping and anti-submarine duties until March 1943 when long-range bombing strikes against Japanese-occupied ports and naval bases were conducted, one of them took place in October 1943 against the Japanese naval base in Rabaul. These missions lasted until February 1944 with the Beaufort completing also reconnaissance and transport missions. 

No.100 Squadron's first offensive took place on 27th May 1942 and sank the Japanese destroyer Hayashio which was already damaged by an American Boeing B-17. During the same operation they also seriously damaged the Hiyodori torpedo boat.

Two Beaufort-equipped RAAF squadrons, Nos. 7 and 32, were not assigned to torpedo-bombing duties. Instead they carried out patrol and bombing missions. During one of those, a Beaufort from No.32 bombed and damaged the Japanese submarine I-174 on 17th June 1943.

During 1943 there were few torpedo successes until the merchant ship Keisho Maru was sunk by a torpedo from No. 8 Squadron off Rabaul on 13th October. Shortly later, on 22nd October Beauforts from Nos. 6, 8 and 100 Squadrons (which formed No. 71 Wing) dive-bombed and severely damaged the Japanese light cruiser Kiso, off Cape St. George, in New Ireland. Kiso was towed to the island of Truk for repairs. By December the Japanese realized it was too dangerous to operate large ships in the Rabaul area, so no more torpedo attacks were carried out after December 4th. That day was the last when a Beaufort made a torpedo attack. 

No. 2 Squadron RAAF acquired the Beaufort on 15th December 1943 and it was followed by No. 1 Squadron RAAF in February 1944. These two units operated in the Arafura Sea and Timor areas, where they sank a Japanese minesweeper, WA 4, at the port of Dili, in Timor on 19th July 1944.

No.15 Squadron was the last frontline unit to receive the Beaufort. This unit became operational on 22nd April 1944, making a total of nine operational Beaufort squadrons to serve with the RAAF. Both Nos 1 and 2 Squadron switched their Beauforts for another aircraft. No. 2 Squadron was converted to the North American B-25 Mitchell and No. 1 Squadron after having flown its last mission on 9th January 1945, transitioned towards the De Havilland Mosquito. 

During 1945 most of RAAF's Beauforts were based at Tadji, in New Guinea, to provide ground support and perform tactical bombing duties in order to help Australian Army to secure Aitape and Wewak regions. In this role the Beaufort was surprisingly good, as it proved to be very agile and could fly many short duration sorties. On 11th May a force composed of sixty Beauforts bombed targets close to Wewak.

Australian-built Beauforts were generally better than the British-built ones as their agility allowed them to evade enemy fighters.

During the year 1944 there was a shortage of transports, so many airframes of all marks were converted into nine-seat high-speed communications and transport aircraft. These machines had no armament, a fairing-over the rear fuselage and double tail-wheels. The prototype of the Mk.IX 'Beaufreighter' flew for the first time on 4th February 1944 and a total of 46 machines were reconverted for this role.

After World War 2 almost every frontline Beaufort was either stored or sold for scrap in 1946. Some few Mk.IX transport were tested but, after October 1948 they were not flown again. Many of the stored Beauforts lasted until 1953 but, when it was foresaw that the Korean War would be soon over, they were discarded. One machine was briefly used to test some fire extinguishing equipment for the New South Wales Department of Civil Aviation.

Sources:

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Beaufort

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bristol_Beaufort_operators

3 Hall Park Books - Warpaint 50 - Bristol Beaufort

Bristol Beaufort. Part Two. Australian users, part one.

 

Back in May 1938 the Australian Government declined the acquisition of the Bristol Blenheim due to its impending obsolescence. Therefore, an alternative was requested and the Beaufort was recommended during August. and, by December 1939 a pact was signed for manufacturing 250 Beauforts in Australia both intended for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the Royal Air Force (RAF).

On 21st October 1939 the third production Beaufort was shipped to Australia to serve as a pattern, together with another 20 set of parts. The pattern Beaufort didn't arrive until April 1940, delaying that way the programme though. The manufacturing process was controlled by the Aircraft Construction Branch of the Department of Supply and Development, which was set up back in July 1939. In March 1940 it was replaced by the Aircraft Production Commission and, eventually in June 1941 it became the Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) controlling all of the government and private companies and factories where the Beaufort would be manufactured, including Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) and De Havilland Australia. 

A whole production chain was set up all throughout Australia and the first order of 90 machines, placed in July 1941, were intended for RAF squadrons Nos. 36 and 100 in the Far East with another 90 machines for the RAAF.

The Fall of Singapore in February 1942 changed matters and every machine intended for the RAF, was sent to the RAAF instead. DAP considered to fit their Beaufort with Bristol Taurus engines, but the embargo set by the British Government on the export of strategic materials, made it impossible, so DAP decided to fit their not-completed-yet Beauforts with Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp radial engines, delaying the completion of the first DAP Beaufort until 5th May 1941, when it flew for the first time. 

During testing it was noted that one machine had too much oscillation in roll and yaw. These problems could be serious if not corrected by rudder and the instability could be worsened a lot if the rudder or aileron was disturbed slightly, specially during turns, rolls, level flights or climbs. This problem, together with other associated disturbances, were fixed by adding additional dihedral to the tailplane, reducing this way the disturbances to acceptable levels. By 1942 the Beaufort was given highest priority rating for the RAAF and, eventually, 700 machines were manufactured locally. 

The first Australian Beauforts were built as Mk.II and were later redesignated as Mk.Vs. Other variants were introduced, as substantial changes were made in the engines and propellers. The Mk.VI was powered by Twin-Wasp S1C3-G engines, the Mk.VII was fitted with different propeller types than the Mk.VI and the Mk.VA was fitted with Twin-Wasp S3C4-G engines. 

The most numerous variant was the Mk.VIII, which was powered by the Twin-Wasp S3C4-G and was equipped with later Blenheim-type turret and the twin forward-firing Vickers K guns, which were also retrofitted to older models. Australian Beauforts were also fitted with special racks to carry the American Bliss-Leavit torpedo and the Browning chin gun instead of the Vickers K. 

To be continued.

Sources:

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Beaufort

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bristol_Beaufort_operators

3 Hall Park Books - Warpaint 50 - Bristol Beaufort

Bristol Beaufort. Part One. Some Commonwealth and Turkish Users

 

The Bristol Beaufort was a British twin-engined torpedo-bomber designed and manufactured by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was developed based on the experience gained on the previous Bristol Blenheim light bomber. It was mainly used the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), but  a total of two-hundred were provided to other users, namely, the following ones:

• Canada: Two units of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) employed the Beaufort. No. 415 (which, during World War 2 was under RAF's command) had six Beaufort in strength between September 1941 and January 1942.
  A new Operational Training Unit (OTU) unit, initially under RAF's organic command was formed in November 194. This unit called No.32 (Coastal) OTU was formed at RAF Sidney, on Vancouver Island in the British Columbia. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, this unit was promoted to No.32 Torpedo Bomber Squadron and was tasked with patrolling the Eastern Pacific. At the appropriate time the RCAF decided to create a force of their own and, therefore, formed on 26th October 1942 the No.149 (Seawolf) Squadron at RCAF Patricia Bay, close to RAF Sidney. This squadron received the Beauforts of the No.32 OTU, when that unit replaced them with Handley Page Hampdens for crew training purposes. However, by that time, the Beauforts were outdated and they were withdrawn on 16th August 1943. They were eventually replaced by the Lockheed Ventura. Twelve Beaufort passed into private Canadian owners and three machines survived until March 1947 before being scrapped.
• New Zealand: A total of six Beauforts served with No.489 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) at RAF Leuchars (Scotland) in August 1941, with the intention of forming a front-line unit like No.415 Squadron RCAF. However, two Beauforts were destroyed and the remaining four ones were transferred in early 1942 to other RAF units to replace their losses. 
• South Africa: During 1941 the South African Air Force (SAAF) ordered a total of 18 Beauforts to help them better protect shipping lanes around the Cape of Good Hope. The British Government confirmed that 18 was the maximum number available, and so two Flights were formed, Nos. 36 and 37 at Winfield with seven Beauforts each. There they made some patrols over South Atlantic before going North in April 1942 to take part in the Operation Ironclad, the invasion of Vichy-France-controlled Madagascar. They remained there until mid-November performing many patrols and anti-submarine sorties before being merged, on 3rd July with No.32 Flight (equipped with Martin Marylands) and forming the No.20 Squadron SAAF. Initially only the Northern part of Madagascar was taken, but, eventually the whole island was conquered and, on 4th September it was decided to put the unit under No.207 Group RAF. Therefore, the unit was renumbered to No.16 SAAF, to avoid confusion with No.20 Squadron RAF.
  Madagascar surrendered on 6th November 1942. 
  South African Air Force's Beauforts were returned to the RAF and were replaced by Blenheims, but these machines were grounded on 8th June 1943 after moving to the Middle East. Additional 40 Beauforts were supplied to the SAAF, both of Mk.I and Mk.II variants, to replace the Blenheims. These Beauforts served with the No.16 Squadron from 15th June 1943 until 28th February 1944. They flew patrols in North Africa and, during September, some sorties on Southern Italy to support the Allied crossing of Messina Strait. They also escorted the Italian battle fleet to its surrender.
• Turkey: In 1944 eleven (or twelve, according to some other sources) Beaufort Mk.IAs were supplied to the Turkish Air Force (TAF). Some Turkish had already trained with the type in the Middle East and England. At least ten additional Mk.IIAs followed in 1945 and were assigned to the 105th Torpedo and Reconnaissance Group, tasked to patrol the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. The Mk.IAs served until 1947 when they were replaced by Bristol Beaufighters and the Mk.IIAs remained until 1950, becoming this way, the last flying Beauforts. The Turkish Beauforts carried no torpedoes, but they were used as reconnaissance bombers.

Sources:

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Beaufort

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bristol_Beaufort_operators

3 Hall Park Books - Warpaint 50 - Bristol Beaufort