Bristol Beaufighter, part fourteen. Beaufighter Mk. IC

 

As the bombing campaign over mainland Europe increased after the Battle of Britain, both Bristol Aeroplane Company and the Royal Air Force (RAF) began to consider additional roles for the Beaufighter, as it was seen the ideal long range fighter to strike upon enemy bases and shipping lanes in such far places as Norway. 
To this purpose long range fuel tanks were fitted on a Beaufighter Mk. I registered as R5152, which had its guns replaced by fuel tanks. This was accompanied by additional changes such as an extra table and instruments being added in the rear position to help the navigator in long over-water flights, a D/F loop in lieu of the gun camera. An initial batch of eighty modified Beaus Mk. I were completed, with the suffix of a letter 'C' (standing for 'Coastal') added to the Mk. I official denomination. The machines of this initial batch had a temporal Wellington fifty gallon (227 L) fuel tank mounted on the fuselage floor between the gun bays. Standard wing fuel tanks were not ready until later.
The Mk. IC saw service for the first time in late March 1941 serving with No. 252 Squadron, shooting down a Focke-Wulf Fw. 200 on 16th April, and marking it as the first victim of the Mk. IC. In June 1941 No. 143 Squadron became the second unit to employ the Mk. IC. 
The Mk. IC became so important in RAF's Coastal Command that Bristol adapted the airframe to carry various fittings for the singular task of striking enemy shipping and kept on allocating the 'C' for 'Coastal'. 
Due to the troubling situation growing in the Mediterranean, No. 252 Squadron was sent with its Beaufighters to Malta in May 1941 and was soon followed by No. 272 Squadron with its Mk. ICs and Nos. 46 and 89 with Mk. IFs. When on Malta, No. 252 saw heavy action when escorting convoys and supporting the Syria-Lebanon Campaign. Later, they were rebased to Egypt, where they claimed their first enemy aircraft shot down on 24th July. 
As the Beaufighter showed that effective night interception was possible when the right aircraft and equipment were ready, the Mk. I performed a wide variety of roles including reconnaissance, ground attack and maritime strikes, relying primarily in its heavy armament. 
A total of 954 Beaufighters Mk. I were manufactured and were employed a by twenty-eight RAF squadrons, operating in most of World War 2's theatres of war. 

Sources:
1st Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 153 - Bristol 'Beaufighter' in Action
2nd Scale Aircraft Modelling - Modellers Datafile 6 - Bristol Beaufighter
3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Beaufighter