The Bristol Beaufort
A Technical Guide

by Richard A. Franks

Valiant Wings Publishing
Airframe Detail No. 10

Reviewed by Graham Carter

TThis range of reference books need no introduction as they have become the go-to sources for modellers and those interested in specific aeroplanes since they first started to appear a few years ago. This monograph for the Beaufort follows from No.9 on the Lysander from 2020 and is an A4 98 page volume, well bound with a glossy card cover and printed on quality glossy paper that allows excellent reproduction of images and drawings. While primarily aimed at the modeller, there is much to appeal to the historian and technically-minded person as well. The ‘Airframe Detail’ series is not as in-depth as the ‘Airframe and Miniature’ series, usually concentrating on aeroplanes that did not appear in as many variants as warranted by the larger size volumes.

The cover has a photo of an early war plane with a colour drawing of a desert camouflaged Mk I. Inside we find a Introduction of fifteen pages tracing the development, RAF and Commonwealth usage and by the Turkish air force, all illustrated with useful photos. This includes a list of survivors and specifications for the airframe.

The ‘Technical Description’ section occupies around forty pages and gives the reader an enormous number of colour and B&W photos from modern conserved and contemporary sources, along with technical manual drawings and excellent notes. The various engine and turret variations are covered here. As usual this is a highlight of these volumes and provides an invaluable source of information for the interested technophile or the super-detailer. 

There follows a fifteen page section on the Camouflage and Markings carried on different airframes and what a great variety there was, all illustrated by Richard Caruana in full colour. These cover the Raf in both offensive and maritime use, as well as the RAAF and Turkish Air Force. At the end of this section is a set of plans showing the location of the most significant stencils.

The third section contains a detailed build by Libor Jekl of the recent Airfix 1/72 kit, which he speaks highly of. There follows Steve A Evans’ build of the ICM 1/48 kit, which seems to have required a bit more work! These builders are well known for the quality of their  modelling and the clear photos and explanations of how they produced the models and are certainly worth a detailed read.

Finally, there are three appendices covering, in alphabetic lists by scale, all of the kits that have been available, Accessories, Decals and a Bibliography. An enormous amount of work has gone into compiling these lists. As befits an aeroplane that was not as widely used as some, these lists are not as extensive as those for, say a Spitfire or Bf109, but there is still sufficient to fill five pages of three columns each.

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The volume concludes with a list of the squadrons, both RAF and foreign, that made use of the Beaufort in all its different guises.

This is an exceptionally useful volume that should be in every Beaufort modeller’s library, regardless of which scale one works in, and I recommend it whole-heartedly. It brings together so much information that you probably have spread through several source and therein lies its usefulness.

Thanks to Valiant Wings Publishing for the sample.

Review Copyright © 2023 by Graham Carter
This Page Created on 19 January, 2023
Last updated 21 January, 2023

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