Beaufighter Mk X

This page is about the British strike aircraft Beaufighter Mk X. For other versions, see Beaufighter (Family).

Beaufighter Mk X

Beaufighter Mk VIc

Beaufighter Mk 21

Beaufighter Mk X

Beaufighter Mk VIc

Beaufighter Mk 21

Britain

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.7	3.0	3.7

Class:

Strike aircraft

Torpedo bomber

Research:5 600

Purchase:22 000

Show in game

Description

The Beaufighter Mk X is a rank II British strike aircraft with a battle rating of 2.7 (AB), 3.0 (RB), and 3.7 (SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 2 600 m490 km/h

Turn time28 s

Max altitude4 575 m

Engine2 х Bristol Hercules XVII

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight11 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 2,600 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	468	450	4575	29.8	30.8	6.6	6.6	443
Upgraded	517	490		27.3	28.5	14.5	10.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
676	242	354	242	216	~7	~3

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 330	< 390	< 410	> 300

Survivability and armour

Crew2 people

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear242 km/h

• 25 mm Steel - Armoured nose plate
• 1 mm Steel - Forward engine nacelle armour plates
• 25 mm Steel - Rear aircraft/gunner protection armour plate
• 38 mm Bulletproof glass - Armoured windscreen

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB563 → 789

RB764 → 1 071

SB1 827 → 2 561

Total cost of modifications10 400

13 810

Talisman cost750

Crew training6 300

Experts22 000

Aces250

Research Aces220 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

40 / 80 / 150 %

124 / 124 / 124 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 420 Cost: 560 105 Radiator Research: 420 Cost: 560 105 Airframe Research: 390 Cost: 520 100 Compressor Research: 390 Cost: 520 100 Wings repair Research: 520 Cost: 690 135 Engine Research: 520 Cost: 690 135 Cover Research: 560 Cost: 740 145 Engine injection Research: 560 Cost: 740 145	EFS Research: 560 Cost: 740 145	bmg303_belt_pack Research: 420 Cost: 560 105 hispano_belt_pack Research: 420 Cost: 560 105 TSC mk.II Research: 420 Cost: 560 105 bmg303_new_gun Research: 390 Cost: 520 100 hispano_mk2_new_gun Research: 390 Cost: 520 100 250 LB Research: 390 Cost: 520 100 RSC mk.II Research: 390 Cost: 520 100 bmg303_turret_belt_pack Research: 520 Cost: 690 135 Mk.II year 1942 Research: 520 Cost: 690 135 500 LB Research: 520 Cost: 690 135 vikkersK_turret_new_gun Research: 560 Cost: 740 145 Mk.II year 1943 Research: 560 Cost: 740 145 1000 LB Research: 560 Cost: 740 145

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Beaufighter Mk X is armed with:

• 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannons, belly-mounted (283 rpg = 1,132 total)
• 6 x 7.7 mm Browning machine guns, wing-mounted (2 x left, 4 x right) (1,000 rpg = 6,000 total)

Suspended armament

The Beaufighter Mk X can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 1 x 18 inch Mark XII torpedo
• 8 x RP-3 rockets
• 4 x 250 lb M.C. Mk.I bombs (1,000 lb total)
• 4 x 500 lb M.C. Mk.I bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 2 x 500 lb M.C. Mk.I bombs + 2 x 250 lb M.C. Mk.I bombs (1,500 lb total)
• 2 x 1,000 lb M.C. Mk.I bombs (2,000 lb total)

Defensive armament

The Beaufighter Mk X is defended by:

• 1 x 7.7 mm Vickers K machine gun, dorsal turret (1,000 rpg)

Usage in battles

Just like the Mk VIc version of the Beaufighter, you can use this aircraft in a variety of roles. Heavy fighter, torpedo bomber, and attacker are all still viable roles for this aircraft. The big difference is in how effective you are at these roles. In the ground attack role, you see a large improvement in capabilities. This is mainly due to the additional ability to carry rockets for ground attack, and the increase in 20 mm cannon ammo. Torpedo bomber tactics should be avoided, however. With the torpedo on offer still being very poor in terms of drop requirements, surviving against incoming flak will be a real challenge. Heavy fighter tactics can be used once again, but with a few changes. Compared to the Mk VIc, you pack a much bigger punch with your weaponry. Unfortunately, this adds weight to the airframe. Thanks to the extra weight, climb rate, manoeuvrability, and speed will all suffer. In short, you will find it harder to find and catch targets, but you can shoot them down more easily. Overall, stick to relatively low altitude. Go after ground targets whenever you see the opportunity and attack any bombers operating at low altitude the second they show up. In order to ensure effectiveness in this role, ground target or universal ammo belts should be used with the 20 mm cannons. The same applies to your 7.7 mm machine guns ammo belts; armoured or universal should be used. With a good flight escort, you can take give your opponents a lot of trouble attacking their ground units, ultimately helping to secure victory for your team.

The Beaufighter Mk X is a substantial upgrade over previous versions of the airframe in its role as close air support in combined arms battles. It gains access to 250, 500 and 1000 pound bombs, and more of them too. Additionally the aircraft can also carry up to 8 of the RP-3 rocket. The recommended loadout in most cases will be the 4 x 500 pound loadout, as the RP-3 rocket is relatively inaccurate and with only 5.44 kg of explosive mass, it requires a direct hit. The 1000 pound bombs will be more effective for knockout out tanks of course, but the Beaufighter is limited to only carry two of these instead of the four 500 pound bombs, leading to fewer opportunities for pilots to support the action on the ground. Additionally the plane also gains access to engine fire extinguishers, which can prove to be very helpful when fighting enemy SPAA such as the M16 MGMC which relies on doing critical damage and starting fires rather than blowing off pieces of the aircraft. Pilots can use this system to extinguish fires in the engines and limp back to base on their remaining engine.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Combined	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent armament consisting of four Hispano Mk II cannons and six 7.7 mm machine guns
• Very likely to come out on top during a head-on attack
• Can actually intercept bombers, provided they are flying low enough
• Center-lined cannon armament makes them much more accurate and easier to aim
• Good horizontal agility
• Very good ammo amount, especially helpful during RB and SB
• Can carry 8 powerful RP-3 rockets, with 60 mm of penetration
• Can be used as a torpedo-bomber
• Gains an extra pair of bombs when compared to its predecessor

Cons:

• Mediocre climb rate
• Machine guns' accuracy suffers from wing mounting (convergence)
• Bad roll rate at high speeds
• Gunner is almost useless due to only having a single machine gun for defensive armament

History

Archive of the in-game description

A design rapidly born from the wings and tail of the earlier Beaufort, the Beaufighter was a two seat, twin engine heavy fighter designed for long range, ground strike and night fighter duties. Equipped with an early AI radar, the Beaufighter was one of the world's first successful night fighters. Most of the last mass-produced aircraft in Britain were Beaufighter TF Mk Xs. This model was a logical continuation and development of the Mk VIC, had two Hercules Mk VI engines optimised for low level flight, and could carry the standard torpedoes produced in Britain and the United States. The TF letters in the designation stood for "Torpedo Fighter". The aircraft could also carry a bomb load of 1,100 kg, and with the help of an AI Mk.VIII radar installed in a 'thimble' nose, they were highly capable machines employed in detecting and destroying surface shipping. In the Far East the Beaufighter was reputed to be nicknamed 'Whispering Death' by Japanese soldiers, although some modern historians believe this to be Allied propaganda. In March 1945, over a period of 48 hours, Beaufighter TF Mk Xs of No 236 and No 254 Squadrons found and destroyed five German submarines. The last major variant of the Beaufighter, over 2200 were built in Britain.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Beaufighter Mk X from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #9 - Metal Beasts section at 06:20 discusses the Bristol Beaufighter.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.