Hod Carrier
Beaufighter MkVIC 02
A change by RAF Bomber Command in aircraft procurement meant that the Short Stirling was no longer in demand and the Hercules VI engine could now be made available. At last, the Beaufighter would receive the power that it was always intended to have. The Beaufighter Mk.VI was, like the Mk.I, built to two different specifications as the Mk.VIF for Fighter Command and Mk.VIC for Coastal Command. As before, Fighter Command would initially use the Mk.VIF as a night fighter, although they would eventually transition to the de Havilland Mosquito for home defence. However, it would continue in the role in other theatres of operation, including with the USAAF in the Mediterranean and Italy.
Once again, it would be Coastal Command who would put the Mk.VIC to best use. The additional power meant that the aircraft could now lift external weapons including bombs, rockets and even air-dropped torpedoes. Squadrons would be formed into Wings operating out of strategically located airfields so that they could operate in large formations of rocket or torpedo armed aircraft to harass enemy shipping from the Bay of Biscay to the Norwegian Fjords.
I have adapted the design to show a Coastal Command Mk.VIC in the short-lived white and grey scheme with rocket rails under each wing. The tailplanes have the now standard 12 degrees of dihedral.
Beaufighter MkVIC 02
A change by RAF Bomber Command in aircraft procurement meant that the Short Stirling was no longer in demand and the Hercules VI engine could now be made available. At last, the Beaufighter would receive the power that it was always intended to have. The Beaufighter Mk.VI was, like the Mk.I, built to two different specifications as the Mk.VIF for Fighter Command and Mk.VIC for Coastal Command. As before, Fighter Command would initially use the Mk.VIF as a night fighter, although they would eventually transition to the de Havilland Mosquito for home defence. However, it would continue in the role in other theatres of operation, including with the USAAF in the Mediterranean and Italy.
Once again, it would be Coastal Command who would put the Mk.VIC to best use. The additional power meant that the aircraft could now lift external weapons including bombs, rockets and even air-dropped torpedoes. Squadrons would be formed into Wings operating out of strategically located airfields so that they could operate in large formations of rocket or torpedo armed aircraft to harass enemy shipping from the Bay of Biscay to the Norwegian Fjords.
I have adapted the design to show a Coastal Command Mk.VIC in the short-lived white and grey scheme with rocket rails under each wing. The tailplanes have the now standard 12 degrees of dihedral.