The rugged Bristol Beaufighter can truly be described as a 'multi-role aircraft'. Operating as a heavily armed fighter, an anti-shipping strike aircraft, a torpedo bomber and a long-range intruder, it flew in every theatre of operations. It was the RAF's first truly effective night-fighter with its airborne radar and cannons. It excelled in Coastal Command's Strike Wings and on anti-shipping operations in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas and provided vital support for the ground forces in the North African desert campaigns. Over the jungles of Burma and the South-West Pacific, it became the scourge of the Japanese, as RAF and RAAF squadrons attacked the enemy's supply lines on land and at sea. With over 130 images, this book showcases this remarkable aircraft, richly deserving of its place amongst the great aircraft of World War Two. AUTHOR: Air Commodore Graham Pitchfork spent 36 years in the RAF, as a navigator. He was director of Air Warfare and, before retiring in 1995, was a director of Military Intelligence at the MoD. Now living in Gloucestershire, Graham is the author of several aviation books, including 'Buccaneer Boys' (Grub Street). In 2012, Graham received both the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators Award for Aviation Journalism and the Air Power Association Award of the CP Robertson Memorial Trophy for his services to aviation writing. He has written over 600 air force obituaries for the Daily Telegraph in the last 16 years.
