Great artwork
Often maligned as a failure, the Boulton Paul Defiant found a successful niche as a night-fighter during the German 'Blitz' on London, scoring a significant number of combat kills before being relegated to training and support roles.
A bit more information:No. 264 Squadron was the first to be equipped with the Defiant Mk.I in December 1939. The first operational sortie came on May 12, 1940. On May 13, a flight of six Defiants was attacked by Bf 109Es. Five of the Defiants were shot down from a frontal attack.
The Defiant was quickly moved to night fighting duties, and as a night fighter the Defiant achieved some success. The Defiant Mk.II model was fitted with the AI Mk IV airborne interception radar and a Merlin XX engine. A total of 207 Mk.II Defiants were built. During the winter Blitz on London of 1940-41, the Defiant equipped four Squadrons.
The Defiant was removed from combat duties in 1942 and thereafter used for training, target towing, ECM, and air sea rescue. In this latter role the Defiant was equipped with a pair of underwing pods that contained dinghies. A further 140 Defiant Mk.III aircraft were built; this model lacked the dorsal turret and was used as a target tug. Many of the surviving Mk.I and Mk.II Defiants also had their turrets removed.
In May 1945, Martin-Baker used a Defiant to test their first ejection seat.
The single surviving Defiant, a nightfighter, is on display at the Royal Air Force museum in Hendon, London.
