Bristol Beaufighter carrier variant

MatthewB

Banned
Could a carrier variant of the Bristol Beaufighter fit on the Illustrious or Implacable class? The latter operated Sea Hornet.

Bristol-Beaufighter.jpg
 
I'd have thought the Beau was far too big and heavy for RN CV's, they already carried fewer aircraft than their USN or IJN equivalents, carrying these would make that even more pronounced.
 
It might have been possible if Britain had built the two Implacable class as the later Audacious class or even as Malta's, but that would require a radical rethinking of policy just prior to war breaking out. Not just screw the treaty limits but make any carrier built to them obsolete overnight.
 

MatthewB

Banned
I'd have thought the Beau was far too big and heavy for RN CV's, they already carried fewer aircraft than their USN or IJN equivalents, carrying these would make that even more pronounced.
The Beaufighter is a foot longer than the Avenger. The issue is weight and width.
 

Driftless

Donor
A tangent: a navalized Beaufighter alternative on a "diet". Something more in the weight class of the F5F Skyrocket - much lighter, but with plenty of horsepower for speed and lifting capacity.
 
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What if RN wound up in an odd spot where they had more carrier decks than planes to put on them.

Maybe fewer carriers lost in the early days of the war makes RN not pursue Seafire.
The Seahurricanes experience more losses than historical without Seafires to back them up.

Short of planes, Beaufighter gets the call as part of a strategy to operate carriers further from their targets.

Yeah, RN would have probably bought more Wildcats instead, but I’m trying here. :)
 

Errolwi

Monthly Donor
This would be after they tried spraying diesel on the Japanese gardens to help starve them out. I don't think supply ships were being sent by this stage. There were USAAF and USMC assets in theatre as well - the RNZAF Avengers were not supplied with or trained for torpedoes.
 
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