Bristol Beaufort Mk.I
RAF No. 22 Squadron, F/O Kenneth Campbell
Attack on Gneisenau, 6 April 1941
(Corgi AA28901)
- Engine: Two 1,130 h.p. Bristol Taurus II 14-cyl. radial
- Span: 57 ft 10 in
- Length: 44 ft 2 in
- Height: 14 ft 3 in
- Weight: 13,107 lb empty / 21,228 lb loaded
- Crew: Four
- Max Speed: 271 mph at 6,500 ft
- Service Ceiling: 16,500 ft
- Normal Range: 1,600 miles
- Armament: Three .303 cal MG; one 1,605 lb 18 in Mk. XII torpedo, or 1,000 lb bombs or mines in bomb bay
- Notes: Bristol Beaufort N1016, under the command of F/O Kenneth Cambell, succeeded in torpedoing German battlecruiser Gneisenau at Brest, France, on 6 April, 1941, but then crashed into the harbor due to the intense flak, with the loss of her crew of four. Gneisenau had to return to the drydock from which it had just emerged, and spent the next six months under repair. Campbell was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for this action.
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