"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, commenting on the British airmen in the Battle of Britain

The Boulton Paul Defiant was a result of an Air Ministry specification (F.9/35) issued before the onset of WWII. It was a low-wing, cantilever monoplane, two-seat fighter of all-metal construction, with retractable landing gear, looking not unlike the Hurricane. Like the Hurricane, it was powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. The Defiant was also equipped with an effective four-gun powered turret of their own design which proved its undoing.

The first Defiant prototype flew on August 11th, 1937, with the first production Defiant taking wing on July 30th, 1939. Deliveries to the first operational RAF unit, 264 squadron, began in December of that year. Unfortunately, heavy losses were incurred in the Battle of France due to the fact that the weight of the gun turret deteriorated overall performance. As a result, the RAF used the Defiant as a night fighter for some time before being employed as a target tug.

Shown here is a 1:72 scale replica of a RAF Boulton Paul Defiant Mk. I fighter that was attached to No.151 Squadron, then deployed to Wittering, England, during 1941. Now in stock!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 6-inches
Length: 5-inches

Release Date: March 2020

Historical Account: "Faith for Duty" - No.151 squadron was founded at Hainault Farm in Essex on June 12th, 1918, and was equipped with Sopwith Camel aircraft. During the five months in which 151 Squadron had taken part in hostilities overseas, the total number of hours flown by night was 1443 hrs 26 mins.

Sixteen enemy aircraft were destroyed at night on the Allies side of the lines, and five were destroyed on the enemy side and confirmed. Another five were unconfirmed, thus making a total of twenty six successful engagements. Of the enemy aircraft destroyed, twenty two were AEGs, Friedrichshafen or Gothas, with two engines and carrying a crew of three or more. Two were giant P 52's with five engines carrying a crew of up to eight or nine.