"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 night fighter that was attached to No.151 Squadron, then deployed to RAF Wittering, England, during 1941. Now in stock!

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

Release Date: August 2024

Historical Account: "Defiantly Speaking" - On August 4th, 1936, No.151 squadron was reformed at RAF North Weald from 'B' Flight of 56 Squadron, as a fighter squadron, flying Gloster Gauntlets. In December 1938, these were exchanged for Hawker Hurricanes, when the squadron came under Squadron Leader Edward Mortlock Donaldson. It operated throughout the Second World War, flying with Hawker Hurricanes, Boulton Paul Defiants and later de Havilland Mosquitoes, disbanding on October 10th, 1946, at RAF Weston Zoyland.