2-321-574 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Boulton Paul Defiant I, 1941. The Defiant saw service early in World War II, notably with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France. The aircraft suffered from not having forward guns (the armament being sited in a turret to the rear of the cockpit), making it vulnerable to attack from directly in front and from below, and was ill-matched against the Luftwaffe's faster, lighter Messerschmitt 109. As losses mounted, the Defiant was switched to a night fighter role, attacking enemy bombers from below. A print from "British Fighters", by Lawrence Fairhall, London Robert Ross & Co Ltd, 1941.