Boulton-Paul Defiant (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British fighter from the start of World War Two which had no forward-firing machine guns, instead its armament of four machine guns were all mounted in a turret behind the cockpit.   This turret was manned by a gunner, in the same way that many World War One fighters had a pilot in the front and a gunner in the back.

As the war approached, many British and German bombers were able to fly almost as fast as fighters, so the British thought that the Germans would send unescorted bombers over Great Britain, and turret fighters like the Defiant would be able to attack them from below or the side, where they were unable to defend themselves.   However, this didn't happen and the Defiant found itself in combat against the Bf 109 fighter, which was faster and more maneuverable because it didn't have to carry the weight of a turret and gunner.   The Defiant did have initial successes when it fought at the evacuation of British forces from France at Dunkirk, where German pilots thought they were fighting against Hurricanes and therefore attacked from the rear - a major mistake if your prey was a Defiant!   However the Germans soon learned their lesson, and started to attack from below or head-on, which left the Defiant defenseless.   The British then started to use the Defiant as a night fighter, like the aircraft you see here at the RAF museum at Hendon, and it achieved some success against bombers before being retired in 1942.

When a Defiant was shot down, it was especially bad news for the gunner, because it was very difficult for him to get out of the turret and parachute to safety.