The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force. Although powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine, with a three-man crew and bomb load, it was much heavier than the fighters, slower and vulnerable to enemy fighters and anti-aircraft fire. Early in the Second World War during the "Phoney War" the Fairey Battle achieved the distinction of scoring the first aerial victory of an RAF aircraft in the conflict. In May 1940, the Battles suffered many losses, frequently in excess of 50 per cent of aircraft sorties per mission.

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The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force. Although powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine, with a three-man crew and bomb load, it was much heavier than the fighters, slower and vulnerable to enemy fighters and anti-aircraft fire. Early in the Second World War during the "Phoney War" the Fairey Battle achieved the distinction of scoring the first aerial victory of an RAF aircraft in the conflict. In May 1940, the Battles of the Advanced Air Striking Force suffered many losses, frequently in excess of 50 per cent of aircraft sorties per mission. By the end of 1940 the type had been withdrawn from front-line service and relegated to training units overseas.

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Size: 4167px × 3000px
Location: Great Britain
Photo credit: © De Luan / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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