Defiant Mk I

E162922

The Defiant Mk I was the original production version of the British Boulton Paul Defiant turret-armed fighter used early in World War II.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Defiant Mk II 2
Defiant Mk I canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (39)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Boulton Paul Defiant variant
fighter aircraft variant
aircraftConfiguration single‑engine monoplane
aircraftRole fighter
night fighter
turret fighter
airForceSquadronUser No. 141 Squadron RAF
No. 264 Squadron RAF
armamentPrimary one powered dorsal turret with four 0.303 in Browning machine guns
countryOfOrigin United Kingdom
crew 2
crewPositions pilot and gunner
designedFor bomber interception using turret fire
designFeature no fixed forward‑firing guns
powered four‑gun dorsal turret
engineModel Rolls-Royce Merlin
surface form: Rolls‑Royce Merlin III
engineType Rolls‑Royce Merlin liquid‑cooled V‑12 piston engine
enteredService 1939
firstFlightOfType 1937
fuselageConstruction all‑metal monocoque
historicalSignificance example of turret‑armed fighter concept in early WWII
initialOperationalRole day fighter
laterOperationalRole air‑sea rescue support
night fighter
target tug (after conversion in some airframes)
manufacturer Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd
maximumSpeedClass around 300 mph
notableUse Battle of Britain
numberOfEngines 1
operator Royal Air Force
powerplantHorsepowerClass about 1,000 hp
primaryServicePeriod early years of World War II
status retired
successorVariant Defiant Mk I self-linksurface differs
surface form: Defiant Mk II
undercarriageType retractable tailwheel undercarriage
usedBy Royal Air Force
usedInConflict World War II
surface form: Second World War
vulnerability outclassed by single‑seat fighters in daylight combat
wingConfiguration low‑wing monoplane

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Boulton Paul Defiant variant Defiant Mk I
Boulton Paul Defiant variant Defiant Mk I
this entity surface form: Defiant Mk II
Defiant Mk I successorVariant Defiant Mk I self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Defiant Mk II