Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer that was incorporated in 1934, although its origins in aircraft manufacturing began earlier in 1914 and lasted until 1961. The company mainly built and modified aircraft under contract to other manufacturers, but had a few notable designs of its own, such as the Defiant fighter and the Balliol trainer.
The Boulton Paul Defiant was a "turret fighter", an aircraft type developed for Britain's air defence against enemy bombers
Badge worn by Boulton Paul staff during World War II
Type A gun turret with its interior visible on a Boulton Paul Defiant Mk I, 1940
A two-gun dorsal turret from a Handley Page Halifax at the Newark Air Museum
The Boulton Paul Defiant is a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter" to meet the RAF requirement for day and night fighters that could concentrate their firepower on enemy bombers which were not expected to have fighter escorts due to the distance from Germany to the United Kingdom. The Defiant had all its armament in a dorsal turret offering the ability to fire in most directions. The same principle was used in the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc which was also built by Boulton Paul.
Boulton Paul Defiant
Defiants of No. 264 Squadron in 1940.
Defiant N1671 from 307 Squadron at the RAF Museum London, partially dismantled, with its tail, engine cowling and outer wing sections removed, 2016
An air-gunner of 264 Squadron wearing a 'GQ Parasuit', or "rhino suit", August 1940