Wartime fighter celebrated in Wolverhampton exhibition
Wolverhampton Art Gallery is hosting an exhibition to mark 80 years since the Boulton Paul Defiant’s test flight at Pendeford Airfield in 1937.
The Second World War aeroplane was a British interceptor that served with the Royal Air Force and was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft.
Just over 1,000 were made, designed to be ‘turret fighters’ without forward-firing guns.
It was adept at shooting down bombers, for which it was intended, but its lack of forward fire power made it vulnerable to the Luftwaffe’s more mobile Messerschmitts.
It led to the Defiant being re-purposed as a night fighter where its potential was realised. The display at the city’s art gallery holds a collection of artefacts in relation to the Defiant journey from the manufacturer’s headquarters in Wolverhampton to its use in Europe during the war.
Highlights include a monochrome image of the Defiant fighter aircraft in St Peter’s Garden’s, taking part in the ‘Wings for Victory’ campaign in 1943.
There are images of the Boulton Paul in flight during the war as well as aerial shots of the RAF base in Wolverhampton.
Additionally there are models of the Defiant alongside pieces of the actual aircraft, including a corner of the engine block, a wheel brush, the Defiant gunner’s hydraulic hand pump and the Defiant gunner’s seat cushion.
Tettenhall Transport Heritage Centre will be providing the displays about the Defiant inside the Lichfield Street gallery.
Also on display will be equipment used by the Royal Air Force and the British Army dating back as far as the First World War.
Curator Alec Brew said: “We are happy to display what we can for this excellent cause.
“People can also come along to our own Military Day on July 15, when the local army reserve unit will be displaying their modern equipment.”
Elsewhere, Wolverhampton Civic and Historical Society invite people to join them on a 90-minute guided walk of the city’s lesser known war memorials today.
