It was perhaps fortunate that the War in the Far East against Japan did not continue until 1946 or beyond in so- far as the “Bristol Brigand” was concerned since it was designed to play an important role in long-range anti-shipping strikes against the Japanese. Even so it's destiny was to be in the Far East.

The Bristol Brigand was the direct result of Air Ministry specification H7/42 calling for a faster and longer ranged replacement for the very successful Beaufighter torpedo aircraft (known as ‘Torbeau’).

The Bristol Aircraft Company initially came up with a design based on the Beaufighter using a similar wing with a narrower fuselage and greenhouse type crew canopy but then realising that this Hercules engine variant would not achieve the required 300 knots (555mph) at sea level, the designers looked at a variant of the Type 163 Buckingham medium-range bomber, equipped with the more powerful Centaurus engine.

The design name was initially to be the Buccaneer but was changed to Brigand in December 1942.
Design and development
“Initially the aircraft was designed as a replacement for the Beaufort torpedo bomber. By late 1941 the Beaufort was no match for the German convoy defences and the ever increasing numbers of ‘flak’ ships. Considering the time it takes to develop new aircraft the Air Ministry looked at other possibilities and in the end the Beaufighter was modified to take a torpedo. This was only to be a stop gap until the new aircraft was developed and put into production.”

“The design process started in February 1942 and by the time the first aircraft came off the production line WWII was over. The aircraft were to have replaced the Beaufighter torpedo bombers of the Coastal Command Strike Wings but these were all cut back after WWII to just two Squadrons. With the advent of missiles the idea of a Coastal Command Strike Wing was abandoned and the Squadrons were disbanded. With no need for a torpedo bomber the fate of the Brigand hung in the balance and the contract was cut back.”

The first of four prototypes MX988 was flown on December 4th 1944 at Flixton by Captain Cyril Unwin.
The Bristol design team led by Leslie Frise used the wings, tail and undercarriage of the Buckingham with a new fuselage of oval cross-section. The pilot, navigator/bomb aimer and radio-operator/gunner were grouped in the forward cockpit. In spite of the official change in its role to a bomber, the first eleven Brigands off the production line were completed as torpedo bombers. These early aircraft served with RAF Coastal Command from 1946 to 1947 before being converted to bombers.
Operational history
The first B.1s were delivered in 1949 to 84 Squadron at RAF Habbaniya to convert from the Beaufighter and 8 Squadron in Aden, a Hawker Tempest unit. The first unit to convert from Beaufighters to the Brigand was 45 Squadron, based at RAF Station Tengah, Singapore, operating in support of British forces against the Communist guerrillas, engaged in an insurgency in Malaya. The first Brigand was flown to Tengah from RAF St Athan in November 1949, a 16-day trip.

After test flights, the first combat operation was conducted by the Brigand, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Dalton Golding and crewed by radio/radar operator Peter Weston, together with four Beaufighters of No. 45 Squadron against CT targets in the jungle west of Kluang, Malaya on 19 December 1949. The Brigand carried three rockets, and one 500 lb (230 kg) and two 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs. The operation was successful and No. 45 Squadron soon completed its conversion to the Brigand. Brigands of 45 Squadron and soon 84 Squadron were routinely engaged in strikes against Communist insurgent targets throughout Malaya, direct and in close support of ground forces, as well as providing air cover as needed to convoys on the ground, against possible ambushes.

Problems with the Brigand became apparent during operations in Malaya, with undercarriages failing to lower. This was traced to rubber seals in the hydraulic jacks deteriorating in the hot, humid climate. Just as this problem was being resolved another problem arose, more serious because it led to fatalities: a propensity for aircraft damage and loss during strafing runs employing the four 20 mm cannon. An accumulation of gases in the long cannon blast tubes, which ran under the cockpit, was igniting through use of high-explosive shells. This in turn severed hydraulic lines, which would burn. This was cured by drastically reducing ammunition loads and using only ball rounds. The Brigand also had a tendency to shed a propeller blade, leading to complete propeller failure; this in turn would lead to the engine being wrenched off the wing and an inevitable crash. The problem was found to be caused by corrosion in the propeller locking rings. More frequent maintenance helped alleviate this problem.

When everything was working properly the Brigand was considered by its pilots to be a good aircraft:

The Brigand was pleasant to fly, having nicely balanced flying controls and a wide range of power in the two Bristol Centaurus engines. These features made the aircraft splendid for formation flying, which was important to our method of operation. The aircraft also had sufficient range to reach targets all over Malaya from the Squadron's new base at Tengah, on Singapore Island.

— Squadron Leader A. C. Blythe.

As the Brigand became subject to more restrictions both unit commanders had serious doubts about the continued use of the aircraft. It was decided to continue operating them, since as long as thorough maintenance was carried out it was felt that nothing else could go wrong. Another design flaw arose in the leather bellows used to deploy the air brakes during dives. In the tropical climate, the leather would rot, causing the brakes to fail. This led to Brigands losing wings in dives due to excessive airspeed or rotation as only one brake deployed. When this problem was discovered the air brakes of all Brigands were wired shut, decreasing the aircraft's dive bombing capabilities.

No. 45 Squadron converted to de Havilland Hornets in January 1952 while 84 Squadron was disbanded in February 1953. Soon after this, the Brigands were grounded and withdrawn from service. Brigands were also used operationally over Aden by 8 Squadron from 1950 to 1952, when it was found that the Brigand mainspars were suspect; the Brigands were replaced by de Havilland Vampires. In 1950 nine Brigand T.4 radar trainers were delivered to 228 OCU at RAF Leeming to train radar navigators on the use of aircraft interception (AI) radar. A further variant with a different radar installation was Brigand T.5 which were converted from B.1s and later all the T.4s were also modified to T.5 standard. The last operator was 238 OCU at RAF North Luffenham which disbanded in March 1958.
Variants
Type 164 Brigand
Four prototypes originally with Centarus VII engines.MX988, MX991 MX994 and TX374.






Brigand TF.1
Production torpedo-bomber variant, 11 built later converted to B.I. inc RH742, RH744,RH746,RH748, RH754,RH761 and RH797











Brigand B.1
Bomber variant, rear gun removed and external bomb racks and rails for rockets added, 106 built and 11 conversions from TF.1
RH742 – RH777, RH792-RH832, RH850-RH852, VS828-VS839, VS854-VS877, WA560, WB236.








Brigand MET.3
Unarmed meteorological reconnaissance variant, 16 built.VS812-VS827







Brigand T.4
Trainer variant, used to train aircraft interception (AI) radar operators, nine built, survivors to T.5 standard.WA561-WA569.









Brigand T.5
Improved training version, which like the T.4 before it, was used to train AI radar operators, conversions from B.1 and T.4.



General characteristics
Crew: three
Length: 46 ft 5 in (14.15 m)
Wingspan: 72 ft 4 in (22.05 m)
Height: 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) (tail up)
Wing area: 718 sq ft (66.7 m2)
Airfoil: RAF 28 (modified)
Empty weight: 25,598 lb (11,611 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 39,000 lb (17,690 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Bristol Centaurus 57 18-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 2,470 hp (1,840 kW) each (take-off power)
Propellers: 4-bladed Rotol constant-speed, 14 ft (4.3 m) diameter
Performance
Maximum speed: 362 mph (583 km/h, 315 kn) at 16,000 ft (4,900 m)
Cruise speed: 321 mph (517 km/h, 279 kn) at 23,000 ft (7,000 m)
Range: 2,800 mi (4,500 km, 2,400 nmi)
Service ceiling: 26,000 ft (7,900 m)
Rate of climb: 1,500 ft/min (7.6 m/s)
Armament
Guns: 4 × 20 mm Hispano Mk V cannon
Rockets: 8 × RP-3 60 lb (27 kg) rockets, 8 × AP Mk.1 25 lb (11 kg) rockets or 8 × AP Mk.2 25 lb (11 kg) rockets
Bombs: 2,000 lb (910 kg) under wings and fuselage

(Text from Wikki)