Re: 8 gun Defiant
I found this in RAF Fighters Part One (by William Green ans Gordon Swanborough; published in 1978 by Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Limited):
"In the search for further applications for the Defiant, Boulton Paul proposed a single-seat "rapid production" (or "panic fighter") version during 1940, as the P.94. This was basically a Defiant II without the turret, with an estimated top speed of 380 mph (611 km/h) at 23,500 ft (7 162 m). Production would have been rapid, using existing jigs and tools, and to test the concept the prototype K8310 was flown again during 1940 without the turret (as it had been on the first flight). On the basis of these tests, the estimated speed of a Merlin XX version with twelve 0.303 in (7,7 mm) machine guns in the wings, at a weight of 7,150 lb (3 244 kg), was reduced to 364 mph (586 km/h) at 23,500 ft (7 162 m). Also projected was a version of the P.94 with four Brownings in the wings plus four 20-mm cannon that could be selected manually from straight ahead to 17 deg down, for use against the expected German invasion force. None of these proposals proceeded, however."
It seems that the wing was big enough for all kinds of armament (but the center of gravity is another matter).
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