36 RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION BOMBERS
BRISTOL BLENHEIM
Right
Blenheim Mk.IV V6083
of Bicester-based 13
Operational Training
Unit, 1942. Built by
Rootes Securities at
Speke, it retired in
March 1944.BLENHEIMBLENHEIM
BRISTOL
1918 2018C
aptain Frank Barnwell, chief
designer for Bristol, came up
with a very clean-looking twin-
engined eight-seater with retractable
undercarriage that might appeal to
businesses and the rich – a 1930s
Learjet. Lord Rothermere, patron of
the Daily Mail and a great supporter
of British aviation, got wind of the
Type 142 project and ordered one,
which he declared would carry the
name Britain First.
When it was evaluated in 1935,
Rothermere’s flagship ruffled feathers.
It had a top speed 54mph (87km/h)
faster than the state-of-the-art Gloster
Gladiator biplane fighter that had
just been ordered for the RAF. Here
was a twin with obvious potential to
become a ‘heavy’ fighter or a bomber.
Point made, his lordship presented
Britain First to the nation. In August
1935 an appreciative Air Ministry
ordered 150 military-configured Type
142Ms. The incredible Blenheim had
been conceived.
Our sister publication, Fighters,
details the Blenheim’s role as stop-gap
long-range interceptor and pioneer
of radar interception. The first
production Blenheim I, K7033, took
its maiden flight on June 25, 1936.
Introducing the Blenheim into RAF
frontline service, and as a bomber, was
114 Squadron at Wyton in March- The type fought in every theatre
of World War Two: Europe, North
Africa, Greece, the Middle East, India
and the Far East.
Blenheim Is were taken off the
production lines in late 1938 and
the long-nosed Mk.IV became the
standard, both in fighter and bomber
form. At Odiham, 53 Squadron
inaugurated the new version into
service in January 1939. Blenheims
were withdrawn from Bomber
Command in August 1942 but the
type continued to give good service in
second-line roles into 1944.SMOKE SCREEN
During the summer of 1941
Odiham-based 13 Squadron traded in
its Westland Lysanders for Blenheim
IVs. Exercises with the army were still
the order of the day and crews honed
their skills in low-level bombing
and strafing. The Mk.IVs were
also adapted to carry smoke screen
generators and canisters for spraying
gas. Thankfully the latter were never
deployed, but 13 Squadron did get to
lay smoke in anger.1937 TO 1944
Type: Three-seat light bomber
First fl ight: September 24, 1937; Mk.IV entered service March 1939
Powerplant: One 920hp (686kW) Bristol Mercury XV radials
Dimensions: Span 56ft 4in (17.12m), Length 42ft 7in (12.97m)
Weights: Empty 9,790lb (4,440kg), All-up 13,500lb (6,123kg)
Max speed: 266mph (428km/h) at 12,000ft (3,657m)
Range: 1,450 miles (2,333km)
Armament: One machine gun in port wing, one in dorsal turret and two in
remotely controlled, rearward-fi ring ‘chin’ turret. Up to 1,320lb
(598kg) of bombs
Replaced: Hawker Audax and Hind from 1937; Boulton Paul Overstrand 1938;
Hawker Hector, Fairey Battle 1939; Westland Lysander 1941
Taken on charge: 1,134 (all Mk.Is), 3,296 (all Mk.IVs). Production sub-contracted to
Avro and Rootes Securities. (Also built in Canada by Fairchild as the
Bolingbroke.)
Replaced by: Handley Page Halifax and Vickers Wellington from 1940; Boeing
Fortress, de Havilland Mosquito and Lockheed Hudson from 1941;
Douglas Boston, Lockheed Ventura and Vultee Vengeance from 1942BRISTOL BLENHEIM IV