BRISTOL BLENHEIM 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
BOMBERS RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION 37Above
Built in 1938,
Blenheim I L1311
joined 62 Squadron
at Cranfi eld in 1939.
The unit, part of
the reinforcements
for Singapore, was
declared operational
at Tengah in
September 1939. It
ditched off Penang,
Malaya, on April 4,- PETE WEST
Below
Wearing the colours
of a 139 Squadron
Blenheim IV, the RAF
Museum’s example
is a Fairchild-built
Bolingbroke IVT
which served the
Royal Canadian Air
Force as 10001 from
October 1942 to May- It became
part of the Canadian
National Aeronautical
Collection before
being acquired by the
RAF Museum on
April 25, 1966.
RAF MUSEUM http://www.
rafmuseum.org
For the first of the ‘Thousand
Bomber’ raids, to Cologne on the
night of May 30/31, 1942, the
Blenheims of 13 Squadron were
called to join others in disrupting
the Luftwaffe’s response. A force of
49 Blenheims was despatched to
interdict enemy night-fighters at their
bases along the route of the bomber
stream.
Two aircraft failed to return, both
from 13, with six aircrew killed:
N3616, captained by Plt Off R
Cundy, was shot down into the North
Sea and Z6186, flown by Flt Lt D
Redman, was brought down near
Venlo airfield in the Netherlands.
The smoke-laying skills were called
upon to support Operation ‘Jubilee’,
the gallant, but ill-fated, amphibious
in-and-out raid on the French port
of Dieppe on August 19, 1942.
Blenheims of 13 and 614 Squadrons,
along with Douglas Bostons, were
tasked with obscuring the landing
points from dawn onwards.
Plt Off C Woodland and crew
perished when flak hit V5380, while
Blenheim IV Z6089, piloted by Flt Lt
E Beverley, was damaged by gunfire.
It limped back as far as Thruxton
airfield, where it force-landed with no
casualties – including the Blenheim,
which was repaired.
It became apparent that V5380 had
been hit by the Royal Navy amid the
chaos of the assault. Worse was to
follow.
While over Dieppe, V5626 of 614
Squadron was hit by what today
would be called ‘friendly fire’, and
Flt Lt J Scott turned west, hoping to
make landfall in Britain. He brought
the stricken bomber down at Friston
in Sussex but ‘hung up’ smoke and
phosphorous canisters ignited as it slid
to a halt.
Flt Sgt G Gifkins had died over the
target and Sgt W Johnson succumbed
to his wounds on August 21.
Unconscious, Scott was pulled from
the inferno and recovered – and was
awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross
for his brave attempt bring his crew to
safety.DIVE-BOMBER
There was one further Blenheim
adaptation, for which the aircraft
briefly carried another name.
Specification B6/40 called for a twin-
engined type for ground attack and
dive-bombing. Bristol responded with
a modified Blenheim – the first of
two prototypes, with the name Bisley,
flying on February 24, 1941.Two versions were initially offered: a
day bomber with a glazed nose offset
to port, or a strike aircraft with a
solid nose toting four machine guns.
With more powerful Bristol Mercury
radials, armour plate and an effective,
but bulky, Bristol B.X two-gun
dorsal turret, the bomber version was
ordered.
The name Bisley was dropped and
the new machine manufactured by
Rootes Securities at Blythe Bridge,
near Stoke-on-Trent, as the Blenheim
V. Production ended in June 1943
by which time 940 had been made:
they were the last of the British-built
Blenheims.
First to receive the Mk.V was 614
Squadron at Odiham in August 1942,
the unit deploying to North Africa the
following month. Combat experience
revealed the type was slower and
less manoeuvrable than previous
Blenheims. Without escort, Mk.Vs
were vulnerable and poorly regarded
by their crews.
By late 1943, Blenheim Vs had been
withdrawn from the front line in Italy
and in the Far East. In the Persian
Gulf, 244 Squadron soldiered on with
them on coastal patrols until they were
replaced by Wellington XIIIs in April
1944.“While over Dieppe, V5626 of 614 Squadron was hit by what
today would be called ‘friendly fi re’, and Flt Lt J Scott turned west,
hoping to make landfall in Britain.”