Pictures of Bristol Blenheim's only

Ladies and Gents,

Following the great success of David's excellent thread on the Lancaster Bomber, l thought it would be good to ensure that the forgotten Bomber is brought back to life through a picture gallery.

My avitar is a picture of Bristol Blenheim IV XD-‘L’ for Leather, V6258 as drawn by my Father, Kenneth Fenton, whilst a POW taken from his YMCA log book. (Note two attacking airplanes), and l have included here a more humorous cartoon adaptation of the incident also from his log book.

The photo shows the cramped cockpit and pilots position on the left, with the Bomber Aimers/Navigators position forward through the opening into the nose.

Regards,

Nick

 

MKI Blenheim in Greece.

 

Here is what my Father thought about the Blenheim. I am sure this was probably reproduced around the camps and adaped to suit other aircraft types.

Not a picture in the true sense but worthwhile submitting, l think.

Nick

 

Guys,

Apart from a couple of replies, very little response, so l am bringing this back to the top for the weekend to try to get some response to prove it is not forgotten.

The urh, hum, what was that plane called? You know, the forgotten Bomber! The Bolli? The Britain First? What was it called? The one that took the war to Germany before the Lancaster. I know the Blenheim, built by that Bristol fella.

Lets not forget it, nor more importantly, the guys who flew in them, The Blenheim Boys.

Regards,

Nick

 

This is all I have

 

Searching the AWM collection for "Blenheim" provides umpteen shots of & from the aircraft, in various theatres of operation -

Western Desert, North Africa. c. 1941. A captured German Volkswagen Kubelwagen 'People's Car', WH-816 120, has been put to a new use by the RAF. Already adapated by the enemy for conditions in the desert, the vehicle now serves as private transport for the Senior Air Staff Officer at a bomber wing. In the background is one of the Bristol Blenheim bomber aircraft operated by squadrons in the Wing.

Permalink: MED0167 | Australian War Memorial

 

Nick, As promised. It must also be remembered that the Blenheim was used as a fighter during the Battle of Britain, using a gun pack containing 4 .303 machine guns. It was also used as a night fighter helping to develop the early radar sets.

 

Technically a Fairchild Bolingbroke (a variant of the Blenheim Mk IV), but probably worth posting anyway.

This one's in the restoration hangar at the National Museum of Flight, East Fortune.





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Great pictures guys,

Nick, I believe l am right in saying, It was the only true multi role combat aircraft to serve in every RAF command, serving in all the theatres of war within the Second World War, being used as a day and night bomber, a long range fighter, night intruder and fighter, photo reconnaissance, finally being used for the operational and advanced training of pilots before they went on to their front line Squadrons.

Chick, those pictures of the gun turret really bring it home, how cramped it must have been in there, my Father's WO/Air Gunner was a big lad as well. I think the gun turret was able to be cranked up and down for access, take-off and landing, etc. and l believe the wireless was behind the gun turret so it had to be rotated to gain access.

Regards,

Nick

 

One of the first models I ever made was a Blenheim.

 

Attached is a bit of Blenheim humour.
I have purchased three of the Blenheim images mentioned in an earlier post from the IWM, is it legal to post them on here?

 

Here is what my Father thought about the Blenheim. I am sure this was probably reproduced around the camps and adaped to suit other aircraft types.

Not a picture in the true sense but worthwhile submitting, l think.

Nick

Nick,

A wonderful piece of poetry about the Blenheim.

Quite a number of years ago I was on holiday on Tenerife and had the pleasure to share a table for dinner with a couple and the man was sporting an RAF Crest on his blazer.

We began talking and he explained that he was a Blenheim Pilot.

He said it was a pleasure to fly, but that there were many accidents when converting to the type as it was so advanced compared to the other planes that they had.

He said that he was very fortunate to survive as the Blenheims were almost obsolete at the start of WWII, but they soldiered on being asked to perform many tasks.

He passed away about a year later, but he was a real advert for the Blenheim and would not hear a bad word against it.

Regards
Tom

 

Blenheim prototype Type 142M. K7033. June 1936

 

The Aircraft Restoration Company (ARC)