Bristol Blenheim Mk.IF Light Bomber / Night Fighter (L6739) Flying Legends 2016, IWM Duxford.

The Bristol Blenheim was developed from the Bristol Type 142, which had been ordered by Lord Rothermere in 1934 and was intended to be the fastest commercial aircraft in Europe at that time, the Royal Air Force ordered it as a Light Bomber and she became the backbone of Fighter Command’s Night Fighter Role. This versatile Aircraft served with all the Major Commands in the Royal Air Force and those of our Allies. A milestone in the history of British Aviation, the Bristol Blenheim was the first ''Stressed Skin'' Aircraft accepted by the Royal Air Force, it bore the brunt of the early War Bombing effort and the Crews paid a heavy price Defending our Nation, Winston Churchill paid homage to their bravery comparing them to the 'Charge of the Light Brigade'. At the start of the War the RAF had 1,089 Bristol Blenheim Bombers in service, more than any other Aircraft, however Bristol Blenheim MK.1F L6739 is now the only flying example left in the world and serves as a lasting Memorial to those Brave who crewed them.

The restoration of Blenheim L6739 wouldn't have been possible without the Aircraft Restoration Company Volunteers who put in over 25,000 man hours to help the rebuild and the Blenheim Society whose relentless fund raising helped to keep the project afloat. The Mk.1 Nose of the Blenheim has a particularly interesting history. It began life as a Bristol Blenheim Mk.1 built under license by AVRO and issued to 23 Squadron on 2nd September 1939, serial number L6739. It had served as a Night Fighter throughout the 'Battle of Britain' before being struck off charge in December 1940 after which it went back to Bristol's and was left in their scrapyard. After the War an innovative electrician by the name of Ralph Nelson, who was working at Bristol's, was given permission to buy the Nose which he then went on to convert into an 'electric car' After mounting it to the chassis of an Austin 7 he fitted an electric motor of his own design and registered it as a ''Nelson'' with the index JAD347. Ralph drove the car for 10 years before it suffered a fire which damaged the systems beyond repair, however, he had heard of the ongoing 2nd Blenheim Restoration at Duxford and donated the car to the project in 1992. Thankfully Ralph had kept most of the original systems such as the Control Column, Rudder Pedals, Trim System and fittings including the Seat and Frame, so after hours of reverse engineering and a huge amount of fabrication work they where able to turn the much loved car back into the Blenheim Nose you see today. If you have a chance to see it up close in the future look for the tax disc in one of the front windows, the restores decided to leave it in as a lasting legacy of Ralph and his car for which this project wouldn't have been possible without.

The Bristol Blenheim is a British Light Bomber Aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company which was used extensively in the first two years and in some cases throughout World War Two, it was developed as Type 142, a civil airliner, in response to a challenge from Lord Rothermere to produce the fastest Commercial Aircraft in Europe. The Type 142 first flew on 12th April 1935, and the Air Ministry was so impressed by its performance, they ordered a modified design as the Type 142M for the Royal Air Force as a Bomber. Deliveries of the newly named Bristol 'Blenheim' to RAF Squadrons then commenced on 10th March 1937.
A development of the Type 142M was the Type 149 which Bristol named the 'Bolingbroke' retrospectively changed by the Air Ministry to Blenheim Mk.IV and the Type 142M to the Blenheim Mk.I. Fairchild Canada built the Type 149 under licence as the Bolingbroke. Blenheims Mk.I and the Mk.IV were adapted as Fighters by the addition of a 'Gun Pack' of four Browning .303 Machine Guns in the Bomb Bay. The Mk.IV was used as a Long Range Righter and as a Maritime Patrol Aircraft, both Aircraft were also used as Bomber / Gunnery Trainers.
The Blenheim was one of the first British Aircraft with an ''All-Metal Stressed-Skin'' construction, Retractable Landing Gear, Flaps, a powered Gun Turret and Variable-Pitch Propellers. The Mk.I was faster than most Fighters in the late 1930's but the advance in development of Monoplane Fighters made all Bombers more vulnerable particularly if flown in daylight, though it proved successful as a Night Fighter. The Blenheim was effective as a Bomber but many were shot down, both Blenheim types were used by Overseas Operators, being licence built in Yugoslavia and Finland.
In September 1939, the month in which World War Two broke out, the Blenheim Mk. I equipped two Home-Based Squadrons and 11 Overseas Squadrons in locations such as Egypt, Aden, Iraq, India, and Singapore. Further RAF Squadrons had received, or were in the process of converting to, the more capable Blenheim Mk.IV, 168 Blenheim Mk.IV Aircraft had entered RAF Operational Strength by the outbreak of War.

General characteristics:

▪︎Role: Light Bomber / Night Fighter / Aerial Reconnaissance
▪︎Manufacturer: Bristol Aeroplane Company
▪︎Designer: Frank Barnwell
▪︎First Flight: 12th April 1935
▪︎Introduction: 1937
▪︎Retired: 1944 (United Kingdom) / 1958 (Finland)
▪︎Primary Users: Royal Air Force / Royal Canadian Air Force / Finnish Air Force / Royal Yugoslav Air Force
▪︎Number Built: 4,422
▪︎Variants: Bristol Beaufort / Bristol Fairchild Bolingbroke.

Sourced from en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Blenheim

Taken on: September 19, 2016

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