Restored Bristol Blenheim World War 2 RAF light bomber flying at the 2015 Flying Legends air show
The Bristol Blenheim is a truly unique British aircraft. Designed as a small airliner in the early 1930s by Frank Barnwell, of the Bristol Aircraft Company, & funded by Lord Rothermere , it was much faster than the latest biplane fighters, at over 300mph. The aircraft was redesigned as a bomber & became the RAF's first stressed skin aircraft with hydraulic actuated undercarriage, flaps & turret It was the fastest bomber of the day & became the backbone of the RAF light bomber force. At the start of WWII the RAF had 1089 Blenheims in service, more than any other type. The Blenheim bore the brunt of daylight operations during the early war years, whilst other bombers were switched to night operations, & the crews paid a heavy price. Many Blenheims were lost to fighters & anti-aircraft fire especially when attacking ships. The Blenheim was pressed into many roles for which it was not primarily designed, eg long range & night fighter duties. It became the first radar equipped night fighter In May 1993, this aircraft became the only flying example of a Blenheim. In August 2003 the aircraft suffered an accident whilst landing at Duxford, through no mechanical fault with the aircraft, & suffered significant damage A Mk1 nose was in possession of the repair team & it was realised that the production break at the rear of the fuselage was the same for all marks of Blenheim so the decision was made to go ahead with the conversion. After 11 years of painstaking work, on the 20th November 2014 Chief Pilot John Romain and James Gilmour as Flight Engineer took Blenheim MkI(f) on its maiden flight at Duxford for a successful 26 minute test flight, following some minor adjustments a further two test flights were carried out. The Blenheim received its full Permit to fly at the end of 2014, enabling the aircraft to be ready for the 2015 season.
Size: 5511px × 3936px
Photo credit: © Niall Ferguson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: aircraft, blenheim, bolingbroke, bomber, bristol, fighter, flying, legends, mk., night, raf, twin-engine
