The Bristol Blenheim was a British a British twin-engined light bomber designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (commonly known by 'Bristol'). The Blenheim was extensively used during the first half of World War 2, with some machines being used as trainers even until the end of the war.
The main user was the British Royal Air Force (RAF), but the type saw also use under other users:
- Australia: The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operated the Bristol Blenheim in two squadrons, Nos. 454 and 459.
No.454 was equipped with Blenheims in November 1942 when it was based in Iraq where they were used as trainers. They were in service until January 1943 when they were replaced by the Martin Baltimore.
No.459, was formed in February 1942 with just six aircraft (two Lockheed Hudsons and four Blenheims Mk.IV). The Blenheims were kept until May when they were replaced by Hudsons. - British Raj: The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) had some outdated Blenheim Mk.I bombers serving with the No.3 Coastal Flight based at RAF Dum Dum, close to the city of Calcutta in 1942. Due to blogger's tag limitation of 200 characters, this couldn't be included in the list and, also, the drawing should be considered as semi-speculative as we lack clarification about their operational service with the RIAF.
- Japan: It's known that at least one Blenheim Mk.I and one Blenheim Mk.IV were captured and employed by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF), as some wrecks were found in Semarang, Java after the war, in August 1947. It's interesting to note that the hulk of the Blenheim Mk.IV discovered there, appears to be modified to serve as a transport with extra windows and, apparently, refitted with Nakajima Sakae engines.
As our drawings are based on old blurry photos, they should be taken as highly speculative on how they looked like when in Japanese service. - Indonesia: In 1945 or 1946, Indonesian forces acquired a Bristol Mk.IV from unknown sources (some claims are made they were acquired from the Netherlands). The aircraft was re-engined with Nakajima Sakae engines, so it's possible it belonged to the Japanese and it was re-captured by the Indonesians when the Japanese left in 1945.
This machine had not only its engines replaced, but the frontal cockpit completely faired over too. - New Zealand: No.489 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) served under RAF's Coastal Command and it was equipped with the Blenheim from August 1941 until January 1942 when it was re-equipped with the Blenheim Mk.IVf, which were in service patrolling the North Sea until March when they were replaced by the Handley Page Hampden as the squadron was re-converted into an anti-submarine torpedo bomber unit.
- Turkey: Turkey ordered 12 Blenheim from the United Kingdom in April 1936, making the Anatolian country the second foreign user of the Blenheim (the first one was Finland). The first two machines were shipped by sea in October 1937 while the remaining 10 were ferried by air between March and June 1938. Additional eighteen machines were ordered and delivered between November 1938 and February 1939 with additional 10 Blenheim Mk.I being given to the Turkish Undersecretariat of Military Aviation (the forerunner of the modern Turkish Air Force) in 1940.
Three additional Mk.IVs, plus 17 Mk.V were supplied in 1943. These more modern machines came from RAF Middle East stocks. They served with the Turkish 3rd Regiment of the 2nd Air Division, at Gaziemir Air Base, in Izmir. - South Africa: The South African Air Force (SAAF) evaluated a single Blenheim Mk.I in 1938, but didn't order the type. This single Mk.I was assigned to No.31 Squadron, which served with the South African Coastal Command and was used in late 1939 in the search of the German Pocket Battleship Graf Spee. This aircraft also shadowed two Italian ships as they were heading to neutral Portuguese Mozambique in June 1940 when Italy entered the war. The Blenheim attacked one of the ships with guns and bombs and forced it to run aground.
In spite of this service, the type was judged unsuitable for the SAAF and was returned to the UK.
In February 1942 the No.15 Squadron SAAF, replaced its Martin Marylands by Blenheim Mk.IVf when they were assigned to the No.201 Group RAF. Some of these machines were up-armed with an additional 20 mm cannon placed in the nose glazing. A detachment was assigned to Kufra Oasis in April 1942, to prevent its use by the Germans, but the three aircraft were lost in the desert. They were not discovered until 1959.
Later, in July 1942 No.15 replaced the Mk.IV by Mk.Vs and they were rebased to Mariut, in Egypt, where they conducted anti-shipping operations and saw some distinctive action. The unit replaced its Blenheims by Douglas Bostons in July 1943.
Two additional SAAF squadrons flew the Blenheim Mk.V, Nos.16 and 17 from November 1942 until June 1943 and January-May 1943 respectively. They operated over the Indian Ocean and they were replaced by the Bristol Beaufort and the Lockheed Hudson respectively.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Blenheim
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bristol_Blenheim_operators
3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 26 - Bristol Blenheim
4.Osprey Publishing - Combat Aircraft 5 - Blenheim Squadrons of World War 2
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_Squadron_SAAF
6. http://www.aviationofjapan.com/2016/06/japanese-blenheims-at-semarang-java.html
7. https://web.archive.org/web/20051214192414/http://nei.adf-serials.com/indonesian-aviation-1945-50.pdf
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._489_Squadron_RNZAF
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._454_Squadron_RAAF
10.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._459_Squadron_RAAF
11. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205212382
12. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a8Blenheim.htm
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