Their initial operations in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operation (MTO) were conducted by Nos 45 and 55 Squadrons, though some Mk IV saw limited action in Greece, before British evacuation. During the Iraqi revolt in April 1941, No 203 squadron, based at RAF Habbaniya (Iraq) the Mk IV flew some sorties against the pro-Axis revolt that took place there. Shortly later, they took part in the Syria-Lebanon campaign against Vichy France, until the colony gave up in July.
During the following fifteen months, the Blenheim Mk IV units were involved in providing ground support for the British Eight Army in their engagements against the Deutsche Afrika Korps (DAK) and the Italian units.
It was during those months that many squadrons of No 2 Group were sent from Britain to Malta to defend the island from Axis aerial bombing. Blenheims based there and, mainly, in Egypt, employed tactics similar to those used in the Channel Stop operation, inflicting thus, heavy losses in Axis maritime shipping. In fact, during late 1941, more of 65% of Axis merchant shipping in the area was sunk, however, with a high cost for Royal Air Force's Blenheim squadrons present in the MTO.
A field modification for the Mk IV was made by adding a Vokes air filter to the carburetor intake to prevent the abrasive effect of sand and grit on the engine.
By late February 1942, however, there were few Mk IV units in North Africa as most of them were needed in the Far East Theatre (FET) after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The remaining units transitioned to the Douglas Boston.
The Mk IV was used in the FET. In January 1942 two squadrons, Nos 84 and 211 were rebased from the Middle East to Sumatra (Dutch East Indies), to be part of the weak No 225 (Bomber) Group. There they were joined by some surviving Mk IV from No 34 Squadron which managed to evacuate Singapore in time. They were rebased to Palembang, where they performed convoy escort, reconnaissance and bombing missions against their former airfields in Malaya. On 15th February 1942 an all-out attack was launched against the Japanese invasion fleet off Sumatra. They were, however, not very successful as the available units and personnel were not enough, although they managed to sink some transports.
Later, on 18th February, the few remaining Mk IV were rebased to the island of Java, with the Blenheims of No 211 Squadron being absorbed into No 84. There, they were employed in harassing missions against the Japanese invasion fleet until 1st March, when the very few remaining Blenheims were either destroyed on ground or captured by the Japanese.
That wasn't the end for the Blenheim the FET. In April 1942 the Japanese sent a carrier task force to attack Royal Navy's base in Ceylon. On 5th April, a force consisting on 125 Aichi D3A 'Val' bombers and Nakajima B5N escorted by Mitsubishi A6M Zeroes, attacked the British base destroying some Royal Navy's ships. After the raid, some Blenheim Mk IV of No 11 Squadron flew the area searching for the Japanese task force. The task fleet was eventually located on 9th April and eleven Blenheims were sent to strike on the Japanese. On the attack, two aircraft aborted due to engine problems and, from the remaining nine, five were lost to either anti-air fire or fighters. On 11th April the Japanese task force retired from the Indian Ocean, putting an end to their raid.
The Blenheim Mk V was a bomber development of the cancelled Bristol Bisley. The Mk V featured a strengthened structure, pilot armour, interchangeable nose gun pack or bomb aimer position, a better turret, armed with two 0.303 in Browning machine guns and it was powered by a better version of the Bristol Mercury engine, yielding 950 hp of power. It was used mainly in the MTO and the FET.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Blenheim
2. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 88 - Bristol Blenheim in Action
3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 26 - Bristol Blenheim
4.Osprey Publishing - Combat Aircraft 5 - Blenheim Squadrons of World War 2
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