The Blenheim Mk.IVF was, like the Mk.IF, its predecessor, the fighter variant of the Mk.IVF. It differed from the regular Mk.IV in having a gun pack installed in the bomb bay. This gun pack varied slightly from the one of the Mk.IF in being deeper in order to give the guns a clearer field of fire under the nose of the Mk.IV. The first Royal Air Force's (RAF) unit to be equipped with the Mk.IVF was No 600 Squadron, tasked with the night aerial defense of London. Just like it happened with the Mk.IF, the Mk.IVFs were also modified to fit an Airborne Interception (AI) radar. However, due to the poor performance of the radar and the poor performance of the Blenheim as a fighter, very few German bombers were intercepted. From September 1940 onwards, the Mk.IVF were replaced by Beaufighters and the Mk.IVF were passed on to Coastal Command's service.
The Coastal Command was, eventually the main user of the Mk.IVF, as it served mainly in the anti-shipping and maritime escort roles. No 235 Squadron was the first squadron to fully transit to the Mk.IVF. They operated from Dyce, Scotland with a detachment deployed in the Shetland Islands. Other Coastal Command squadrons operating the Mk.IVF were No 236, based at Bircham Newton, East Anglia, No 248 at Aldergrove, Northern Ireland and No 254 at St. Eval, in Cornwall. No 254 was almost fully commited to anti-submarine duties, but the other ones performed a wide variety of roles between June 1940 and June 1942. One specific mission involved No 235 Squadron's Mk.IVF shadowing enemy shipping on the Norwegian Coast until a force of Beauforts and Hudsons could assembled to attack.
Those squadrons based in Southern England performed mainly maritime escort roles for British shipping in the Channel and North Sea. They also acted as escorts for Beaufort and Hudsons. Some Mk.IVFs were also involved in fighter sweeps against German targets on the French shore and also providing air cover for the Air Search Rescue (ASR) operations. For this particular role the Blenheim was well suited thanks to its range, its endurance and its firepower.
In the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations (MTO) No 203 Squadron was the only user of the Mk.IVF. This unit was based in Aden and was dedicated to the maritime escort role in the Red Sea. During the course of many sorties, some Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 based in Ethiopia were shot down. This Squadron also saw action in Greece before being withdrawn to Egypt where it had its Mk.IVFs replaced with Martin Marylands as a regular bomber squadron.
The failure of both Mk.IF and Mk.IVF as long range fighters was caused by the rapid advance in technology between the year it was designed (1936) and its operational years (1940-1942). It, however, filled the need for a long range fighter/strike aircraft until more adequate aircraft, like the Mosquito, were operational.
In June 1941 the RAF employed a new tactic of attacking German targets in France with Blenheim under a heavy escort. This operation was codenamed Circus and it involved the Blenheims of No 114 Squadron escorted by nine fighter squadrons. This series of attack began on 10th January and it was expected that German fighters would take the bait allowing British fighters to attack and destroy them. The Germans, however, soon realized the true intentions of the British and turned to stalk and ambush the bombers every time they had the chance.
During this operation, the RAF's Blenheim unit involved, suffered double the losses inflicted to the Germans, mainly by the fighters of JG 26 which showed themselves capable of facing British raids both in France and the MTO.
Shortly later, in April 1941 the RAF tried to close the channel to every enemy shipping during daylight. This operation was codenamed Operation Channel Stop and was part of a bigger operation involving raids from the entire North Sea coast since March. Under normal circumstances, these operations would've been taken by the Coastal Command, however, they had their hands full with fighting U-Boat wolfpacks in the Atlantic, so the Blenheims of No 2 Group were tasked with the mission of flying sorties over Holland, Denmark and Norway which were known as 'Beats'. The bombers flew in low altitude to attract anti-air fire of the defending flak barges. This risky role, coupled with the ability of the Luftwaffe to mount fighter patrols, led to high loss rates and the end of Operation Channel Stop in early 1942. Outside this operation, some Blenheims of No 2 Group raided Germany on 4th July 1941 when twelve Blenheims of No 105 Squadron bombed the port of Bremen. They managed to hit their targets at the cost of four Blenheims. On 12th August a force composed fo 54 Blenheims plus escorts flew at low level altitudes to attack two power stations outside Cologne. They caused moderate damage on the targets and ten Blenheims were lost.
The high casualty rates of these actions, coupled with the availability of better twin-engined bomber aircraft such as the Douglas Boston, led to the retirement of the Blenheim from the frontlines in the European Theatre of Operations by December 1941.
In North Africa and the Mediterranean, the Blenheim played a more significant role. In July 1941 it had been recognized that to the increasing intensity of the combats there, additional bomber squadrons were needed. In the second half of 1941 several Blenheim squadrons were based in Malta until early 1942 when they became part of the Western Desert air operations. However, by that time the Blenheim was also already being replaced by more capable types such as the Vickers Wellington, Martin Maryland or Martin Baltimore, and many units were sent to the Far East as tensions with Japan were growing there.
When War was waged on the Far East, on 8th December 1941 (local date) the RAF had stationed two Blenheim Squadrons in Malaya; Nos 34 and 62 and one, No 60 in Burma. When the War broke out, most of No 60 Squadron was located at Kuantan, in Malaya, undergoing some training, with barely no aircraft left in Burma. The majority of the Blenheims were destroyed on ground during the first day of combat as a surprise Japanese attack on Alor Star destroyed eleven of the twelve Blenheims of No 60 Squadron. The lone remaining Blenheim took off and attacked Japanese landing barges off Singora. For this action the pilot was posthumously awarded with the Victoria Cross. By the end of December No 60 Squadron was rebased back to Burma.
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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