Bristol Blenheim, copyright RAF Museum Hendon
This aircraft could be said to have been the comparable aircraft with the Ju88. However, this was not a particularly effective aircraft though it got used in several types of activity by the RAF. It had been developed with funding from Lord Rothermere, the owner of the Daily Mail and entered squadron service in March 1937. When the prototype flew in 1935 it was the fastest light bomber, but was obsolete by 1939 and was consequently forced into service as a night fighter in 1940. The fact was that German anti aircraft fire was both intense and relatively accurate so that when used on daylight operations, the Blenheim became extremely vulnerable and suffered severe losses. Many Blenheims were lost in northern France.
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September 12, 2010 at 7:53 am
Day 65 – 12th September 1940 « Battle of Britain Day by Day
[...] theme: The Planes They Flew – Bristol Blenheim Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)NASA Flies First Drone Over Hurricane [...]
September 12, 2010 at 11:16 am
Jim Kilduff
The Blenheim was totally out of its class when the Battle started, and it is unfortunate that it could not be replaced at that time. It was known amongst many aircrew as the Flying Coffin, for obvious reasons and a very well justified title. It was of a similar class s the B-P Defiant, an equally useless piece of equipment for the job in hand.
January 9, 2013 at 2:46 am
B T
In my younger days, I was a member of an ATC squadron in New Zealand. Our National CO was Mel Innes-Jones. In later years, when I was in business, Mel, who had retired, was one of my customers and we used to chat. He told me that he was a member of a Blenheim squadron at the outbreak of WW2 and within 18 months, only two original pilots were still alive. He told me about one of his interesting experiences, when he was returning across the North Sea, vbeing pursued by two Me 110s, who were firing at him from extreme range. mel said the only reason he got away was the retractable gun turret on the Blenheim, which gave him an extra 30 mph.
January 12, 2013 at 11:47 am
MarsFKA
In the 1960s, I was a member of the Air Training Corps in New Zealand, the national Commandant of which, at that time, was Wing Commander Mel Innes-Jones.
In later years, when I started my own business, Mel was one of my customers, having retired to the area I lived in. He told me that he was a pilot in a Blenheim squadron at the outbreak of World War 2 and also said that 18 months later, only he and another pilot were left alive of the originals. He related one of his more interesting experiences, when, one day, he was being chased back to England across the North Sea at wave-top height by two Me-110s, which were firing at him from extreme distance – their cannon shots were hitting the water in front of him – but could not close the range because the Blenheim was fast enough to stay ahead of them. Mel said the only reason he got away was because retracting the gun turret on the Blenheim gave him an extra 30 miles per hour.