Aeroplane Photographic Archive

BRISTOL BLENHEIM MkIV
Adaptable if ill-starred, the Bristol Blenheim was in many ways the workhorse of the RAF during the Second World War. This pre-delivery echelon formation represents the Bristol Mercury XV-powered Blenheim Mk IV, the “long nose” variant, otherwise known as the Type 149. A feature of this variant was the up-gunned dorsal turret, although it appears that the aircraft nearest the camera, L4864, is yet to receive its defensive armament.

Of the aircraft seen here, all were initially delivered to 53 Sqn at RAF Odiham, the first front-line unit to receive the Mk IV. L4864 crashed in a forced landing at Ipswich in April 1940, with 107 Sqn; L4851 went on to see second-line service, being lost in a crash at Glatton in July 1941 while with an OTU; L4839 also went to a training unit after serving 53 Sqn, suffering an undercarriage collapse in February 1943.

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