The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years and in some cases throughout the Second World War. The aircraft was developed as Type 142, a civil airliner.
| Role |
|
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Bristol Aeroplane Company |
| Designer | Frank Barnwell |
| First flight | 12 April 1935 |
| Introduction | 1937 |
| Retired | 1944 (United Kingdom) 1958 (Finland) |
| Primary users | Royal Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force Finnish Air Force Royal Yugoslav Air Force |
| Number built | 4,422 |
| Variants | Bristol Beaufort Bristol Fairchild Bolingbroke |
Specifications (Blenheim Mk IV)
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 42 ft 7 in (12.98 m)
- Wingspan: 56 ft 4 in (17.17 m)
- Height: 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m)
- Wing area: 469 sq ft (43.6 m2)
- Airfoil: RAF-28 (18%)
- Empty weight: 9,790 lb (4,441 kg)
- Gross weight: 14,400 lb (6,532 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Bristol Mercury XV 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 920 hp (690 kW) each
- Propellers: 3-bladed Hamilton Standard variable-pitch propellers
Performance
- Maximum speed: 266 mph (428 km/h, 231 kn) at 11,800 ft (3,600 m)
- Cruise speed: 198 mph (319 km/h, 172 kn)
- Range: 1,460 mi (2,350 km, 1,270 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 27,260 ft (8,310 m)
- Time to altitude: 6,500 ft (2,000 m) in 4 minutes 10 seconds
- Wing loading: 30.7 lb/sq ft (150 kg/m2)
- Power/mass: 0.13 hp/lb (0.21 kW/kg)
Armament
- Guns:
- 1 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine gun in port wing
- 1 or 2 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning guns rear-firing in under-nose blister or Nash & Thompson FN.54 turret
- 2 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning guns in dorsal turret
- Bombs:
- 1,200 lb (540 kg) total
- 4 × 250 lb (110 kg) General Purpose bombs or
- 2 × 500 lb (230 kg) GP bombs internally and 8 × 40 lb (18 kg) GP bombs externally
Avionics
- T1082 (transmitter) and R1083 (receiver) radio sets
Photos Rob Vogelaar
