List of Bristol Blenheim operators explained
The following are units which operated the
Bristol Blenheim:
Operators
Australia
- Royal Australian Air Force
Canada
- Royal Canadian Air Force
Independent State of Croatia
- Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države HrvatskeEight captured ex-Royal Yugoslav Air Force Mk I aircraft were acquired by the ZNDH from the Germans after the April invasion in 1941.[4] Several survived to the end of the War, with one retreating to Klagenfurt Austria upon the collapse of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in May 1945.[5]
Finland
- Finnish Air ForceFinland was the first export order for the Blenheim and 18 Mark Is were delivered between 29 July 1937 and 27 July 1938. A licence to local produce the aircraft was granted in April 1938 but none of the 15 ordered from State Aircraft Factory were delivered before the Russian invasion. Twelve new Mark IVs were diverted from RAF production and these were followed by 12 former RAF Mark Is.
Free France
- Free French Air Force
Nazi Germany
- LuftwaffeOne damaged Blenheim Mk IV was captured during Battle of France in 1940. It was later repaired and used as special training aircraft from 1940 until 1942.[8]
Greece
- Hellenic Air ForceThe Hellenic Air Force in its campaigns against Italy and Germany in 1940 and 1941, operated 12 Mk IVs (delivered before WWII without sights, bomb racks, wireless radios and intercoms) and 6 Mk Is (delivered in February 1941).[9] In the Middle East, the Hellenic Air Force operated 19 Mk IVs (from January 1942 till January 1943) and 31 Mk Vs (from January 1943 till September 1943).
India
- Royal Indian Air Force
Indonesia
- Indonesian Air ForceOne Blenheim Mk IV was captured during the Indonesian National Revolution from the IJAAF. It was re-engined with Nakajima Sakae engines.[10]
Italy
- Regia AeronauticaBlenheim Mk.IV N3589 of No. 40 Squadron RAF landed in error at Pantelleria on 13 September 1940 and was evaluated at Guidonia airfield near Rome.[11] One more was captured in Yugoslavia while two were seized in Italian East Africa but were recaptured when this territory fell into British hands.[12] N3589 might be the Mk.IV appearing in a non-flying role in the movie Un Pilota Ritorna (1942) directed by Roberto Rossellini.
Japan
- Imperial Japanese Army Air ServiceAt least one Blenheim Mk I and two Blenheim Mk IV wrecks were discovered in Semarang, Java in August 1947. It was either captured during the Malayan campaign or the Dutch East Indies campaign.[13]
New Zealand
- Royal New Zealand Air Force
Poland
- Polish Air Forces in Great Britain
Portugal
- Portuguese Air Force
Portuguese Naval Aviation
Romania
- Romanian Air ForceGermany provided 6 captured ex-Royal Yugoslav Air Force Mk I aircraft to Romania in 1941,[14] where they joined 12 Mk Is previously purchased from Britain.
South Africa
- South African Air Force
Turkey
- Turkish Air Force
United Kingdom
- Royal Air Force
- Fleet Air Arm
- Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment
Royal Aircraft Establishment
Yugoslavia
- Royal Yugoslav Air ForceThe Royal Yugoslav Air Force acquired 24 Mk I aircraft from RAF stocks and subsequently undertook a licensed production run of some 36 aircraft. Tooling up for the production of the Mk IV was about to commence when interrupted by the Invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. Some 20 partly completed airframes, as well as production tools and spare parts were subsequently sold by Germany to Finland.[14]
See also
References
Bibliography
- Bączkowski, W. Samolot bombowy Bristol Blenheim Mk.I-IV, Typy Broni I Uzbrojenia, No.171 (in Polish). Warsaw, Poland: Bellona SA, 1995.
- Boiten, T. Bristol Blenheim. London: The Crowood Press, 1998. .
- Bowyer, C. Bristol Blenheim. London: Ian Allan, 1984. .
- Jefford, C.G. RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). .
- Keskinen, Kalevi et al. Suomen Ilmavoimien Historia 10, Bristol Blenheim (in Finnish). Loviisa, Finland: Painoyhtymä Oy, 2004. .
- Kostenuk, S. and J. Griffin. RCAF Squadron Histories and Aircraft: 1924–1968. Toronto: Samuel Stevens, Hakkert & Company, 1977. .
- Lake, Jon. Blenheim Squadrons of World War II. London: Osprey Publishing, 1998. .
- Likso, T. and D. Canak. Hrvatsko Ratno Zrakoplovstvo u Drugome Svjetskom Ratu (The Croatian Airforce in the Second World War). Zagreb, 1998. .
- Mackay, Ron. Bristol Blenheim in Action. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1998. .
- March, Daniel J., ed. British Warplanes of World War II. London: Aerospace, 1998. .
- Marttila, Jukka. Bristol Blenheim - Taitoa ja tekniikkaa (in Finnish). Vantaa, Finland: Blenimi-Publishing, 1989. .
- Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber Since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994. .
- Neulen, H.W. In the Skies of Europe – Air Forces allied to the Luftwaffe 1939-1945. Wiltshire, UK: Crowood Press, 2000. .
- Savic, Dragan and Boris Ciglic. Croatian Aces of World War II (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces - 49). Oxford, Osprey, 2002. .
- Shores, C., B. Cull and N. Malizia. Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece & Crete – 1940-41. London: Grub Street, 1987. .
- Thomas, A. Bristol Blenheim (Warpaint No. 26). Denbigh East, Bletchley, UK: Hall Park Books, 2000. .
- Warner, G. The Bristol Blenheim: A Complete History. London: Crécy Publishing, 2nd edition 2005. .
Notes and References
- Kostenuk and Griffin, 1977, pp. 88-89
- Kostenuk and Griffin, 1977, pp. 91-92
- Kostenuk and Griffin, 1977, pp. 92-93
- Neulen, 2000, p. 171
- Likso and Canak 1998 p. 72.
- Stenman Air Enthusiast Summer 1994, p. 35.
- Stenman Air Enthusiast Summer 1994, p. 33.
- Bączkowski, 1995, pp. 27
- Shores, et al. 1987
- http://nei.adf-serials.com/indonesian-aviation-1945-50.pdf "Indonesian aviation 1945-1950."
- Web site: Bristol Blenheim.
- Book: Garello, Giancarlo . Gueli Marco . Ali straniere in Italia - War Prizes. Apostolo Editore . 2007.
- Web site: Japanese Blenheims at Semarang, Java. en. 20 June 2016. aviationofjapan.com. 10 January 2021.
- Savic and Ciglic 2002, p. 62.