Bristol Blenheim Mk.1(F)

John Romain flying Bristol Blenheim Mk.1(F), L6739, G-BPIV, for a practice display at Duxford Airfield on 25 August 2023. This is currently the only airworthy Bristol Blenheim in existence. The aircraft was originally manufactured during 1943 in Canada, under licence by Fairchild Aircraft Ltd (Canada) in Quebec, as a Bolingbroke T. These were identical to Blenheim ’s but all Canadian manufactured airframes were given the name Bolingbroke, which was the original name suggested for the type was nicknamed the “Bolly“. After a small run of aircraft constructed to British specifications, as the Bolingbroke Mk I, Fairchild switched production to the Bolingbroke Mk IV with Canadian and American instruments and equipment. These versions also included anti-icing boots and a dinghy. One of the early Mk IV variants was the Bolingbroke Mk IVW which was powered by two 825 hp (615 kW) Pratt & Whitney SB4G Twin Wasp Junior engines. Incapable of maintaining altitude on one engine, the normal bomb load was reduced to 500 pounds on these aircraft to compensate for the low engine power. The most-produced variant was the Bolingbroke Mk IVT trainer, of which 457 were completed. A total of 626 Bolingbrokes were produced. The Bristol Blenheim was a milestone in the history of British aviation as the first stressed skin aeroplane accepted by the RAF. It bore the brunt of the early war bombing effort and its crews paid a heavy price defending the nation. Winston Churchill paid homage to their bravery comparing them to the ’Charge of the Light Brigade’. At the start of the war the RAF had 1089 Blenheim bombers in service, more than any other aircraft. The Mk1 Nose of this Blenheim began life as a Bristol Blenheim Mk1 built under license by AVRO and issued to 23 Squadron on 2nd September 1939, serial number L6739. It served as a night fighter throughout the Battle of Britain before being struck off charge in December 1940 after which it went back to Bristol’s and was left in their scrapyard. After the war an innovative electrician by the name of Ralph Nelson, who was working at Bristol’s, was given permission to buy the nose which he then went on to convert into an electric car. After mounting it to the chassis of an Austin 7 he fitted an electric motor of his own design and registered it as a ’Nelson’ with the index JAD347. Ralph drove the car for 10 years before it suffered a fire which damaged the systems beyond repair, however, he had heard of the ongoing 2nd Blenheim restoration at Duxford and donated the car to the project in 1992. Thankfully Ralph had kept most of the original systems such as the control column, rudder pedals, trim system and fittings including the seat and frame, so after hours of reverse engineering and a huge amount of fabrication work the much loved car was restored back into the Blenheim nose that is now fitted on the aircraft. If you have a chance to see it up close in the future look for the tax disc in one of the front windows, left as a lasting legacy of Ralph and his car, without which the restoration would not have been possible. The aircraft is owned by Blenheim (Duxford) Ltd and operated by The Aircraft Restoration Company, who restored the aircraft to flying condition. The aircraft is powered by two Bristol Mercury XX engines. Video and Audio content is Copyright © High Flight This video and audio material may not be reproduced in any form (except as the videos Youtube embedded video option on any other website), without written permission.