The Blenheim Project
Bringing a Blenheim back to Hawkinge.
The Museum displays many of the aircraft types flown during the Battle of Britain, including Hurricanes, Spitfires, Messerschmitt Bf 109Es, a Defiant, Harvard, Tiger Moth and Magister. Original Battle of Britain aircraft are so rare, and so valuable, that the Hurricanes, Spitfires, Messerschmitt Bf 109s and Defiant are mostly replicas, though heavily rebuilt using many original parts.
Why the Blenheim Matters
One aircraft was missing from our line-up of Royal Air Force Fighter Command machines of the Battle of Britain period: the Bristol Blenheim.
The Blenheim in brief:
- Of the 2,938 airmen awarded the Battle of Britain ‘clasp’, and therefore classed as one of ‘The Few’, nearly 800 flew in Blenheims during the Battle.
- During 1940 it flew not only with Fighter Command but also with Bomber, Coastal and Training Commands.
- In 1937 it became the RAF’s first all-metal monocoque monoplane and was the fastest aircraft on the inventory.
- It was still the Service’s fastest bomber at the outbreak of the Second World War.
Four Airframes into One
The volunteers were therefore very pleased, and extremely excited, to acquire an example in November 2017: the substantial remains of four Bristol Bolingbrokes (Canadian-built Blenheims), to be rebuilt into one original airframe and displayed as a Bristol Blenheim Mk. IV.
Most of the project, including a fuselage, centre section and a pair of wings, arrived at the Museum in December 2017, with the cockpit section due to follow from Canada in the spring of 2018.
To help us complete the project we acquired the parts left over from the gorgeous Bristol Blenheim Mk. I (the short-nose version) rebuilt and flown by Aircraft Restorations Co. at Duxford. The trustees and volunteers extend their sincere thanks to John Romain, James Gilmour and all the team at Aircraft Restorations Co., who have been instrumental in turning our dreams into reality.
A Promise Kept
The Blenheim marks the end of a quest of nearly forty years by the Museum Chairman, Dave Brocklehurst, to bring one back to the former RAF Hawkinge, an airfield Blenheims operated from during 1940.
Dave would often ‘bicker’ with Mike Llewellyn, the late Founder and Curator of the Museum, that one day we would have a Boulton Paul Defiant and a Bristol Blenheim on display. Mike said this would never happen! We acquired the beautiful Boulton Paul Defiant replica, built by the Boulton Paul Association, in February 2015. We hope Mike is looking down, from wherever he might be, to see the promise Dave made to him coming to fruition.
How You Can Help
Restoring this rare and outstanding aircraft needs funds. If you would like to contribute, please see our Donations page. If you can help in any other way, please let us know.
Blenheim IV / Bolingbroke Specifications
| Type : | Light Bomber / Night Fighter |
| Crew : | 3 |
| Engines : | 2 × Bristol Mercury XV 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 920 hp (690 kW) each. |
| Propellers : | 3-bladed Hamilton Standard variable-pitch propellers, built under a license agreement (1935) by de Havilland |
| Wing Span : | 12.98m (56ft 4in) |
| Length : | 12.98m (42ft 7in) |
| Height : | 3.0 m (9ft 10in) |
| Airframe : | Metal |
| Skin : | Metal |
| Empty weight : | 4,441 kg (9,790 lb) |
| Gross weight : | 6,532 kg (14,400 lb) |
| Maximum Speed : | 428km/h at 3600m (266 mph at 11,800ft) |
| Cruise Speed : | 319km/h (198 mph) |
| Service Ceiling : | 8,310 m (27,260 ft) |
| Range : | 2,350 km (1,460 miles) |
| Armament : | Could be equipped with:
Guns : 1 × 0.303 in (7.7mm) Browning machine gun in port wing 1 or 2 0.303 in Browning guns rear-firing in under-nose blister or Nash & Thompson FN.54 turret 2 x 0.303 (7.7mm) Browning machine guns in dorsal turret Bombs : 4 x 250 lb (110 kg) General Purpose bombs or 2 x 250 lb GP bombs internally and 8 x 10 lb (18 kg) GP bombs externally |
