For all the early history of the aircraft, I'll let you read Tom Cleaver's preview of the Mk.I. The Mk.IV was an improvement over the earlier Mk.I and started entering service in early 1939 with 90 Sq. Among the improvements were a larger nose for the navigator and after the first 80 aircraft, additional fuel tanks in the wings to improve range. As the war progressed, other improvements like armor plating, an under-nose gun position and twin-gun turrets were added. An attempt at making it a night fighter was done adding a gun pack to the belly for four .303 machine guns, but it was not as successful as hoped. The first Mk.IVFs equipped 25 Squadron on 30 August, 1939.

A Mk.IV, N6215 from 139 Sq was the first British aircraft to cross the German border during WWII on 3 Sept, 1939 during a recce mission. 107 and 110 Sq bombers made the first British bombing raid of the war on the German fleet the next day. The Mk.IV went on to serve in a number of units both at home and overseas in the far east and in the desert. However, the Blenheim was pretty much a sitting duck without fighter escort unless flying where there were no enemy aircraft!  There were even attempts at making the Blenheim a ground attack aircraft, however it was just too slow for the task. The final home based Bomber Command mission was flown in late 1942, when they were replaced with Bostons and Mosquitos.

Overseas, they continued for a longer period until eventually replaced with more modern types. There are still several airframes extant, one of them being with the RAF collection, and the other with the Canadian AF collection. There is one flying version in the Duxford collection. Thanks to Andrew Johnson for that piece of information.

Review copy courtesy of me and my wallet!

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly by a site that has over 1,200 visits a day, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.