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#Post#: 2540--------------------------------------------------
Plane of the Week; the seldom mentioned but very important
Blenheim Mk IV
DIR By: Beowolff
Date: July 16, 2019, 2:46 am
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Bristol Blenheim Mk IV Plane of the Week!
Though seldom mentioned by anyone... and obviously seldom used
(not high-profile, Superman-attributes enough) as well, NO one
seems to want to use the lowly Bristol Blenheims… we have a
couple in the game, but I personally prefer the later model, as
mentioned, the MkIV.
HTML https://i.postimg.cc/Xv2kCvG5/p1.jpg
Yeah, maybe not recognized as a 'cool cat' bomber to use (or
fighter bomber, or night fighter, etc) the reliable, sort of old
fashioned Blenheim did a MAJOR good job for the RAF and Bomber
Command (and Fighter Command too!)
HTML https://i.postimg.cc/0jyKvG2K/blenheim-mk-iv-roy-cross-for-2017-mid.jpg
HTML https://i.postimg.cc/52rkhpgT/ZV6230-2.jpg
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%)[61]
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 (3,597 m)
Cruise speed: 198 mph (319 km/h; 172 kn)
Range: 1,460 mi (1,269 nmi; 2,350 km)
Service ceiling: 27,260 ft (8,310 m)
Time to altitude: 6,500 feet (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 in rear-firing
under-nose blister or Nash & Thompson FN.54 turret
2 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning guns in dorsal turret
Bombs:
1200 lb (540 kg)
4 × 250 lb (113 kg) bombs or
2 × 500 lb (227 kg) bombs internally and 8 × 40 lb (18 kg) bombs
externally
HTML https://i.postimg.cc/8cq782Fs/Bristol-Blenheim.png
HTML https://i.postimg.cc/MZs40WRz/blenheimivreviewbg-5.jpg
These planes flew as bombers, fighter-bombers, pure fighters,
long range fighters, night fighters, etc, … and were EVERYWHERE
on virtually every front of the war. They flew in the desert,
over Europe, over Italy, over the Med, over the Orient, and so
on... so yeah, they were kind of important to the British war
effort and surely deserve much more attention than they get from
the flyers of this game.
In-Game MkIV
HTML https://i.postimg.cc/ZRnQ22tG/2019-07-16-06-38-50.jpg
In game this bomber handles well... though low powered and a bit
sluggish, once you build up some speed she begins to handle
quite well and I can see where she 'might' be considered
maneuverable enough to be a sort of bomber-destroyer or
heavy-fighter... though I surely wouldn't want to get caught
flying her by a gaggle of 109's! ??? :o
Anyway, she's pretty nice, I could see her with more powerful
engines as being a contender in a slug-fest bombing run/bomber
attack mission. In fact I'm gonna' dig around and see what sort
of missions I can come up with for this old gal. She ought to
be used... her honor demands it.
S!
Beowolff
PS... I really can recommend this airplane. She does fly very
well.
As usual, I encourage you all to TRY this plane for yourself
in-game...then come back and let me know how you feel about it.
Comments, pics, info, etc, ALWAYS appreciated on these Plane of
the Week articles. Thanks in advance!
NEW! Just added this morning!
Wiki List Of Most Bristol Blenheim Operators/Squadrons... vital
for mission maker/campaign builders!
Link:
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bristol_Blenheim_operators
#Post#: 2543--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week; the seldom mentioned but very important
Blenheim Mk IV
DIR By: greybeard
Date: July 16, 2019, 6:11 am
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SO TRUE!
It was just by this game that I learnt about this aircraft. When
I was a boy, "the" British bomber was the Lancaster; media made
me thinking that RAF only bombed at night by the great Avro
plane. Also dedicated magazines and even war comics only
mentioned that.
Building campaigns for IL-2, I continue to learn how Blenheim
(almost exclusively the Mark IV) was instead ubiquitous and
fought on all fronts, at any time. A little big hero.
Thanks Beo for pointing out this one.
#Post#: 2547--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week; the seldom mentioned but very important
Blenheim Mk IV
DIR By: larsresult
Date: July 16, 2019, 8:18 am
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A widely used early war bomber with the Finnish and Free French
Air Forces as well as the RAF. I agree it is quite pleasant to
handle. Quite a good range and load for its time.
I set up a mission a while ago with a flight of Mark IVFs
scrambling to take on a flight of strafing 110C4s, based on a
story told to me by a man whose uncle was a Blenheim rear gunner
in the BoFrance. Initially, as I sat in the gunners seat the AI
pilot had trouble starting the engines which made for a bit of
tension. I took the pilot seat after take off but the slow
acceleration left me easy prey to the 110s. On replay I managed
to keep low to build up speed and dodge the strafers. I even
managed to damage two 110s but stalled in due to lack of height.
It appears in game that it is as manoeuvrable at speed as the
110C but lacks armour and decent guns. The four .303 ventral gun
pack is lethal only at close range.
#Post#: 2548--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week; the seldom mentioned but very important
Blenheim Mk IV
DIR By: Beowolff
Date: July 16, 2019, 8:35 am
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Yes, she does handle very well... just needs MORE power.
HTML https://i.postimg.cc/3xMFr0sf/mpm72089-0.jpg
Even the Nazi's got in on the act by using captured examples!
HTML https://i.postimg.cc/cJPDp1Rf/nazibristol.jpg
#Post#: 2549--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week; the seldom mentioned but very important
Blenheim Mk IV
DIR By: Beowolff
Date: July 16, 2019, 8:44 am
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Bump, just added to original post... users/squadron list link
for mission/campaign makers!
#Post#: 2554--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week; the seldom mentioned but very important
Blenheim Mk IV
DIR By: vonofterdingen
Date: July 16, 2019, 11:08 am
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In all the campaigns I have done I bet this aircraft appears far
more than any other, but I have never flown it in game. I guess
that will have to end. As others have said here, it was in
every theater and served in most allied air forces (plus
Finland). On a sad note, I believe that actor Leslie Howard was
killed in one while on a secret mission (in Spain, maybe).
#Post#: 2555--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week; the seldom mentioned but very important
Blenheim Mk IV
DIR By: cafs
Date: July 16, 2019, 11:26 am
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A little lovely plane. Fast for a bomber in the middle 1930's,
easy meat for monoplane fighters of the 40's.
Like said above, she fought in every WW2 front, from the Arctic
Circle to the hot and humid CBI front.
One forgot above was the great job done for the Coastal Command.
Some info:
1) By comparison with the Fairey Battle, the RAF's other light
bomber the Blenheim looked very good indeed. The RAF's fastest
bomber when it entered service, the Blenheim said to be able to
out-pace contemporary fighters. But "fastest than the fighters
of the day" did not mean faster than the Spitfire or the Me-109,
not even than the lumbering Me-110. She was faster ( by a
whisker ) than obsolete biplane fighters like the Gladiator or
He-51.
2) The "fastest" RAF's bomber of the era, had a performance edge
that was not always what it seemed. While the Blenheim Mk I
could attain 260 mph ( 416 Kph ), it cruised at only 200 ( 320
Kph ) , and less when fully laden, carrying external bombs or
trying to reach its maximum range. A 200 mph bomber was far from
impressive ( 14 mph faster than the Hind it replaced! ), and a
180 mph bomber ( as the Blenheim often was ) was quite simply
inadequate.
The problem was primarily that the aircraft was too small
and too modest, relying on feeble engines and carrying only a
tiny bomb load. For a replacement of the Hind and Hart's light
bomber concept, did not translate when the replacement was a
sophisticated monoplane bomber.
Near-contemporary American light bombers like the
Baltimore, Boston, Maryland and Hudson/Ventura carried double
the bomb load and were powered by massive twin-row radial
engines. All were considerably more heavier than the Blenheim
and required longer, drier and smoother runways, BUT they were
fast, well armored and adequately defended.
3) But in 1935 the Blenheim look impressive enough for the RAF
ask for hundreds, and in 1939 thousands, from Bristol plants,
after the Nazi Germany's behavior turns aggressive.
4) The Blenheim IV was designed to meet a Coastal Command
requirement and marked enough of an improvement over the Mk I to
be attractive to all Blenheim operators and the new version
simply replaced the earlier variant on the production line,
going to squadrons from Bomber Command, Army Cooperation,
Fighter Command, Coastal Command and overseas units, or the
export market.
5) With more than 2,000 built from 1935 to 1939 it became the
most important bomber for the RAF. But this large number gives
an entirely false impression of the RAF's real fighting strength
and preparedness for war on 3 September 1939. Long serving
squadrons were split to form new ones, so all squadrons became
manned by very inexperienced, barely trained crews, with just a
flight manned by experienced "old-hands".
6) The first Coastal Command's Blenheim squadrons were designed
for coastal convoy protection, not the bomber strike or ASW role
( these are for the Ansons and Hudsons squadrons ). They flew Mk
IF and Mk IVF, escorting convoys and scaring away the occasional
German flying-boat or bomber/recon plane. But after the fall of
France this change for a strike role due in first place for her
inadequacy to battle with monoplane fighters, or even to chase
the much faster Ju-88.
#Post#: 2556--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week; the seldom mentioned but very important
Blenheim Mk IV
DIR By: cafs
Date: July 16, 2019, 11:29 am
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--- Quote from: vonofterdingen link ---
>
> On a sad note, I believe that actor Leslie Howard was killed
in one while on a secret mission (in Spain, maybe).
>
--- End Quote ---
Howard died in 1943 when flying to Bristol
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol,
UK, from Lisbon
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisbon,
Portugal, on KLM Royal
Dutch Airlines
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KLM
BOAC Flight 777
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOAC_Flight_777.
The aircraft,
"G-AGBB" a Douglas DC-3
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-3,
was shot down by
Luftwaffe
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luftwaffe
Junkers Ju 88
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_88C6
maritime fighter
aircraft over the Bay of Biscay
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Biscay
Howard was among the
17 fatalities, including four KLM flight crew.
Cheers.
#Post#: 2558--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week; the seldom mentioned but very important
Blenheim Mk IV
DIR By: vonofterdingen
Date: July 16, 2019, 3:35 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Cafs. My memory had strayed pretty far off of that one.
#Post#: 2559--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week; the seldom mentioned but very important
Blenheim Mk IV
DIR By: DHumphrey
Date: July 16, 2019, 4:47 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: vonofterdingen link ---
>
> In all the campaigns I have done I bet this aircraft appears
far more than any other, but I have never flown it in game. I
guess that will have to end. As others have said here, it was
in every theater and served in most allied air forces (plus
Finland). On a sad note, I believe that actor Leslie Howard was
killed in one while on a secret mission (in Spain, maybe).
>
--- End Quote ---
Hello All,
Von, if your interested in flying the Blenheim, in the campaign
link I've provided, I've done quite a few missions using the
plane as a player aircraft. :)
HTML http://www.mission4today.com/index.php?name=Downloads3&file=details&id=2617
The first mission is a Blenheim mission, however it is an
air-start mission. I could not avoid the air-start as the map
does not provide a usable airfield from the east coast of
Africa.
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