The Bristol Fairchild Bolingbroke, nicknamed the "Bolly", was a Canadian build version of the Bristol 149 Blenheim Mk.IV. One Bolingbroke Mk.I was converted in a floatplane Mk.I with Edo floats. Photo by the Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd.

First visit of the Blenheim to Old Buckenham

Bristol Bolingbroke IV-T, 9997, was build by Fairchild Aircraft of Canada in Longueuil, Quebec in October 1942 and assigned to No. 5 Bombing & Gunnery School in Dafoe, MB. It was damaged in a belly landing on 28 Apr 1943 and sold to a farmer in Dauphin, MB after the war. It was donated by the Reynolds Heritage Preservation Foundation of Wetaskiwin, AB and restoration began in April 2009. The aircraft was reassembled in 2019 after 17,000 man hours of work without engines. Will be painted as Blenheim IV "EE-H" flying with Greenwood's 404 Sqn. with RAF Coastal Command in Scotland in 1941-1942.

Hard landing. Photo: SA-kuva (Finnish Armed Forces photograph, Wartime Photograph Archive). Photographer Niilo Helander.

Hard landing. Photo: SA-kuva (Finnish Armed Forces photograph, Wartime Photograph Archive). Photographer Niilo Helander.

Seen during restoration with the early mark stepless nose section installed

Cockpit area being repaired/restored/converted from a MK IV to a Mk I after crashing in 2003.

Photo: SA-kuva (Finnish Armed Forces photograph, Wartime Photograph Archive). Photographer Niilo Helander.

Blenheim I K7072 was converted to the Blenheim IV prototype with a longer nose and first flown as such on 24 September 1937. This photo is said to be from 1939 and we think it may have been taken in Canada where K7072 was sent as a pattern aircraft for the Canadian-built Bolingbroke. The Blenheim IV had been named Bolingbroke initially in Britain. Photo from: Life

[Nikon D300 + Tokina 12-24/4]

Museum outside, rear fuselage only. [Nikon D300 + Nikkor AF-S 18-200mm]

[Nikon D300 + Tokina 12-24/4]

Participating in a Shuttleworth Trust Air Show.

Displaying at a Shuttleworth Trust event at Old Warden.

The Bolingbroke was the Canadian-built version of the Bristol Blenheim and was typically used for air gunner training. 9940 was operated by the RCAF between 1942 and 1946 and after disposal was one of several stored in derelict condition on a farm in Winnipeg for many years. Recovered to Strathallan in 1972, it has since undergone a gradual restoration which was only quite recently completed and is now smartly displayed in the yellow overall finish used on all Canadian WW2 training aircraft.