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| Bristol Bolingbroke (9704), RCAF, 5 August 1942. |
The Bristol Fairchild Bolingbroke is a maritime patrol aircraft and trainer used by the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. Produced by Fairchild-Canada, it was a license-built version of the Bristol Blenheim Mk IV bomber.
Design and Development
In 1935, the British Air Ministry issued Specification G.24/35 to procure a coastal reconnaissance/light bomber to replace the Avro Anson. Bristol proposed the Type 149, based on its Blenheim Mk I, with Bristol Aquila engines to give greater range. While the Air Ministry rejected this proposal, a Blenheim Mk I, retaining its Mercury VIII engines, was converted as a Type 149 (Blenheim Mk III) for the general reconnaissance role. The nose was lengthened to provide more room for the bombardier, with the upper left surface of the nose being scooped out to maintain pilot visibility during takeoff and landing.
The longer range also fulfilled a Canadian requirement for a maritime patrol aircraft. Consequently, Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. (Canada) of Quebec started production of the Blenheim Mk IV as the Bolingbroke (the originally intended name for the Blenheim IV). This 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.
Operational History
Most of the 151 Mk IVs built served in their intended role as patrol bombers on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Canada between 1940 and 1944. Two squadrons of these aircraft also served in Alaska during the Aleutians campaign. The Mk IVT trainers saw extensive use in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP).
Specifications
Type: Maritime patrol aircraft/trainer
National origin: United Kingdom /Canada
Manufacturer:
Bristol Aeroplane Company
Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. (Canada)
Primary user: Royal Canadian Air Force
Number built: 626
Manufactured: 1939–1943
Introduction date: 15 November 1939
First flight: 14 September 1939
Developed from: Bristol Blenheim
Variants
Bolingbroke Mk I: Twin-engine maritime patrol bomber aircraft, powered by two Bristol Mercury VIII radial piston engines, with British equipment. 18 built.
Bolingbroke Mk II: Conversion of fifth Mk I with US equipment - prototype of Mk IV.
Bolingbroke Mk III: Floatplane conversion of sixteenth Bolingbroke Mk I, with two Edo floats.
Bolingbroke Mk IV: Twin-engine maritime patrol bomber aircraft, equipped with anti-icing boots and a dinghy, also fitted with American and Canadian instruments and equipment, powered by two Bristol Mercury XV radial piston engines, 134 built.
Crew: 3
Length: 42 ft 9 in (13.03 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:
Root: RAF-28 (18%)
Tip: RAF-28 (10%)
Empty weight: 9,835 lb (4,461 kg)
Gross weight: 13,750 lb (6,237 kg)
Maximum takeoff weight: 14,500 lb (6,577 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Bristol Mercury XV 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 920 hp (690 kW) each at 9,250 ft (2,819 m)
Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch propellers
Maximum speed: 288 mph (463 km/h, 250 kn)
Cruise speed: 200 mph (320 km/h, 170 kn)
Range: 1,860 mi (2,990 km, 1,620 nmi)
Service ceiling: 27,000 ft (8,200 m)
Rate of climb: 1,480 ft/min (7.5 m/s)
Wing loading: 29.3 lb/sq ft (143 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.1338 hp/lb (0.2200 kW/kg)
Guns:
1× fixed forward firing .303 in Browning machine gun
1x .303 in Browning machine gun in power operated dorsal turret
alternately in the IVT, two Browning machine guns in a Bristol Type B1 Mk IV turret
Bombs: 2× 500 lb (230 kg) or 4 × 250 lb (114 kg) bombs
Bolingbroke Mk IVW: Sub-version of Mk IV powered by two 825 hp (615 kW) Pratt & Whitney SB4G Twin Wasp Junior radial piston engines as contingency against possible shortages of Mercury engines. The Mk IVW's performance was below that of the Mk IV and the supply of the British engines was maintained so production returned to the Mk IV after only 15 aircraft were built.
Bolingbroke Mk IVC: Version of Mk IV with 900 hp (671 kW) Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines not requiring high octane fuel. One built.
Bolingbroke Mk IVT: Multi-purpose trainer aircraft. A total of 350 built powered by Mercury XV engines, followed by a further 107 powered by the low-octane fuel Mercury XX* engine, giving a total of 457 built, with a further 51 cancelled. Six Mk IVT were converted to dual controls. A further 89 were converted to Mk IVTT Target Tug with the addition of winching gear in the rear cabin and target drogue storage in the bomb bay.
Operators
Canada
Royal Canadian Air Force
Operational Squadrons of the Home War Establishment (HWE):
No. 8 Squadron RCAF - Used Bolingbroke Mk I and Mk IV (Dec 40 – Aug 43)
No. 115 Squadron RCAF - Used Bolingbroke Mk I (Aug 41 to Dec 41) and Mk IV (Nov 41 – Aug 43)
No. 119 Squadron RCAF - Used Bolingbroke Mk I (Aug 40 - Aug 41), Mk IVW (Aug–Nov 41) and Mk IV (Nov 41 – Jun 42)
No. 147 Squadron RCAF - Used Bolingbroke Mk I and Mk IV (Jul 42 – Mar 44)
The following HWE squadrons only had small numbers of Bolingbrokes on strength:
No. 13 (OT) Squadron RCAF - Used Bolingbroke Mk IV (Oct 41 – Jun 42)
No. 121 (K) Squadron RCAF - Used Bolingbroke Mk IVTT (Target Tug) (Aug 42 – May 44)
No. 122 (K) Squadron RCAF - Used Bolingbroke Mk IVTT (Target Tug) (Aug 42 – Sep 45)
No. 163 (AC) Squadron RCAF - Used Bolingbroke Mk IV (Mar–Jun 43)
Abbreviations
(BR)-Bomber Reconnaissance
(OT)-Operational Training
(K)-Auxiliary
(AC)-Army Co-operation
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP)
Bombing and Gunnery Schools
No. 1 B&G School - Jarvis, Ontario, Used Bolingbroke IVT (Aug 40 – Feb 45)
No. 2 B&G School - Mossbank, Saskatchewan, Used Bolingbroke IVT (Oct 40 – Dec 44)
No. 3 B&G School - Macdonald, Manitoba, Used Anson, Battle, Bolingbroke IVT and Lysander, (Mar 41 – Feb 45)
No. 4 B&G School - Fingal, Ontario, Used Bolingbroke IVT (Nov 40 – Feb 45)
No. 5 B&G School - Dafoe, Saskatchewan, Used Bolingbroke IVT (Apr 41 – Feb 45)
No. 6 B&G School - Mountain View, Ontario, Used Bolingbroke IVT (Jun 41 – Post War)
No. 7 B&G School - Paulson, Manitoba, Used Bolingbroke IVT (Jun 41 – Feb 45)
No. 8 B&G School - Lethbridge, Alberta, Used Bolingbroke IVT (Oct 41 – Dec 44)
No. 9 B&G School - Mont-Joli, Quebec, Used Bolingbroke IVT (Dec 41 – Apr 45)
No. 10 B&G School - Mount Pleasant, Prince Edward Island, Used Bolingbroke IVT (Sep 43 - Jun 45)
No. 31 B&G School (RAF) - Picton, Ontario, Used Bolingbroke IVT (Apr 41 - Nov 44) — currently Picton Airport
Surviving Aircraft
Belgium
9895 – Mk. IVT on static display at the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History in Brussels. It includes parts from 10038.
Canada
9059 – Mk. IV on static display at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon, Manitoba.
9869 – Mk. IVT in storage at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
9887 – Mk. IV under restoration to static condition at 17 Wing Winnipeg in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was donated from a farm in 2013.
9892 – Mk. IVT on static display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario.
9904 – Mk. IVT in storage at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta.
9944 – Mk. IVT on static display with the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon, Manitoba. This aircraft is displayed next to the Trans-Canada Highway in Brandon.
9987 – Mk. IV on static display at the Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, Alberta.
9997 – Mk. IVT under restoration to static display at the Greenwood Military Aviation Museum in Greenwood, Nova Scotia.
Composite – Mk. IV on static display at the British Columbia Aviation Museum in Victoria, British Columbia. It is a combination of two different airframes.
Composite – Mk. IVT under restoration to ground running condition at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ontario. It is a combination of eight different airframes.
Unknown ID – Mk. IV under restoration to static display at the Canadian Aviation Heritage Centre in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec.
United Kingdom
9048 – Mk. IV under restoration to static display at Aerospace Bristol in Filton, Gloucestershire.
9940 – Mk. IVT on static display at the National Museum of Flight in East Fortune, East Lothian. It uses the outer wings of 9059.
10001 – Mk. IVT on static display at the Royal Air Force Museum Midlands at RAF Cosford. It has been restored as a Blenheim and is painted as L8756 "XD-E" of 139 Squadron RAF.
10038 – Mk. IVT in storage at Duxford Airfield in Duxford, Cambridgeshire. It was severely damaged in a crash in Denham Aerodrome on 21 June 1987.
10201 – Mk. IVT airworthy with the Aircraft Restoration Company in Duxford, Cambridgeshire. It was restored as a Blenheim Mk.1F, using a Blenheim Mk I nose which had previously been converted to a car. It is registered as G-BPIV.
United States
9983 – Mk. IVT in storage at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.
10076 – Mk. IV on static display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.
Bibliography
Clark, R Wallace. British Aircraft Armament Volume 1: RAF Gun Turrets from 1914 to the Present Day. Patrick Spephens Ltd, 1993
Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Six Floatplanes. London:Macdonald, 1962.
Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Seven Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft. London: Macdonald, 1967.
Griffin, J.A. Canadian Military Aircraft Serials & Photographs 1920 - 1968. Ottawa: Queen's Printer, Publication No. 69-2, 1969.
Kostenuk, S. and J. Griffin. RCAF Squadron Histories and Aircraft: 1924–1968. Toronto: Samuel Stevens, Hakkert & Company, 1977.
Molson, Ken M. and Harold A. Taylor. Canadian Aircraft Since 1909. Stittsville, Ontario: Canada's Wings, Inc., 1982.
Mondey, David. The Hamlyn Concise Guide to American Aircraft of World War II. London: Aerospace Publishing Ltd, 1996.
Vincent, Carl Canadian Aircraft of WWII (AviaDossier No. 1). Kitchener, Ontario: SkyGrid, 2009.
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| Bristol Bolingbroke (9704), RCAF, 5 August 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke, RCAF Station Ottawa, Ontario, 22 November 1939. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke, RCAF Station Ottawa, Ontario, 22 November 1939. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke cockpit, RCAF, 17 November 1941. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke cockpit, RCAF, July 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke cockpit, RCAF, 5 August 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke radio equipment, RCAF, 27 March 1943. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke F24 camera installation, RCAF, 6 March 1943. |
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| Emergency skis for Bristol Bolingbroke, RCAF, 25 February 1941. |
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| Emergency ski installation on tail wheel of Bristol Bolingbroke (9075), RCAF. |
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| Emergency ski installation on main gear of Bristol Bolingbroke (9075), RCAF. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke radio equipment, RCAF, 14 April 1943. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke radio equipment, RCAF, 10 April 1943. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke (9149), RCAF, Ferry Squadron crash, 6 March 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke IVT (10203), RCAF, 1944. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke IVT (10192), No. 1 Transport Command, RCAF. Possibly at St. Jean, P.Q. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke (702), RCAF, 26 January 1940. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke (702), RCAF, 20 November 1939. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke (702), RCAF Station Ottawa, Ontario, 20 November 1939. |
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| Press examining Bristol Bolingbroke (702), RCAF Station Ottawa, Ontario, 20 November 1939. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke (702), RCAF, Rockcliffe, Ontario, 15 December 1939. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke (702), RCAF, Rockcliffe, Ontario, 15 December 1939. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. I (702), 22 November 1939. This aircraft was flown by No. 147 (Bomber Reconnaissance) Squadron, RCAF from July 1942 to March 1944. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke IV (9099), RCAF, Rockcliffe, Ontario, 16 September 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke IVT (9850), RCAF, 14 May 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke IVT (9850), RCAF, 14 May 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke IVT (9850), RCAF, 14 May 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke IV, No. 119 (BR) Squadron, RCAF, 4 September 1942. |
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| Ski fitted to Bristol Bolingbroke IV (9075), RCAF, 2 March 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke work tent of No. 8 (BR) Squadron, RCAF, Nome, Alaska, 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke (9191), RCAF Station Mountain View. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. I (702 YO-A) with a group of No. 8 Squadron, RCAF personnel, 22 November 1939. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. IV, RCAF (9065), 1942. |
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| Bolingbroke IV on assembly line at Fairchild factory, Canada. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke, RCAF. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke (9055), RCAF. |
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| Aircrew of No. 147 (BR) Squadron, RCAF, with Bristol Bolingbroke IV, Tofino, British Columbia, Canada, 10 March 1944. |
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| Two aircrew examining a target drogue in front of a row of Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. IVTTs, including RCAF (9871), at No. 10 Bombing and Gunnery School, RCAF, Mount Pleasant, Prince Edward Island, 1944. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke Mk IV (9115), No. 123 Army Co-operation Squadron RCAF. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke, 9030, No. 115 Squadron RCAF, Patricia Bay. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke Mk IV, 9097, 4 Bombing & Gunnery School, RCAF, Fingal, Ontario, 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke Mk IV, 9040, YO-O, No. 8 Sqn RCAF, RCAF Station Sea Island, BC, 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke Mk IV, 9052, DM-H, No 119 Sqn RCAF, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, 9 June 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke Mk IV, 9030, BK-V, No 115 Sqn RCAF, Patricia Bay, 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke, 9009, No 8 Squadron RCAF, Anchorage, Alaska, 1942. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke. |
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| Bristol (Fairchild) Bolingbroke Mk IVT (10001), RCAF. |
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| Bristol (Fairchild) Bolingbroke Mk IVT (9930), RCAF. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke (9122), No. 115 Squadron, RCAF, Annette Island, Alaska, February 1943. The aircraft is in a dispersal area by the Administration Building. The mountains are to the East. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke, No. 8 Squadron, RCAF, Alaska, 1942. Left to Right: Flight Sergeant G.A. Anderson (Wireless/Air Gunner), J.M. McArthur (Pilot), W.J. Smith (Pilot), Flight Sergeant F.W. Johnston (Wireless/Air Gunner). |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke, No. 8 Squadron, RCAF, Alaska, 1942. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. IVC (9074), RCAF, 5 August 1942. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. IVC (9074), RCAF, 5 August 1942. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. Is, No. 119 (Bomber Reconnaissance) Squadron, RCAF, Bolingbrokes, coded DM-K and DM-E, in formation near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, 25 August 1941. Photo taken by a No. 118 (F) Squadron pilot flying escort. |
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| No. 119 (Bomber Reconnaissance) Squadron, RCAF badge. The squadron was active from 15 May 1935 to 15 March 1944. No. 119 Squadron was an RCAF Canadian Home War Establishment (HWE) Squadron. Created 15 May 1935 in Hamilton, Ontario, it came to be tasked with coastal patrol and anti-submarine duty over the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean around Nova Scotia. It was disbanded 15 March 1944 in Sydney, Nova Scotia. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. IVT (9896), RCAF. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. IVT (9903) from No. 8 Bombing & Gunnery School RCAF, Lethbridge, Alberta, landed halfway down the runway on 2 February 1943. It overshot the end of the runway and nosed up in deep snow. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. IVT (9182), RCAF, 1944. |
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| Bristol (Fairchild) Bolingbroke Mk. IVT (9892), RCAF. |
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| Bristol (Fairchild) Bolingbroke Mk. IVT (9892), RCAF. |
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| Bristol (Fairchild) Bolingbroke Mk. IVT (10203), RCAF, 1944. |
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| Bristol (Fairchild) Bolingbroke Mk. IVT (10203), RCAF, 1944. |
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| Lockheed Hudson Mk. III (786) and Bristol (Fairchild) Bolingbroke Mk. I, RCAF (possibly 9075), at the Test & Development Establishment, RCAF Station Rockcliffe at 10:00 am on 20 April 1942. The Hudson was there for the installation of radar and transferred to 11 (BR) Sqn the very next day. The photo shows Bolingbroke 9075 following a ground incident caused by brake failure. It suffered Category C10 damage when a severe case of hanger rash on the nose and one wing tip. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke, RCAF. |
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| A coastal reconnaissance Bristol Bolingbroke destined for the Royal Canadian Air Force being assembled at the Fairchild Aircraft Limited factory, Longueuil, Québec, 1941. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. I (1) (K7072), taken on strength with the RCAF on 15 November 1939. S/L Wray signing the book after trial with the first Bristol Bolingbroke in the RCAF, at RCAF Station Ottawa, 1939. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. III floatplane (717), RCAF. This floatplane was the sole conversion of the 16th Bolingbroke Mk. I, with the addition of two Edo floats. It flew with No. 5 (BR) Squadron from 30 September 1940 to February 1941 for operational evaluation. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. III floatplane (717), RCAF. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. III floatplane (717), RCAF, 8 October 1940. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke Mk. III floatplane (717), RCAF, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, 1941. |
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| Here is quite the selection of aircraft gathered together in one place. A Consolidated Catalina, a Northrop Delta (672 YO-C) No. 8 (BR) Squadron, a Canadian Vickers Stranraer (909 QN-G) of No. 5 (BR) Squadron, and a Fairchild Bolingbroke (717) of No. 5 (BR) Squadron, the only Mk. III built and fitted with floats. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke IV upper turret with single machine gun. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke Mk IV upper turret with twin machine guns. |
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| RCAF airman servicing the twin .303 machine guns on a Fairchild Bolingbroke. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke Mk IVT upper turret with twin machine guns. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke Mk IVT upper turret with twin machine guns. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke Mk IVT upper turret with twin machine guns. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke Mk IVT upper turret with twin machine guns. |
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| Bristol (Fairchild) Bolingbroke with Mk. III turret, 28 January 1944. |
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| Bristol (Fairchild) Bolingbroke, RCAF rear gunner with his .303-inch machine gun. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke cockpit, 29 April 1942. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke cockpit. |
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| Fairchild Bolingbroke with an RCAF Sgt pilot at the controls, 28 March 1943. |
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| Bristol (Fairchild) Bolingbroke Mk. IVT (9892), RCAF, Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Ottawa, Ontario. This Bolingbroke was manufactured by Fairchild Aircraft Limited for the RCAF in June 1942, and was briefly listed with No. 1 Training Command in Toronto before going to No. 2 Training Command in Winnipeg in July. In June 1944, it was put in storage and in September 1945 it was sold as war surplus to George A. Maude. Maude moved the Bolingbroke to his property on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. In 1962, he agreed to donate the aircraft to the RCAF. A Calgary company disassembled and trucked it to Alberta for restoration in May 1963. It was finished in the markings of an aircraft of No. 8 Squadron RCAF, which had used Bolingbroke IVs operationally on both coasts from 1941 to 1943. The aircraft was transported to Rockcliffe airport and officially handed over to the RCAF by Maude in an Air Force Day ceremony on 6 June 1964. The aircraft was later transferred to the Museum. |
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| Bristol Bolingbroke IV. |
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