Bristol Blenheim Mk.I

The first of the Bristol Blenheim series of light bombers first flew in 1935 after Lord Rothermere had challenged the British aircraft industry to build a high-speed transport plane. Bristol already had a suitable machine on the drawing board and the Type 142 was named 'Britain First'. The Air Ministry ordered the bomber version of the type straight from the drawing board. Capable of speeds comparable to the biplane fights of the day, the Blenheim seemed a modern machine but by the outbreak of WWII fighter development had rendered the Blenheim vulnerable; the Mk.I bomber was defended by just a single machine gun in he turret and a fixed machine gun in the wing. The Blenheim was a versatile machine, serving across the globe and as the Blenheim Mk.If, it was even pressed into service as a heavy fighter with a underbelly arrangement of 4 machine guns.