The next instalment of ‘Black Aircraft Week’ looks at two Bristol Mercury-powered aircraft, the Westland Lysander and the Bristol Blenheim.
The first of today’s black aircraft is the Shuttleworth Collection’s Westland Lysander, pictured here at the Race Day Airshow in October 2014. This ‘Lizzie’ was manufactured in Canada by the National Steel Car Corporation and served with the Royal Canadian Air Force as a target tug. It currently wears the markings of a No. 161 Squadron machine.
© Huw Hopkins – Global Aviation Resource
The second aircraft is the Aircraft Restoration Company’s Bristol Blenheim, pictured here at the RAF Mildenhall Air Fete 1993. The aircraft at that time wore the No. 68 Squadron markings of Blenheim Z5722, an aircraft flown by Wg Cdr Max Aitken at RAF High Ercall in April 1941. The aircraft was involved in a landing accident at Duxford in August 2003 and recently re-flew for the first time in over 11 years (now restored with a Blenheim MkI nose, mated to a Bolingbroke fuselage).
© Tom Gibbons – Global Aviation Resource
Our photo-series continues tomorrow…
Can I correct the info above that the nose fitted to the Bolingbroke is not a Blenheim nose, the Bolingbroke is a licensed built Bristol Blenheim IV (Type 149). Bolingbroke was the Bristols original name for the type 149 which the Canadians carried on using, for some reason the British Air Ministry changed the British built version to Blenheim IV.
The type 149 is essentially a type 142 (MKI) with a longer nose, extra fuel tanks and Mercury XV engines. The only real difference in the British and Canadian built 149 is in the position of the throttles, hydraulic and carburettor controls.
The reason we were able to convert the Bolingbroke at Duxford to a Blenheim MKI is that the production break at the rear of the cockpit is the same for all marks of Blenheim wherever they were built. We flew this for the first time on the 20th November.
Lovely Lizzie! I hadn’t realised this one was Canadian-built.
A Bolingbroke with a Blenheim nose. Resourceful!!!
Keep ’em coming. And many thanks again for the themed week.