Eight captured ex-
Royal Yugoslav Air Force Mk I aircraft were acquired by the
ZNDH from the Germans after the April invasion in 1941.[4] Several survived to the end of the War, with one retreating to
Klagenfurt Austria upon the collapse of the
Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in May 1945.[5]
Finland was the first export order for the Blenheim and 18 Mark Is were delivered between 29 July 1937 and 27 July 1938. A licence to local produce the aircraft was granted in April 1938 but none of the 15 ordered from State Aircraft Factory were delivered before the Russian invasion. Twelve new Mark IVs were diverted from RAF production and these were followed by 12 former RAF Mark Is.
One damaged Blenheim Mk IV was captured during
Battle of France in 1940. It was later repaired and used as special training aircraft from 1940 until 1942.[8]
The
Hellenic Air Force in its campaigns against Italy and Germany in 1940 and 1941, operated 12 Mk IVs (delivered before WWII without sights, bomb racks, wireless radios and intercoms) and 6 Mk Is (delivered in February 1941).[9] In the Middle East, the
Hellenic Air Force operated 19 Mk IVs (from January 1942 till January 1943) and 31 Mk Vs (from January 1943 till September 1943).
Blenheim Mk.IV N3589 of
No. 40 Squadron RAF landed in error at
Pantelleria on 13 September 1940 and was evaluated at
Guidonia airfield near Rome.[11] One more was captured in
Yugoslavia while two were seized in
Italian East Africa but were recaptured when this territory fell into British hands.[12] N3589 might be the Mk.IV appearing in a non-flying role in the movie Un Pilota Ritorna (1942) directed by
Roberto Rossellini.
One Blenheim IV rebuild to VIP transport variant was used as personal transport aircraft of the General
Władysław Anders, commander of
2nd Polish Corps
Germany provided 6 captured ex-
Royal Yugoslav Air Force Mk I aircraft to Romania in 1941,[14] where they joined 12 Mk Is previously purchased from Britain.
The
Royal Yugoslav Air Force acquired 24 Mk I aircraft from RAF stocks and subsequently undertook a licensed production run of some 36 aircraft. Tooling up for the production of the Mk IV was about to commence when interrupted by the
Invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. Some 20 partly completed airframes, as well as production tools and spare parts were subsequently sold by Germany to Finland.[14]
Bączkowski, W. Samolot bombowy Bristol Blenheim Mk.I-IV, Typy Broni I Uzbrojenia, No.171 (in Polish). Warsaw, Poland: Bellona SA, 1995.
ISBN83-11-08512-9
Boiten, T. Bristol Blenheim. London: The Crowood Press, 1998.
ISBN1-86126-115-2.
Bowyer, C. Bristol Blenheim. London: Ian Allan, 1984.
ISBN0-7110-1351-9.
Jefford, C.G. RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001).
ISBN1-85310-053-6.
Keskinen, Kalevi et al. Suomen Ilmavoimien Historia 10, Bristol Blenheim (in Finnish). Loviisa, Finland: Painoyhtymä Oy, 2004.
ISBN952-99432-1-0.
Kostenuk, S. and J. Griffin. RCAF Squadron Histories and Aircraft: 1924–1968. Toronto: Samuel Stevens, Hakkert & Company, 1977.
ISBN0-88866-577-6.
Lake, Jon. Blenheim Squadrons of World War II. London: Osprey Publishing, 1998.
ISBN1-85532-723-6.
Likso, T. and D. Canak. Hrvatsko Ratno Zrakoplovstvo u Drugome Svjetskom Ratu (The Croatian Airforce in the Second World War). Zagreb, 1998.
ISBN953-97698-0-9.