Stamp from Gambia's R.A.F. World War II Planes Commemorative Issue of April 18, 1990
(The Bolingbroke was a Canadian built version of the Blenheim Mk. IV)

In 1937 the R.C.A.F. selected the Bristol Bolingbroke, an improved version of the Blenheim that was being developed for the R.A.F.for use as a reconnaisance aircraft. Three versions of the aircraft based on the Bristol Blenheim Mk IV bomber were produced under license by Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. in Longueuil, Quebec between 1939 and 1943. Early in the war it served in coastal patrol duties on both coasts. Later it was employed as a bomber and gunnery trainer and target tug for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

D.F. Grose's flight log lists fifteen flights in a "Boly" between October 25, 1943 and November 24, 1943. The flights varied between 25 minutes and an hour with "air firing" being the listed duty except on the first occasion when it was "camera bun."

Sources

"Bristol Bolingbroke." Wikipedia. The Wikimedia Foundation. 22 Sep. 2024. Web. 26 Oct. 2024
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Bolingbroke.

Grose, Douglas Fraser. Flying Log Book for Aircrew other than Pilot. Royal Canadian Air Force. 1943-1945.

Molson, K.M.. Canada's National Aviation Museum. Ottawa: National Museum of Science and Technology, 1988.

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© Derrick Grose, 2024