Allied – Blenheim Mk 1F L6686

The 23 Squadron Bristol Blenheim from Ford, West Sussex, ran out of fuel over the Channel while returning from a patrol. When Flt. Sgt. Loveridge gave the order to abandon the aircraft as they began to approach the island. The two airmen, Flt. Sgts. Newman and Southall, leapt into the water off the coast of Ventnor but tragically drowned in the choppy waves. Loveridge, on the other hand, did better, by bailing moments later and landing on the Island close to Ventnor.

The aircraft continued its flight and ultimately plummeted into Brading Down. The Blenheim I fighter variant became the Blenheim IF. It had installed four additional machineguns under the hull in lieu of the standard bomb bay. Additionally, it only required two crew members, whereas the Mk 1 required three.

Note: All images are merely representative of the aircraft and not specific.

• https://airpages.ru/eng/uk/blenh1.shtml
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Blenheim

• All images are of similar aircraft and not the specific plane in question.
  • Images are that of Mk 1F – Fighter Variant
• Wight Air Wrecks – A T Gilliam ISBN 0-7524-2376-2
• Battle in the Skies – H J Leal (IWCP)