Before I start posting my work on the salvaged Blenheim in the forum I feel I should say a few words as a form of introduction.
The first exhibit one can see on entering the H.A.F. (Hellenic Air Force Museum) in Tatoi, Athens, is the wreck of a Blenheim Mk.IVF, manufactured in Bristol, in 1940, with the L9044 and series number R2 / 22140. The aircraft belonged to the 203 Squadron,RAF and was shot down on April 28, 1941, when during a mission of ship protection receiving retreating British troops in the Porto Rafti area, Attica, it was mistakenly hit by A / A of a British ship, resulting in losing one engine. The crew tried to return to its base in Crete but they did not succeed and they were forced to ditch 6 miles NE of Rethymnon. Due to the historical significance of the press and the depth at hand, it was decided by the General Aviation Authority to lift the aircraft in order to be transferred to the Aviation Museum. In November 1993, the shipwreck of that Blenheim Mk IVF L9044 was discovered at 18 meters deep outside Rethymnon on the suggestion of an amateur snorkeling team led by Spyros Papakastritsios. As it was determined by preliminary submarine surveys, the aircraft was in excellent conservation status. If one disregards the broken glass, the entire structure of the aircraft was virtually intact. The whole business was carried out in two phases. In September 1995, the aircraft was lifted from the bottom and towed to the shallow waters of the harbor of Rethymno, from where it was pulled by a crane in July 1996.
The aircraft was transferred to the PA Museum. where it was dismantled and its cleaning was gradually started, a process that lasted until 1998. The aircraft was assembled and placed on a stable base where it is exposed until today.
The three-member crew was rescued with the help of a Cretan who dived into the sea to help them. In 1996, Gordon Hall, the pilot of this Blenheim visited the Museum and sat on the pilot seat. I only can imagine how touched and moved he could be feeling at those very moments..
I'll come back with wip photos soon..
Cheers,
Panagiotis.
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