Bristol Aero Collection

Bolingbroke 9048 Restoration Project

On 25th July 2006, the Bristol Aero Collection received the first sections of the latest addition to its collection, a World War 2 Bolingbroke bomber. Bolingbroke was the name given to the Canadian-built version of the Bristol Blenheim, which was an important aircraft at the start of World War 2. The Bolingbroke was dismantled, and had not been restored since its withdrawal from the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1946. Before going on display, the aircraft will be restored to static condition, in the RCAF colours it wore in 1942.

Historic wartime photograph of Bolingbroke 9048 flying over Alaska in 1942
Read more in our History of Bolingbroke 9048 page

Click here to read about the recovery of Bolingbroke 9048
The centre wing and rear fuselage sections at Filton shortly after arrival.
See our photo-diary of the 6000-mile journey from Southern California to Bristol

See the construction of the Blenheim/Bolingbroke in detail in our Bolingbroke Cutaway

Sponsors and Donors

Restoration Progress Reports :

Progress Report 1 - July 2007	Progress Report 2 - January 2008
Progress Report 3 - July 2008	Progress Report 4 - January 2009
Progress Report 5 - July 2009	Progress Report 6 - January 2010
Progress Report 7 - Sept 2010 (PDF)	Progress Report 8 - July 2011 (PDF)