Blackburn Skua
| B-24 Skua | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Skua L2923, Red-1 of 803 NAS. One of 16 Skuas from RNAS Hatston to attack and sink the Königsberg in Bergen on 10 April 1940. This aircraft spun on the return flight and crashed, the only aircraft lost on that day. | |
| Role | Dive bomber / Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Blackburn Aircraft |
| Designer | G.E.Petty |
| First flight | 9 February 1937 |
| Introduction | November 1938 |
| Retired | 1941 (withdrawn from front line) March 1945 (withdrawn from other duties) |
| Primary user | Fleet Air Arm |
| Number built | 192 |
| Variants | Blackburn Roc |
The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft operated by the British Fleet Air Arm which combined the functions of a dive bomber and fighter. It was designed in the mid-1930s and saw service in the early part of the Second World War. It took its name from the seabird.
Built to Air Ministry specification O.27/34, it was a low-wing monoplane of all-metal (duralumin) construction, with a retractable undercarriage and enclosed cockpit. It was the Fleet Air Arm's first service monoplane and was a radical departure for a force that was primarily equipped with open-cockpit biplanes such as the Fairey Swordfish.
Performance for the fighter role was compromised by the aircraft's bulk and lack of power, resulting in a relatively low speed; the contemporary marks of Messerschmitt Bf 109 reached 290 mph (467 km/h) at sea level over the Skua's 225 mph (362 km/h). However, the aircraft's armament of four fixed, forward-firing 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in the wings and a single flexible, rearward-firing .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine gun was effective for the time. For the dive-bombing role, a 250 lb (110 kg) or 500 lb (230 kg) bomb was carried on a special swinging "trapeze" crutch under the fuselage (somewhat like that of the Junkers Ju 87), which enabled the bomb to clear the propeller arc on release. Four 40 lb (20 kg) bombs or eight 20 lb (9 kg) Cooper bombs could also be carried in racks under each wing. It had large Zap-type air brakes/flaps, which helped in dive bombing and landing on aircraft carriers at sea.
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