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Blackburn Skua

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Blackburn Skua
250px
Type Dive bomber
Manufacturer Blackburn Aircraft
Maiden flight 1937-02-09
Introduced November 1938
Retired 1941 (withdrawn from front line)
Primary user Fleet Air Arm
Number built 192

The Blackburn Skua was a naval combat aircraft operated by the British Fleet Air Arm and combined the dual functions of dive-bomber and fighter. Built to specification O 4/34, it was a radical development for the Fleet Air Arm, being of all-metal construction and their first service monoplane. Its retractable undercarriage and enclosed cockpit were also new to a service that was primarily equipped still with open cockpit biplanes such as the Fairey Swordfish. Performance for the fighter role was compromised by the aircraft's low speed and relative lack of power. But the aircraft's armament of four fixed wing machine-guns and a single rearward-firing weapon were certainly effective in situations where crews were able to close with the enemy. For the dive-bombing role, a single 500-lb bomb was carried on a special swinging crutch under the fuselage which enabled the bomb to clear the propeller arc on release.

Contents

[edit] Operational history

Skuas are credited as the first British aircraft to shoot down an enemy aircraft in the Second World War: a Dornier Do 18 flying boat was downed over the North Sea on September 26, 1939 by three Skuas flying from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. On April 10, 1940 16 Skuas flying from the Orkney Islands sank the German cruiser Königsberg in Bergen Harbour during the invasion of Norway. This was the first large warship sunk by allied forces in the war.

Though it fared reasonably well against Axis bombers over Norway and in the Mediterranean, the Skua suffered heavy losses when confronted with modern fighters, particularly the Messerschmitt Bf 109, and they were withdrawn from front-line service in 1941. The aircraft was largely replaced by another two-seater, the Fairey Fulmar which doubled the Skua's forward armament and also boasted a 50-mph speed advantage.

[edit] Variants

  • Skua Mk I : Prototypes.
  • Skua Mk II : Two-seat fighter and dive bomber for the Royal Navy.

[edit] Operators

[edit] Units using the Skua

[edit] Specifications (Skua Mk. II)

Data from Fleet Air Arm Archive<ref name="fleetairarm">Blackburn Skua Aircraft Profile. Fleet Air Arm Archive (2000-04-03). Retrieved on 2006-08-19.</ref>

General characteristics<h3>
  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 35 ft 7 in (10.8 m)
  • Wingspan: 46 ft 2 in (14.1 m)
  • Height: 14 ft 2 in (4.3 m)
  • Wing area: 312 ft² (29.0 m²)
  • Empty weight: 5,490 lb (2,490 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 8,228 lb (3,730 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1× Bristol Perseus XII radial engine, 905 hp (675 kW)

<h3>Performance<h3>

<h3>Armament<h3>

  • Guns:
  • Bombs: 1× 500 lb (230 kg) bomb


[edit] References

<references/>

[edit] Related content

Related development<h3>

<h3>Comparable aircraft<h3>

<h3>Related lists<h3>

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