Blackburn Skua

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackburn_Skua

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 sea
bird.

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 (470 km/h) at sea level over the Skua's 225
mph (362 km/h). The 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 (18 kg) bombs or eight 20 lb (9.1 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.


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1941 (withdrawn from front line)
March 1945 (withdrawn from other duties)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

Skuas were originally credited with the first confirmed kill by British aircraft
during the Second World War, a Dornier Do 18 flying boat was shot down over the
North Sea on 26 September 1939 by three Skuas of 803 Naval Air Squadron, flying
from Ark Royal. (An earlier victory by a Fairey Battle on 20 September 1939 over
Aachen, was later confirmed by French sources). On 10 April 1940, 16 Skuas of
800 and 803 NAS led by Lieutenant Commander William Lucy, flying from RNAS
Hatston in the Orkney Islands, sank the German cruiser Königsberg in Bergen
harbour during Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of Norway.

Königsberg was the first major warship ever sunk in war by air attack and the
first major warship ever to be sunk by dive bombing. Lucy later also became a
fighter ace flying the Skua. These two mostly-Skua squadrons suffered heavy
losses during an attempt to bomb the German battleship Scharnhorst at Trondheim
on 13 June 1940; of 15 aircraft in the raid, eight were shot down and the crews
killed or taken prisoner. Among the latter were both squadron commanders,
Captain R. T. Partridge (RM) and Lieutenant Commander John Casson (RN).

Although 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 Bf 109 and they were withdrawn from front line
service in 1941. Most Skuas were replaced by another two-seater, the Fairey
Fulmar, which doubled the Skua's forward armament and had a speed advantage of
50 mph (80 km/h). A number of aircraft were converted to target tugs, following
withdrawal from front line service. Others were completed as target tugs from
the factory and used by the RAF and Fleet Air Arm in this role (Fleet
Requirements). They were also used as advanced trainers for the Fleet Air Arm.
The last Skua in service was struck off charge in March 1945.

Specifications (Skua Mk. II)

General characteristics
Crew: two
Length: 35 ft 7 in (10.85 m)
Wingspan: 46 ft 2 in (14.08 m)
Height: 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Wing area: 319 sq ft (29.6 m2)
Empty weight: 5,496 lb (2,498 kg)
Loaded weight: 8,228 lb (3,740 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Bristol Perseus XII radial engine, 890 hp (664 kW)

Performance
Maximum speed: 225 mph (196 knots, 362 km/h) at 6,500 ft (1,980 m)
Cruise speed: 187 mph[15] (163 knots, 301 km/h)
Range: 435 mi (378 nmi, 700 km)
Service ceiling: 20,200 ft (6,160 m)
Rate of climb: 1,580 ft/min (8.0 m/s)

Armament

Guns: [16] 4 × 0.303 in (7.7 mm) forward-firing Browning machine guns
1 × 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis or Vickers K machine gun on flexible mount in rear
cockpit

Bombs: 1 × 500 lb (230 kg) semi-armour piercing bomb under fuselage or 8 × 30 lb
(14 kg) practice bombs under wings




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