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Blackburn Skua (B-24)

1938 WORLD WAR 2

Blackburn Skua (B-24) History

The Blackburn Skua (B-24) was a pre-World War II British two-seat, single-engine dive bomber/fighter. Designed by G.E. Petty, the aircraft first flew as a prototype on February 9, 1937, entered serial production in November 1938, and fought until 1941, when it became obsolete as a front-line solution. It held a secondary role until March 1945, when the war in Europe ended in May.

A total of 192 Skuas were built for the Royal Navy's Fleet Aviation (FAA) in war service (famous for being the first monoplane fighter).

The Skua evolved from the 1934 Department of Aviation specification O. 27/34 and was a completely modern design at the time (open cockpit biplanes were still the relative FAA specification). Metal skins are used throughout the design, with an enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear in conjunction with the aforementioned monoplane wing.

The engine, usually located in the nose, drives a three-bladed propeller unit. The rear wing consists of a single circular rear wing and a low-mounted stabilizer. The two sat one behind the other (back to back) under a lightly framed canopy.

As for armament, the aircraft is equipped with a set of fixed forward-firing 7.7mm Browning machine guns on the wings, and the rear operator manages a 7.7mm Vickers-K on a flexible mount machine gun. As a result, the mass of the aircraft is more like a heavy fighter than a high-performance fighter. There is also provision for carrying a 250 lb or 500 lb bomb along the centerline of the hull for bombardment action (integrated air brakes aid in action).

Each wing can also mount racks for up to 8 small diameter bombs.

Following a successful test and evaluation phase, the aircraft entered service with the 800th Naval Air Squadron in late 1938. In 1939, the model found its place on the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers.

By the time the war broke out in September 1939, Skuas were available in large numbers and commissioned by the FAA.

Despite being classed as hunters, Skuas do not perform well in dedicated hunter roles because they are designed to be too weak and heavy, but they do well in designed dive bomb roles. The shortage of modern British fighters forced the type to see more combat in dedicated fighter roles, although they were overtaken by German types such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 series.

Still, the Skua shot down the first German aircraft of World War II (a Luftwaffe Dornier 18) on September 25, 1939. The Skuas were then commissioned to take part in the Norwegian campaign, where their dive bombing capabilities were put to good use and claimed several enemy ships (including the KMS Konigsberg, which was sunk by three direct hits).

In addition to this, the series touches on all the early fronts of British naval fighter jets: the North Sea, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. They were increasingly relegated to accompaniment roles for other types of bombers, and it wasn't until 1941 that better alternatives emergednamely, the Fairey Fulmar and Hawker Hurricane.

As a result, the Skua was relegated to a supporting role of trainer and target tugboat until the end of the war in 1945.

No less than 27 fleet aviation squadrons were the true unsung heroes of Britain's early risers in WWII, and were staffed with Skua fighters. The Royal Air Force (RAF) also operates a task force as part of the Air Defence Cooperative Force.

Only two variants of the Skua series were made, the Skua Mk. I and the Skua Mk. II. The former includes two prototypes with Bristol Mercury engines. The latter is an in-service production-grade aircraft with Bristol Perseus engines on modified fairings.

The Blackburn "Peng" (described in detail elsewhere on this page) is a well-known offshoot of the Skua that introduced a fully powered turret with multiple machine guns on the rear hull (like the Bolton Paul Rebel fighter). A total of one hundred and thirty-six were produced.

is the definitive Mk in terms of performance. The II model has a top speed of 225 mph and almost hits 185 mph. Range is 435 miles and service is capped at 20,200 feet. The climb rate is 1,580 feet per minute.