Blackburn Skua & Roc

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Blackburn Skua first prototype.
1/72 scale.

Blackburn Skua second prototype.

1/72 scale.
Blackburn Skua & Roc

Production Skua under

construction. The longer
nose and engine mount
(which has gained a ‘bay’
over the prototype) of the
production Skua MkII, and
differences in the cylinder
heads of the sleeve-valve
Bristol Perseus over the
poppet-valve Mercury fitted
to K5178 can be clearly
seen when compared with
photographs of the proto-
type. Note the substantial
exhaust exiting from a col-
lector ring in the front of
the cowling. (BAE Systems)

valve designs for power and reliability. The order also specified four Browning
.303in machine guns in the wings with 600 rounds per gun, and a Lewis
Mk III machine gun in the rear cockpit. At this stage the largest bomb to be
carried was a 250lb general purpose device. The Air Ministry also requested
that the aircraft could be readily converted for target towing.
Following successful model tests by the RAE the B-24 prototype K5178
took to the air for the first time at the hands of Blackburn’s chief test pilot,
Captain A.M. ‘Dasher’ Blake, on 9th February 1937. The public got its first

L2870 following a landing accident aboard HMS Coura-

geous before the outbreak of war, damaging the under-
carriage and port flap - the arrestor hook is intact sug-
gesting the pilot missed the wires. This Skua, one of the
early production machines, was employed in carrier land-
ing trials in 1938 and 1939. (Author’s collection)

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 Blackburn Skua.
1/72 scale.

19
Blackburn Skua & Roc
 Blackburn Skua & Roc
similar, but had 2° dihedral, no upturn in the tips and lacked the four machine The attachment of the
guns. The rear fuselage was widened to accommodate the Boulton Paul Type floats can be viewed in
A Mk II electrically driven turret, and the cockpit aft of the pilot was changed. this head on photograph
Gone was the cavernous opening of the Skua and in its place a tiny ‘cabin’ of L3059 during testing.
housing the radio equipment and the observer when he was not manning the The floats were designed
turret. The roof of this cabin was automatically lowered whenever the turret to be easily fitted to all
was trained forwards to create room for the guns to traverse. Similarly a wedge- Rocs, which had pick-up
shaped fairing aft of the turret lowered into the rear fuselage whenever necessary points fitted as stand-
to allow the guns to traverse. ard. (BAE Systems)

A very rare image of Roc

L3059 carrying out tests
as a floatplane, seen
here about to ‘unstick’.
(BAE Systems)
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 Blackburn Roc on floats.
1/72 scale.

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Blackburn Skua & Roc
Blackburn Skua & Roc

The same five Rocs in for- low cloud cover, which rendered their Ju87 Stukas virtually useless. However, at
mation as on the previous lunchtime, the clouds cleared and the Luftwaffe was there in force. Two Skuas
page, August 1940. The and a Roc attacked Ju88s which were bombing the ships off the coast. Sneaking
flat underside of the Roc, up on the bombers as they were intent on their dives, the Roc was able to shoot
lacking the bomb recess down one of the ‘Schnellbombers’ while a Skua claimed another damaged. This
of the Skua, can be seen. was to be the only ‘destroyed’ claim for the Roc in its career.
(Central Press Photo- On 31st May nine Skuas of 801 Squadron took part in action alongside
graphs, courtesy of BAE ten Albacores of 826 Squadron. Both squadrons dive-bombed targets around
Systems Brough Heritage) Nieuport; the Albacores went for the harbour with 250lb bombs, and later a
road junction at Westende. 801 Squadron meanwhile looked for pontoon bridges
in the area to attack to hold up the movement of German troops. They found
none, and instead dive bombed a ‘pier’ (actually a partially cut bridge) on an
island in a canal North-North-West of Nieuport, and scored several direct hits
on this. A second sub-flight of three Skuas attacked two piers on the Nieuport
foreshore and again scored direct hits.
On the way back to Detling, the Skuas were attacked by Messerschmitt
Bf109s, and two of the dive bombers were shot down, though not without a

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Blackburn Skua & Roc

A detail picture of the tubular engine mount’s

construction. This was formed from steel tubes
with cast attachments at either end to allow them
to be bolted together to form a spaceframe. This
arrangement tended to mean the engine was often
torn from the firewall in crashes. (BAE Systems)

A rare shot of the Fairey pillar

machine gun mounting in the Skua
rear cockpit. When the gun was not
in use the barrel rested in the recess
that can be seen in the rear fuselage,
and the pivoting mounting allowed
the gun to be swung upwards and
back into a position to cover the rear

of the aircraft. The gun

pictured is a Lewis MkIIIE,
but many crews unof-
ficially procured Vickers
‘K’ Gas Operated machine
guns. The rear canopy
had to be swung forward
to allow the gun to be
operated. (BAE Systems)

118
 Blackburn Skua & Roc
A close up of the interior
structure of Skua L2940
where it is displayed
at the Fleet Air Arm
Museum. (Author)

A close-up of L2940’s
propeller spinner, also
showing the reduction
gear casing. (Author)

Stencils on L2940’s port

wing. These can clearly
be seen despite 35 years
submerged beneath Lake
Grotli where the Skua force
landed in 1940. (Author)
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 Blackburn Skua & Roc

146
Skua L2925, which was shot down on the 14th May 1940 while being flown by Lieutenant William Paulet Lucy. Lucy was the Fleet Air Arm’s first ‘ace’ with
seven shared victories, and the Distinguished Service Order after leading the squadron in the sinking of the Könisgberg on the 10th April 1940. Lucy and his
observer, Lieutenant Michael Hanson, were killed.
Bottom: Skua L2928 was reputed to be one of the original aircraft to form 801 Squadron at Donibristle in April 1939, but most known photographs show the
aircraft in the scheme worn by Fleet Air Arm advanced trainers - extra dark sea grey and dark slate grey upper surfaces (with a low demarcation unlike the earlier
naval scheme) and sky undersides. This suggests the aircraft passed to a second-line squadron.
 Above: This unidentified Roc was photographed at Eastleigh in late 1939 or early 1940, and appears to be in an all-over black colour scheme in common
with several other aircraft including Skuas and Gladiators, but retaining Type A roundels on fuselage and wing undersides. The reason for the colour scheme
is unknown.
Below: Roc L3084 was captured in a pre-war photo-shoot. The first Rocs left the factory in the same all-over silver scheme as all Skuas, though most were
camouflaged by Boulton Paul where they were built. L3084 displayed some variations on the standard silver scheme with Type A1 fuselage roundels instead
of type A, and an unusual full-height, narrow chord fin flash.

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Blackburn Skua & Roc