The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft. It was the first Royal Navy carrier-borne all-metal cantilever monoplane aircraft, as well as the first dive bomber in Fleet Air Arm (FAA) service. The aircraft took its name from the sea bird which 'divebombs' any potential predators that come too close to its nest. The Skua was designed during the mid-1930s to Specification O.27/34, and was a radical design for the era, combining the functions of a dive bomber and fighter. Its enclosed cockpit and monoplane configuration were obvious shifts from preceding FAA aircraft such as the Hawker Nimrod and Hawker Osprey biplanes. On 9 February 1937, the first prototype performed its maiden flight; it was ordered straight off the drawing board to accelerate its development. In November 1938, the Skua was introduced to FAA service; 33 aircraft were operational by the outbreak of the Second World War. During the early half of the conflict, the Skua was heavily involved in the Norwegian campaign and sank the German cruiser Königsberg, the first major warship sunk in war by air attack and by dive-bombers. It was present during the Battles of Narvik, the Dunkirk evacuation and also the early stages of the Mediterranean theatre. While a capable dive bomber, its poor top speed and rate of climb meant it was severely limited as a fighter aircraft. Despite this, Fleet Air Arm pilots achieved moderate success with the Skua, scoring numerous aerial victories during the Norwegian and Mediterranean campaigns, with at least one pilot making ace status with five victories. In 1941, the Skua was relegated from frontline operations, but continued to be operated in secondary roles, typically training and target tug duties, as late as March 1945. The Blackburn Skua was configured as a low-wing cantilever monoplane of all-metal construction Its fuselage drew on the design of the Blackburn Shark, an earlier biplane, making extensive use of flush-riveted Alclad. It was internally divided into two water-tight compartments beneath the pilot's and gunner's cockpits to provide sufficient buoyancy in the event of a forcing landing at sea For the same reason, the crew compartments were also watertight up to the edges of the cockpit. The fuselage was stressed to withstand catapult-assisted takeoffs and arrested landings aboard aircraft carriers; a hydraulic damping device was incorporated in the hook. The mainplane, both the structure and covering of which was also composed of Alclad, was built as three separate units. The twin-spar heavy centre section was bolted beneath the fuselage to form the bottom of the watertight compartment. The outer wing panels, which tapered in both plan and thickness, ended in detachable upswept tips and were sealed between the main spars to form additional watertight compartments. Recesses in the lower surface of the wing accommodated modified Zap flaps that were used to shorten takeoff runs, steepen glides, and limit the aircraft's speed during steep dives. Balanced ailerons were fitted, which used inset hinges with mass balance assistance. The number built was 192. For many more details, click here.
