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 seabird.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Retired 1941 (withdrawn from front line)
March 1945 (withdrawn from other duties)[1]
Primary user Fleet Air Arm
Number built 192
Variants Blackburn Roc
VariantsSkua Mk.I : two prototypes. Powered by the Bristol Mercury, it had distinctive fairings to the engine cowling over the tappet valves of the Mercury. The first prototype, K5178, had a much shorter nose while K5179, the second prototype, had a lengthened nose to improve longitudinal stability.
Skua Mk.II : Production aircraft powered by the sleeve valved Bristol Perseus. Long nose as per K5179 but with a shorter, smooth cowling. Two-seat fighter and dive bomber for the Royal Navy; 190 built by Blackburn at Brough Aerodrome.
General characteristicsCrew: 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)
PerformanceMaximum speed: 225 mph (195 kn, 360 km/h) at 6,500 ft (2,000 m)
Range: 800 mi (700 nmi, 1,300 km)
Service ceiling: 20,200 ft (6,150 m)
Wing loading: 26.4 lb/ft² (128 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.11 hp/lb (180 W/kg)
ArmamentGuns:
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 (227 kg) semi-armour piercing bomb or 1 × 250 lb (113 kg) semi-armour piercing/ General Purpose bomb and 4 × 40 lb (18 kg) bombs or 8 × 20 lb (9 kg) bombs
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