Air Ministry doctrine turns the Skua into a compromise

The Blackburn Skua shows how inter-service procurement institutions can shape an aircraft as strongly as tactical need. The Royal Navy wanted an accurate carrier dive bomber, but it had to secure approval through an Air Ministry hostile to light- and dive-bomber programs. The RAF contained many viewpoints, while ministry leadership had been captured by advocates of strategic heavy bombing. Calling the design a fighter helped the Navy move it through that system. The result was an effective dive bomber with poor true-fighter performance. An earlier German guided-bomb threat would make interception the more urgent carrier role and change that requirement.