Baffin conversion preserves aircraft and squadron continuity

The Ripon's liquid-cooled engine imposed more maintenance than the increasingly mature air-cooled radial alternatives. Blackburn answered by fitting the Bristol Pegasus and converting ninety-five Ripons into Baffins rather than forcing the service to adopt an entirely new airframe. The converted aircraft equipped squadrons aboard Courageous, Furious, and Glorious in the Home and Mediterranean fleets. Their introduction also straddled the institutional shift from small numbered flights into the 810, 811, and 812 squadron structure. This combination of mechanical improvement and organizational continuity let crews and maintainers build on experience while interwar aircraft development continued at great speed.