The Blackburn Blackburn as an early Istar aircraft

The Blackburn Blackburn was an unusually specialized aircraft for fleet intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. It was meant to help coordinate aircraft, destroyers, cruisers, and the battle line in a whole-fleet battle. Its large working space let the crew use maps and take celestial observations, including for night reconnaissance. The modern ISTAR comparison shows that navies were already designing aircraft around information and coordination rather than strike alone.