Blackburn production and the narrow window for a 1918 raid

Sopwith designed and developed the aircraft, while Blackburn's manufacturing experience supplied production machines. The first Blackburn-built Cuckoo arrived in May 1918, too late to generate an operational strike before the Armistice. The requirement had been considered earlier, but intervening demands that included the Battle of Jutland delayed the programme. An earlier start by four or five months might have enabled a raid on Wilhelmshaven in early 1918, perhaps even at night against ships whose crews had little reason to expect an aerial attack. A successful Royal Naval Air Service operation on that scale could also have strengthened the Navy's case for retaining control of naval aviation when the Royal Air Force was formed.