Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:34:16-1:35:43

The Blackburn Skua hid a dive bomber inside a fighter requirement

A question about armor-piercing naval shells leads to the institutional compromise that produced the Blackburn Skua as a nominal fighter built around dive bombing.

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Question

Did the Royal Navy consider turning heavy naval shells into bombs for Japan, and did it have an aircraft able to deliver them?

Short answer

The Navy had dive-bombing aircraft, especially the Blackburn Skua, but a purpose-built bomb made more sense than converting a one-ton shell.

Notes

The Royal Navy already had aircraft able to dive-bomb, making conversion of a one-ton naval shell less attractive when a purpose-built bomb existed. Air Ministry resistance to a naval dive bomber encouraged the Navy to describe the two-seat Skua as a fighter even though its bombsight and release gear defined its real purpose. The resulting aircraft performed poorly as a fighter because the requirement concealed the mission it was actually designed to fly.