The Blackburn served with fleet spotter flights that were formally RAF units under the interwar single-air-service arrangement. Those small organizations preserved specialist skills even while control of naval aviation remained divided. Their later combinations helped form 820 and 822 Naval Air Squadrons. The lineage connects early fleet spotting to the hunt for Bismarck, Indian Ocean operations, and 820 Squadron's modern Merlin service.
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Fleet spotter flights became enduring naval squadrons
Blackburn-equipped RAF fleet spotter flights fed into 820 and 822 Naval Air Squadrons, linking interwar experiments to later carrier operations.