The Royal Navy's search for a true dive-bombing capability differed from RAF assumptions about heavy and light bombers making much shallower attacks. Aircraft such as Blenheim, Battle, Wellesley, and Whitley were not built around the same accuracy problem as a naval dive bomber. The Skua was an overloaded but serious attempt to combine reconnaissance, fighter, and dive-bomber duties. The comparison separates a weapon-delivery label from the airframe structure, dive angle, and accuracy demands behind it.
Notable Point · 9:33-11:44
Glide bombing versus naval dive bombing
A comparison of proposed RAF and Fleet Air Arm types clarifies why shallow glide bombing was not the same problem as a steep naval dive attack.