The rear working space allowed navigators to take star shots during night reconnaissance. This was part of the aircraft's interwar operating concept rather than an improvised wartime addition. The feature fits a longer Royal Navy habit of maintaining night qualifications across its naval aviation force. The contrast with later specialist night units elsewhere helps explain how night capability became an institutional practice rather than a narrowly held skill.
Notable Point · 11:43-13:02
Night reconnaissance was built into Fleet Air Arm practice
Blackburn crews could take star sights at night, illustrating how night-flying practice entered British naval aviation well before the Second World War.