The US Navy's Vigilante decision is compared with a carrier-aircraft problem the Royal Navy faced before the Second World War. The Fairey Swordfish combined torpedo strike, spotting, and reconnaissance so that one type could cover three duties in a space-constrained air group. The Blackburn Skua attempted a different fighter and dive-bomber combination, but proved much stronger as a dive bomber than as a fighter. Multirole carrier aircraft conserve deck space and support capacity, although the chosen roles do not always combine equally well.
Notable Point · 31:54-32:41
The Swordfish and Skua as carrier multirole precedents
The RA-5C's retirement is compared with British efforts to combine torpedo, spotting, reconnaissance, fighter, and dive-bomber duties in fewer carrier airframes.