The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a WWII carrier-based aircraft designed for the British Fleet Air Arm as a fighter bomber, the combination of tasks resulted in an aircraft that was too heavy to be good at either and had an unacceptable loss rate, the surviving Blackburn Skuas had to be relegated to less arduous roles such as target towing and training in early 1941. The most notable claim to fame achieved by the Blackburn Skua was the first British confirmed kill of WW2 when three Blackburn Skuas launched from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, shot down a German Dornier Do 18 flying boat over the North Sea on the 26th of September 1939. Blackburn Skua Skua Mk. II Specifications: - Crew: Pilot and rear gunner
- Length: 35 ft 7 in (10.8 m)
- Wingspan: 46 ft 2 in (14.1 m)
- Height: 14 ft 2 in (4.3 m)
- Empty weight: 5,490 lb (2,490 kg)
- Loaded weight: 8,228 lb (3,730 kg)
- Engine: Single 905 hp (675 kW) Bristol Perseus XII radial engine
- Maximum speed: 225 mph (195 knots, 360 km/h) at 6,500 ft (2,000 m)
- Range: 800 mi (700 nm, 1,300 km)
- Service ceiling 20,200 ft (6,150 m)
Armament: - Four 0.303 in (7.7 mm) forward-firing Browning machine guns
- Single 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis or Vickers gun mounted in the rear cockpit
Bombs: Maximum of 500 lb of ordinance which normally consisted of:- - Single 500 lb (230 kg) semi-armour piercing bomb
- Single 250lb (115 kg) semi-armour piercing general Purpose bomb and four 40 lb bombs
- Single 250lb (115 kg) semi-armour piercing general Purpose bomb and eight 20 lb cooper bombs
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