United Kingdom's Blackburn B-25 Roc fighter¹

Blackburn B-25 Roc fighter:

Design

The Blackburn B-25 Roc was the fighter bomber version of the Blackburn Skua.¹ The Roc was designed by G. E. Petty.¹

The Roc was of all metal construction.¹

Armament

The main armament of the Roc was a Boulton Paul Type A Mk II powered turret that was at the rear of the cockpit area.¹

Prototype

No prototype was produced.¹

Production

An order for 136 Rocs was placed on April 28, 1937.¹

The first production aircraft flew on December 23, 1938.^1,2

• Total: 136²

Variants

• Roc:
• Roc ?: Several early models had Shark floats attached.¹ Max speed 178 mph / 286 kph at 6,000' / 1,830 m.¹

Usage

Operational service was brief as it was found to not be up to performance.¹ Second line land based FAA squadrons received the Roc.¹

	Blackburn B-25 Roc1
Type	Carrier fighter bomber1 Carrier fighter2
Crew	21,2
Engine (Type)	Bristol Perseus XIII1,2
Cylinders	Radial1, 91,2
Cooling
HP	8301, 9052
Propeller blades	32
Dimensions
Span	46'1,2 14.02 m1,2
Length	35'2, 35' 7"1 10.67 m2, 10.84 m1
Height	12' 1"1,2 3.68 m1,2
Wing area	310 ft2 1 28.8 m2 1
Weight
Empty	6,124 lb1,2 2,778 kg1,2
Loaded	7,950 lb1, 8,800 lb2 3,606 kg1, 3,992 kg2
Performance
Speed	196 mph2 315 kph2
Speed @ 10,000' / 3,050 m	223 mph1 359 kph1
Climb	1,130'/minute1, 1,500'/minute2 5.74 m/second1, 457 m/minute2
Service ceiling	18,000'2 5,485 m2
Range	610 miles1, 810 miles2 982 km1, 1,303 km2
Armament
Rear turret	4: 7.7 mm Browning MGs1 4: 0.303" MG2
Bombs under wings	8: 30 lb2 8: 14 kg2

Sources:

1. The Great Book of Fighters, William Green, Gordon Swanborough, 1994
2. Aircraft of WWII, Stewart Wilson, 1998

| | |

---