Home > Blackburn Roc
| Blackburn Roc
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| Description
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| Role | Carrier-borne fighter & dive bomber
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| Crew | 2
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| First Flight | December 23 1938
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| Entered Service | February 1940
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| Manufacturer | Blackburn Aircraft Ltd
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| Dimensions
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| Length | 35 ft 7 in | 10.85 m
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| Wingspan | 46 ft | 14.02 m
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| Height | 12 ft 1 in | 3.68 m
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| Wing area | ft² | m²
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| Weights
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| Empty | lb | kg
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| Loaded | 8,800 lb | 3,992 kg
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| Maximum takeoff | lb | kg
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| Powerplant
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| Engines | Bristol Perseus XII radial
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| Power | 900 hp | 671 kW
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| Performance
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| Maximum speed | 196 mph | 315 km/h
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| Combat range | 610 miles | 982 km
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| Service ceiling | 15,200 ft | 4,633 m
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| Armament
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| Guns | 4 x 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in dorsal turret
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| Bombs | 8 x 30 lb (13.6 kg) bombs
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The Blackburn Roc was a World War II-era Fleet Air Arm fighter. Its service life was brief as the aircraft's design was quickly rendered obsolete. The Roc was a "fighter" development of the Blackburn Skua dive bomber but used the same flawed tactical concept as the Boulton Paul Defiant in that its sole armament was four 0.303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns in a powered dorsal turret. The weight of the turret made the Roc slower than the Skua and so it was ironic that the Roc probably performed best as a dive bomber.
The Roc was designed to be fitted with floats and four float plane prototypes were built. The first crashed but modifications made the remaining three flyable, however the concept was not pursued.
In all, 136 Rocs were built by Boulton Paul and served alongside Skuas in two land-based squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm between February 1940 and August 19411941 is also the title of a Steven Spielberg movie made in 1979 see 1941 (film). Events January January 6 Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address. January 10 Lend-Lease is introduced into the United St. During the British campaign in Norway a small contingent of Rocs travelled with 800 and 803 squadrons on board the HMS Ark RoyalCareer Laid down: 16 September 1935 Launched: 13 April 1937 Commissioned: 16 December 1938 Fate:torpedoed by U-81 on 13 November 1941. Sunk 14 November 1941 Class:Ark Royal Class General Characteristics Displacement:22,000 tons Length:800 feet (244 m) Bea.
Finally the Roc was relegated to training and target-towing roles until by 19431943 is the common year starting on Friday. Events January January 4 End of term for Culbert Olson, 29th Governor of California. He is succeeded by Earl Warren. January 11 The United States and United Kingdom give up territorial rights in China. January 1 it was withdrawn from service.
British fighter aircraft 1930-1939
Carrier-based aircraft
