Blackburn Roc Country: UK Type: Dive bomber Manufacturer: Blackburn Service: 1939 - 1943 First Flight: 23 December 1938 Production: 136

The Blackburn B-25 Roc was a British Second World War-era Fleet Air Arm fighter aircraft designed by Blackburn Aircraft Ltd. It took its name from the mythical bird of the tales of the Arabian Nights, the Roc.

The Roc was a fighter development of the Blackburn Skua dive bomber using the same turret fighter 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. While Blackburn designed the Roc, detail work and all 136 production aircraft were built by Boulton Paul.

In practice the weight of the turret made the Roc even slower than the already slow – for fighter purposes – Skua, and the Roc eventually found its niche as a dive bomber.

Although intended for carrier use, Rocs only served alongside Skuas in two land-based squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm between February 1940 and August 1941. During the Allied campaign in Norway a small contingent of Rocs travelled with 800 and 803 squadrons on board the HMS Ark Royal. Afterward, the Roc was relegated to training and target-towing roles until 1943 when the type was withdrawn from service.

General characteristics