Blackburn Roc

The Blackburn Roc (company designation B-25) was a naval fighter aircraft designed and produced by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft. It took its name from the mythical bird of the tales of the Arabian Nights, the Roc. It was operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) and was active during the Second World War.
The Roc was designed to Air Ministry Specification O.30/35 and was derived from the Blackburn Skua dive-bomber/fighter and developed in parallel to it. Unlike the Skua, the Roc had its armament in a turret. A large proportion of the work was subcontracted to another aircraft manufacturer, Boulton Paul, which had also designed their own turret fighter, the Boulton Paul Defiant. On 23 December 1938, the prototype Roc performed its maiden flight. Testing soon revealed it to have a relatively low maximum speed of only 223 mph (194 kn; 359 km/h). The float plane version of the Roc was even slower, leading to the cancellation of plans to equip float plane squadrons with the type. Cancellation of the project was discussed but this move was dismissed largely due to the wider impact on aircraft production.
During April 1939, the conventional version of the Roc was brought into...