The Blackburn B.26 Botha was a British four-seat reconnaissance and torpedo bomber. It was built by Blackburn Aircraft at their factory at Dumbarton, Scotland, as a competitor to the Bristol Beaufort, and entered service with the RAF in 1939.
In service, the Botha proved to be severely underpowered and unstable and there were a number of fatal crashes in 1940. Both airframe and engine were subject to further development work, but it was decided to withdraw the type from front-line service. At this point, the Air Staff made the ill-advised decision to transfer the surviving aircraft to training units, which inevitably resulted in further casualties.
Some Bothas were converted to target tugs and re-designated TT Mk I.
The type was finally retired in September 1944. In total, 580 aircraft were built.
