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When the Blackburn Skua was removed from fleet service in 1941 the RN didn't have a monoplane dive bomber until mid-1943 when the Barracuda enters fleet wide service. Removing the Skua made sense, since RN CAGs were small in number and if you have single-role fighter, DB and TSR types, and if the TSR can also carry bombs for slight glide slope attacking, the DB has to go.
But if the Skua can be made into something more, perhaps it's worth keeping some onboard. We need it to be faster and with a higher bomb load. Basically the FAA needs a Douglas SBD Dauntless. What can we do to the Skua in a Mark III version to get it there? Our starting point is the Mark II Skua that was in service until 1941.
For starters, looking at these pics.... fix the aerodynamics. The vertical canopy has to go, and all the lumps and protrusions need to be smoothed out. What can we replace the 890hp Perseus with? Hercules is not ready, likely too big and never intended for single engine use. There was a 1,200 hp version of the Perseus, Bristol Perseus - Wikipedia
Just look at how streamlined the Japanese divebomber Yokosuka D4Y Suisei, first flown 1940 is in comparison.
I didn't realize the Skua was so large, until I saw the tiny crew.The Skua was a dead end in development terms - might as well investigate a new airframe altogether. It was a big aeroplane, bigger than the Suisei, which is quite svelte by comparison and is more of a contemporary with the Barracuda.
What about ditching some of the elements from the Skua's fighter role? Remove some or all of the forward armament. I'm not sure what else a fighter has that a DB doesn't need, maybe gunsights or some armour?Overall, other than trying some clean up of the body and maybe looking at a P&W or Wright Cyclone engine (if a vailable) I'm not really too sure what else could be done.
My ideal RN carrier is a faster and slightly longer Centaur class. Single hangar, skip the Majestic/Colossus and even the two Implacables. So it's Ark Royal to Illustrious/Indomitable to Centaur to Audacious.but that requires the two Implacable class carriers to be completed. The only way you're going to get more carriers available is to retain and modernise the 4 Iron Duke class battleships and Tiger and to build 5 Ark Royal type carriers instead of the King George V class battleships.
So you want the 1959 Hermes in 1941?My ideal RN carrier is a faster and slightly longer Centaur class. Single hangar, skip the Majestic/Colossus and even the two Implacables. So it's Ark Royal to Illustrious/Indomitable to Centaur to Audacious.
No, angled deck and deck edge lift are too far a leap for 1941.So you want the 1959 Hermes in 1941?
It's a result of design evolution, you won't get it by 1941. You might get an Ark Royal development with a deck edge lift.No, angled deck and deck edge lift are too far a leap for 1941.
Basically this, HMS Centaur, but with straight deck paint. Cheaper and faster to build than an AFD carrier, far more useful than a Majestic/Colossus CVL.
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Centaur is essentially a single level Ark Royal or an Illustrious without the armoured box. Nothing really evolutionary there. But I am suggesting the Centaurs follow the Illustrious, so when the four Illustrious/Indomitable start in 1937 the follow-on design should be Centaurs.It's a result of design evolution, you won't get it by 1941. You might get an Ark Royal development with a deck edge lift.
You've clearly never had to design anything in your life, it's a learning process, and when you look back you think, wow, that was either crap, or cobbled together.Centaur is essentially a single level Ark Royal or an Illustrious without the armoured box. Nothing really evolutionary there. But I am suggesting the Centaurs follow the Illustrious, so when the four Illustrious/Indomitable start in 1937 the follow-on design should be Centaurs.