Next, it turned out it was dangerously underpowered – the extra weight from suddenly having to carry an extra crew member meant the plane would have struggled to carry its intended torpedo armament. ![]() The first problem? The view from the crew compartment was so appalling that the aircraft was deemed useless as a recon plane. The Royal Navy refused to allow the Roc to fly off its carriers, and the aircraft only managed to shoot down one aircraft, a German Junkers bomber, in the entire war.īlackburn’s Botha, meanwhile, was a two-engined torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, which first flew in 1938. The weight of the turret meant the Roc was far too slow what’s more the guns wouldn’t fire properly unless the aircraft was flying in a straight line (try that in a dogfight). ![]() To that end, Blackburn decided to stick a four-machine-gun turret behind the pilot (the kind usually seen on multi-engined bombers) and take out any front-firing guns. Their Roc was intended to be a fleet defence fighter, protecting bombers and strike planes from enemy fighters, and keeping a watchful eye over friendly ships. Failures like Christmas's uniquely unflyable aircraft often overlooked some fairly simple rules…īritain’s now defunct aircraft maker Blackburn scored a double design-failure whammy in the 1940s. ![]() Just many of the world's most enduring designs share certain characteristics, the history of aviation is littered with disappointing designs.
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