AUBRY GRATTON COLLECTION
No. 8429. Blackburn B-25 Roc Mk.I (L3186) Royal Navy
Aeroplane Photo Supply (APS) Photo No. 2509

Blackburn B-25 Roc Mk.I

12/31/2008. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "The first RN FAA aircraft fitted with a power-driven gun turret, the two-seat carrier-based fighter Roc was derived by George Petty from the fighter dive-bomber Skua. The Boulton & Paul Type A dorsal gun turret was fitted with four 0.303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns/ The first three of 136 aircraft (L3057 to 3192) were built to Specification O.34/35 by Blackburn to Contract No 534401/36/C.206 of 28 April, 1937, while the balance was built to the same contract by Boulton & Paul, but to Specification 15/37.

Four aircraft were finished as floatplanes, L3057, L3059, L3060 and L3074, 21 were converted to target tugs. The first to fly was L3057 on December 23, 1938, the first to enter squadron service was L3062 on April 4, 1939, and the Roc was deregulated to training duties in June1940, while the last to be with drawn from use was L3191 in May 1944."


Created December 31, 2008