SKUA! The Royal Navy's Dive-Bomber

by Peter C. Smith

The Blackburn Skua was the first monoplane to be designed and built for the Royal Navy in the 1930s. As a result of continued debate, it became a compromise between the Navy’s desire for a carrier-based dive-bomber and RAF’s preference for a fighter. Despite being the first to shoot down a Luftwaffe aircraft in World War II, early operations in Norway found the type woefully inadequate as a fighter.

As a dive-bomber, the Royal Navy put the design to good use from the outset of WWII. It was involved with the hunt for the Graff Spee, sunk the major warship Koln, suffered with great loss in an attack on the Scharnhorst, helped to keep the German advance at bay during the Dunkirk evacuation and attacked the French rogue battleship Richelieu in the Mediterranean.

This book relates how the final design was created, how the dive-bombing technique was developed and perfected by naval pilots and traces the wartime operational career of the type with many first-hand accounts.

Genres: Aviation

272 pages, Hardcover

First published March 28, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Born Peter Charles Smith in North Elmham, Norfolk, in 1940, eldest son of Ernest & Eileen. Educated at Hamonds School, Swaffham. Married Patricia nee Ireson 1963. Two children, son Paul David and daughter Dawn Tracey.

Editor Balfour Books, Cambridge; Cape Sun, London; World War II Investigator, London.

After living in London, Kent and Cambridge now resides in a north-Bedfordshire village with his wife and Annie the Black Labby.

Reviews

[JD · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched book about the development and operational service of the Blackburn Skua dive-bomber. It is not the most enthralling read and is packed with loads of details, and full of inspiring stories about the brave young men of the RN and RNVR who flew these planes into combat. Recommended if you are interested in Fleet Air Arm dive-bombing and fighter operations during the early stages of World War 2.

[David Patton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for aviation buffs

Very thorough, but somewhat boring of a not very good airplane. Author included too many lists of every person who worked on, flew, repaired, saw, or heard of the skua. The Brits would fared better trying to get USN divebombers and crews.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Skua’ is a book that will appeal to a rather narrow audience, and this is both a help and a hindrance to the text. Because the author has written a history of one of the more obscure British aircraft of WW2 that will find its readership among military aviation buffs he has had to meet their expectations and requirements. So, unlike say a generic history of warplanes or more famous types, ‘Skua’ is incredibly detailed. Almost every aspect of the Blackburn Skua’s history is outlined, thus doing what the hard core aviation buffs may want, but also diminishing the book’s readability for less demanding readers.

As I would like to think I fall between those two stools of expertise, ‘Skua’ does meet most of my reading expectations. In fact, at times Smith has over-delivered, and his incredibly extensive accounting of the type’s construction and service left me a bit disengaged. However, when it came to key points in the Skua’s history, such as the specifications for the type, its service in the Norwegian campaign of 1940, and the personal testimonies of those who flew in it, Smith presents an informative history. Without evangelising so to speak in favour of the Skua Smith does the plane and its crews the considerable service of detailing how much work was done with the plane.

In summary ‘Skua’ is a book that I can heartily recommend to anyone fascinated with the type, Fleet Air Arm operations in WW2 or naval aviation history in general. It is not a great book, but it does deliver on its premise.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read about the plane, but sometimes felt like it skipped information