Blackburn Roc The Blackburn B - 25 Roc was a British Second World War - era Fleet Air Arm fighter aircraft designed by Blackburn Aircraft Ltd . It took its name from the mythical bird of the tales of the Arabian Nights , the Roc . Derived from Blackburn ' s Skua and developed in parallel , the Roc differed in its adoption of a turret for its armament . Operationally , the Roc came to be viewed as inferior to existing aircraft , such as the Skua , and the type only had a brief frontline service . Design and development . On 31 December 1935 , the British Air Ministry issued Specification O . 30 / 35 for a carrier - based turret - armed fighter . Blackburn proposed a derivative of their Skua dive bomber , of which two prototypes had been ordered for the Fleet Air Arm earlier that year , while Boulton Paul proposed the P . 85 , a redesigned version of its land - based Defiant P . 82 turret fighter . Like the Skua on which it was based , Blackburn ' s B - 25 Roc was a two - seat low - wing cantilever monoplane of all metal construction . It was fitted with a retractable tailwheel undercarriage , while its wings folded for storage aboard aircraft carriers . It was powered by a single Bristol Perseus radial engine driving a three - bladed propeller . It used the same Boulton Paul power operated gun turret as the Defiant , with four . 303 in ( 7 . 7 mm ) Browning machine gun s . It retained the wing mounted dive brakes of the Skua , with bomb racks under each wing allowing two 250 lb ( 110 kg ) bombs and eight practice bombs to be carried . On 28 April 1937 , the Air Ministry placed an order for 136 Rocs . As Blackburn already had full order books for the Skua and the Botha torpedo bomber for the RAF , it was decided to sub - contract detailed design and production to Boulton Paul at Wolverhampton . The first flight by a Roc was on 23 December 1938 , While handling was acceptable , and better than that of the Skua , performance was poor , with a maximum speed of only . It had been already realised by some that this performance was inadequate , with the Fifth Sea Lord ( the Chief of Naval Air Services ) Alexander Ramsay suggesting that the Roc be abandoned in October 1938 . Production was allowed to continue , however , as cancellation would cause too much disruption for Boulton Paul , with work beginning on the aircraft ' s adaption to the target towing role . As well as its primary role as a carrier - based fighter , the Roc was also required to be capable of operating as a floatplane , with a conversion kit being designed to allow a set of floats from a Blackburn Shark to be fitted . The first example to be converted proved to be unstable , and crashed when being tested at Helensburgh in December 1939 . While the addition of an enlarged ventral fin solved the stability problems , the effects of the floats on the aircraft ' s performance was too great to be ignored , with maximum speed falling to only and plans to form a fighter squadron equipped with Roc floatplanes abandoned . Operational history . The Skua started to be issued to the Skua - equipped 800 and 803 Naval Air Squadron s late in 1939 , with three or four Rocs supplementing the squadrons ' Skuas . When 803 Squadron moved to Wick in northern Scotland in order top provide fighter cover to the Royal Navy ' s major base at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands , it took its Rocs with it , but they proved ineffective , being described as a ' constant hinderance ' by the squadron ' s commanding officer , who requested that they be replaced by more Skuas . During the Allied campaign in Norway a small contingent of Rocs travelled with 800 and 801 Naval Air Squadron s squadrons onboard ( 803 had abandoned its Rocs to become an all - Skua squadron ) . They were used to carry out combat air patrol s over the fleet , and again were of little use , showing inadequate performance to intercept German aircraft . Skuas and Rocs operated over the English Channel in the Summer of 1940 , including providing support for Operation Dynamo , and Operation Ariel , the evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk and other French ports . What was probably the Roc ' s sole confirmed victory occurred on 28 May 1940 when a patrolling 806 Naval Air Squadron Roc flown by pilot Midshipman A . G . Day , together with two Blackburn Skuas , intercepted five Junkers Ju 88 s which were attacking a convoy off Ostende in Belgium . Flying underneath the Junkers while the Skuas attacked from above , Midshipman Day ' s Roc destroyed one Ju 88 before returning safely to Detling . Rocs and Skuas of 801 Naval Air Squadron strafed and dive - bombed German E - boat s in Boulogne harbour on 12 June , damaging several E - boats , while on 20 June Skuas and Rocs were used to bomb gun emplacements at Cap Gris Nez . Finally , the Roc was relegated to Air Sea Rescue and target - towing roles until 1943 , when the type was withdrawn from service . However , until late 1944 , four non - airworthy Rocs were stationed at HMS " Daedalus " in Gosport , their turrets being used for anti - aircraft defence .