This book is on two very similar aircraft, the Blackburn Skua and the Roc turret fighter that was developed from it. The Skua was the FAA's attempt at combining a fighter with a dive bomber and for the job it was originally intended, it would have worked quite well in those terms. However as it was utilized, it was never really given much of a chance as a fighter and its dive bombing abilities were not truly appreciated, despite its successes in that area. Instead, it was hurried out of FAA duties by 1941 or so by the Fulmar, itself not a very good fighter, and relegated to second line duties. Too bad as the FAA had a quite capable dive bomber had it decided to keep it for that role.

The Roc was an adaptation of the Fulmar into a turret fighter. Like the RAF's Defiant, it was not much of a success, though unlike what many think, the Roc did see active service and serve from the decks of the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers. This is because each Skua squadron was assigned a Roc or two and they undoubtedly saw action during the Dunkirk evacuation along side their Skua contemporaries.

This book carries on in the usual vein of Mushroom Model Publications books with an opening section that includes a full history of the Skua, then the Roc with all its differing variants. Then there is an operational history section covering its various combat actions and later usage. Throughout all of this are a number of photographs of various aircraft, many of which have not been published before. In the next section, which is generally a details section, the book has had to rely on contemporary photos and drawings as there is not a complete Skua or Roc in any museum. There are some artifacts, such as a complete cockpit section and the remains of one pulled from the water. There is also one that has been recently found in a Norwegian fiord that appears to be quite complete, but that has still to be recovered and full restoration started.

The final section has 17 pages of full color profiles of various aircraft. For the modeler, there have been a number of kits in 1/72 and 1/48 scale so the types are available should you wish to have a miniature on your shelves.

In all, another superlative book from the folks at MMP and one that you will find both fascinating and useful.

November 2007

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