Blackburn Shark
1933 torpedo bomber family
The Blackburn Shark was a carrier-borne torpedo bomber designed and built by the British aviation manufacturer Blackburn Aircraft. It was originally known as the Blackburn T.S.R., standing for "torpedo-spotter-reconnaissance", in reference to its intended roles. The Shark was the last of Blackburn's biplane torpedo bombers.
The prototype Shark performed its maiden flight on 24 August 1933, the first production aircraft was introduced to service during the following year. It was operated by the Fleet Air Arm, Royal Canadian Air Force, Portuguese Navy, and the British Air Observers' School. During the leadup to the 1939 war began the more capable Blackburn Shark was more complex to build so increased production went to its earlier rival the Fairey Swordfish. Despite this, numerous aircraft continued to be operated during the Second World War, largely being confined to secondary roles away from the front lines, such as training and target tug duties. Despite this, Sharks were repeatedly deployed in frontline roles during events such as the Dunkirk Evacuation and the Japanese invasion of British Malaya. During 1945, the final Sharks were withdrawn from service.
Design and development
Background
The Blackburn T.9 Shark has its origins within the early 1930s as a private venture by the company.
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This entry incorporates text from “Blackburn Shark” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.