{"id":18482066,"date":"2026-08-31T11:17:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T09:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T11:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T09:18:12","slug":"blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackburn Roc: The Fighter That Couldn&rsquo;t Shoot Forwards"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Imagine a fighter aircraft with four machine guns &mdash; and not one of them able to fire straight ahead. That was the Blackburn Roc. Its guns lived in a powered turret behind the pilot, so to shoot down an enemy the Roc had to fly alongside it, not at it. It is regularly voted one of the worst fighters ever built.<\/p><p>And yet the idea behind it was not stupid at all. In fact, the strange logic of the Roc points straight at the way the most advanced air-to-air missiles work today.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px 24px;margin:24px 0;border-radius:8px;font-size:15px;line-height:1.7\"><strong style=\"font-size:17px\">Kurzinfo<\/strong><br><strong>Flugzeug:<\/strong> Blackburn B-25 Roc, Fleet Air Arm turret fighter<br><strong>R\u00fcstung:<\/strong> Four .303 machine guns in a powered dorsal turret &mdash; no forward-firing guns<br><strong>H\u00f6chstgeschwindigkeit:<\/strong> Just 223 mph &mdash; slower than the Skua it was based on<br><strong>Gebaut:<\/strong> 136<br><strong>Kampfbilanz:<\/strong> One confirmed kill (a Ju 88, 29 May 1940)<br><strong>Schicksal:<\/strong> Relegated to target-towing and air-sea rescue; gone by 1943<\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A fighter built around a turret<\/h2>\r\n<p>In 1935 the British Air Ministry issued a specification for a carrier-based &ldquo;turret fighter&rdquo; for the Fleet Air Arm. Blackburn offered a version of its Skua dive bomber fitted with a powered four-gun turret &mdash; the same turret-fighter idea as the RAF&rsquo;s Boulton Paul Defiant. The result, the Roc, carried four .303 Browning machine guns in that turret and nothing fixed to fire forward. It kept the Skua&rsquo;s roughly 900-horsepower Bristol Perseus radial and its dive brakes, and could even lug a pair of 250-lb bombs.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iP3sqV-zBy0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=573269417  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:XVBn.d011\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/blackburn-roc-turret.jpg\" alt=\"Blackburn Roc showing its dorsal gun turret\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The Blackburn Roc carried its entire armament &mdash; four machine guns &mdash; in a powered turret behind the cockpit. Photo: Charles Daniels Collection \/ Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The 223 mph problem<\/h2>\r\n<p>The trouble was weight and drag. Bolting a heavy powered turret and a second crewman onto a dive bomber that was never fast to begin with produced an aircraft that struggled to reach 223 mph &mdash; slower even than the Skua it came from, and hopelessly outpaced by the single-seat fighters it would meet. The authorities actually considered cancelling it, but fear of disrupting factory lines as war loomed kept it in production, and it limped into service late in 1939.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;The Skua would provide some sterling service in the first years of the war. Its turreted sibling was largely a lemon.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\">Ed Nash, aviation historian &mdash; &ldquo;Military Matters&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">One kill, then the sidelines<\/h2>\r\n<p>The Roc&rsquo;s war record is mercifully short. It tried and failed to intercept German raiders over the fleet anchorage at Scapa Flow, saw thankless service over Norway in 1940, and was thrown into the desperate air cover over the Dunkirk evacuation. There, on 29 May 1940, a Roc of 806 Squadron was credited with shooting down a Junkers Ju 88 &mdash; the type&rsquo;s first and only confirmed air-to-air victory.<\/p><p>By September 1940 it had been quietly pulled from the front line. Rocs finished the war towing targets, flying air-sea rescue, and in some cases sitting on airfields with their engines removed, used simply as fixed anti-aircraft gun positions. The last was struck off in 1943.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=2056315815  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:XVBn.d011\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/defiant-turret-gunner.jpg\" alt=\"Gunner entering a Boulton Paul Defiant turret, 1940\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">An RAF air gunner climbs into the powered turret of a Boulton Paul Defiant in 1940 &mdash; the Roc used the same turret-fighter concept. Photo: Imperial War Museum \/ Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The clever idea behind the bad aeroplane<\/h2>\r\n<p>So why build it at all? Because the turret solved a genuinely hard problem. A conventional fighter with fixed forward guns has to aim ahead of a turning target, at empty air where the enemy will be when the bullets arrive &mdash; deflection shooting, which is fiendishly difficult. A trainable turret lets a dedicated gunner point the guns wherever the target actually is, while the pilot concentrates on flying.<\/p><p>This &ldquo;no-allowance&rdquo; shooting had a real pedigree: British pilots used angled Lewis guns to devastating effect in the First World War, and the Germans would later bolt upward-firing cannon to night fighters under the name Schr&auml;ge Musik to kill bombers from below. The very same principle &mdash; aiming a weapon away from where the aircraft is pointed &mdash; is how modern off-boresight missiles work, their seekers slaved to the pilot&rsquo;s helmet. The Roc was designed for a specific niche too: chasing off enemy scouts shadowing the fleet before ships had radar, and escorting slow Swordfish torpedo bombers as a flying anti-aircraft battery. On the drawing board it made sense. Then radar and fast monoplanes made it obsolete almost overnight.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;A whole bunch of interesting theories and doctrine personified, it was let down by the reality that warfare requires flexibility.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\">Ed Nash, aviation historian &mdash; on the Blackburn Roc<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bCx_H5ODyxI\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p>That is the real lesson of the Roc. It was a genuinely bad fighter &mdash; too slow, too specialised, obsolete the day it entered service. But it was not a stupid one. It was a clever answer to the wrong decade, and the idea at its heart outlived the aeroplane by eighty years.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OJEDfFXodhQ\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p style=\"font-style:italic;color:#777;font-size:14px\">Sources: Ed Nash&rsquo;s Military Matters; Wikipedia; BAE Systems Heritage; Naval Encyclopedia; John Dell (dingeraviation.net).<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">\u00c4hnliche Beitr\u00e4ge<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/boulton-paul-defiant-turret-fighter\/\">The Boulton Paul Defiant: The RAF&rsquo;s Turret Fighter<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/blackburn-blackburn-hasslichster-flottenbeobachter\/\">The Blackburn Blackburn: The Ugliest Aircraft Ever?<\/a><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Imagine a fighter aircraft with four machine guns &mdash; and not one of them able to fire straight ahead. That was the Blackburn Roc. Its guns lived in a powered turret behind the pilot, so to shoot down an enemy the Roc had to fly alongside it, not at it. It is regularly voted one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":18481460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18482066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Blackburn Roc: The Fighter That Couldn&rsquo;t Shoot Forwards<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Blackburn Roc kept all its guns in a turret and could not fire forwards. Called one of WWII&rsquo;s worst fighters &mdash; but the idea was ahead of its time.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blackburn Roc: The Fighter That Couldn&rsquo;t Shoot Forwards\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Blackburn Roc kept all its guns in a turret and could not fire forwards. Called one of WWII&rsquo;s worst fighters &mdash; but the idea was ahead of its time.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-31T09:17:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-31T09:18:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:XVBn.d011\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/blackburn-roc-featured.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"509\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\"},\"headline\":\"Blackburn Roc: The Fighter That Couldn&rsquo;t Shoot Forwards\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-31T09:17:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-31T09:18:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":859,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/blackburn-roc-featured.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"History &amp; Legends\",\"Military Aviation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\\\/\",\"name\":\"Blackburn Roc: The Fighter That Couldn&rsquo;t Shoot Forwards\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/blackburn-roc-featured.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-31T09:17:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-31T09:18:12+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Blackburn Roc kept all its guns in a turret and could not fire forwards. Called one of WWII&rsquo;s worst fighters &mdash; but the idea was ahead of its time.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/blackburn-roc-featured.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/blackburn-roc-featured.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":509,\"caption\":\"Blackburn Roc turret fighter prototype L3057 in 1939\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blackburn Roc: The Fighter That Couldn&rsquo;t Shoot Forwards\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\",\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Connor Kerr\"},\"description\":\"Connor Kerr writes MiGFlug\u2019s long-form features \u2014 aviation history, how-it-works explainers and the stories behind the headlines.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/author\\\/connorkerr\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Blackburn Roc: The Fighter That Couldn&rsquo;t Shoot Forwards","description":"The Blackburn Roc kept all its guns in a turret and could not fire forwards. Called one of WWII&rsquo;s worst fighters &mdash; but the idea was ahead of its time.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"Blackburn Roc: The Fighter That Couldn&rsquo;t Shoot Forwards","og_description":"The Blackburn Roc kept all its guns in a turret and could not fire forwards. Called one of WWII&rsquo;s worst fighters &mdash; but the idea was ahead of its time.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/","og_site_name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-08-31T09:17:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-31T09:18:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":509,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:XVBn.d011\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/blackburn-roc-featured.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Connor Kerr","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Connor Kerr","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/"},"author":{"name":"Connor Kerr","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9"},"headline":"Blackburn Roc: The Fighter That Couldn&rsquo;t Shoot Forwards","datePublished":"2026-08-31T09:17:49+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-31T09:18:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/"},"wordCount":859,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:XVBn.d011\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/blackburn-roc-featured.jpg","articleSection":["History &amp; Legends","Military Aviation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/","name":"Blackburn Roc: The Fighter That Couldn&rsquo;t Shoot Forwards","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:XVBn.d011\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/blackburn-roc-featured.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-31T09:17:49+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-31T09:18:12+00:00","description":"The Blackburn Roc kept all its guns in a turret and could not fire forwards. Called one of WWII&rsquo;s worst fighters &mdash; but the idea was ahead of its time.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:XVBn.d011\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/blackburn-roc-featured.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:XVBn.d011\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/blackburn-roc-featured.jpg","width":1280,"height":509,"caption":"Blackburn Roc turret fighter prototype L3057 in 1939"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/blackburn-roc-turret-fighter-fleet-air-arm\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blackburn Roc: The Fighter That Couldn&rsquo;t Shoot Forwards"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","name":"Afterburner \u2013 MiGFlugs Magazin","description":"F\u00fcr alle, die sich f\u00fcr das Fliegen von Milit\u00e4rjets und verwandte Luftfahrtthemen interessieren.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9","name":"Connor Kerr","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Connor Kerr"},"description":"Connor Kerr schreibt die l\u00e4ngeren Artikel f\u00fcr MiGFlug \u2013 Luftfahrtgeschichte, Erkl\u00e4rungen zur Funktionsweise der Luftfahrt und die Geschichten hinter den Schlagzeilen.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/author\/connorkerr\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18482066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18482066"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18482066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18482264,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18482066\/revisions\/18482264"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18481460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18482066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18482066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18482066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}