The Martin-Baker Cormorant was the first dedicated dive bomber used by the Royal Navy and Allies.
Designed as a replacement for the ageing Blackburn Skua of the mid-1930s, it would carry over the Skua's Vickers Dive-bombing sight and introduce improved versions of the Skua's Zap flaps while retaining the internal division of two water-tight compartments beneath the pilot's and gunner's cockpits to provide sufficient buoyancy in the event of a forcing landing at sea.
Due to the size of RN and Empire aircraft carrier, folding wings were adopted.
The early versions could carry a 500-lb HE bomb for long range missions or a 1,000-lb bomb against large targets. Cormorants equipped with later variants of the Bristol Hercules engine could carry a 1,600-lb AP bomb designed for use against battleships and similarly armoured targets.
The Mark 3 Martin Baker Cormorants would adopt the features of the early Cormorants and replace the Skua's Zap flaps with large Fairey-Youngman flaps of the Fairey Barracuda and Boulton-Paul Sea Lance.
Variants[]
- Cormorant Mark 1: Initial variant powered by one 1,290hp Bristol Hercules 1 radial-piston engine with two 12.7mm MGs and two 7.7mm MGs
- Cormorant Mark 2: Improved Model powered by one 1,725hp Bristol Hercules 19 radial-piston engine with two 12.7mm MGs and two 7.7mm MGs
- Cormorant Mark 3: Redesigned Model powered by one 2,000hp Bristol Centaurus 1 radial-piston engine with two 20mm Cannon and two 12.7mm MGs
- SBF-1: Canadian built version of the Cormorant Mark 1, 50 built by Fairchild-Canada
- SBF-2: Canadian built version of the Cormorant Mark 2, 150 built by Fairchild-Canada.
- SBF-3: Canadian built version of the Cormorant Mark 3, 100 built by Fairchild-Canada.
- SBW-1: Canadian built version of the Cormorant Mark 1, 38 built by Canadian Car & Foundry company.
- SBW-2: Canadian built version of the Cormorant Mark 2, 413 built by Canadian Car & Foundry company.
- SBW-3: Canadian built version of the Cormorant Mark 3, 335 built (165 Cancelled) by Canadian Car & Foundry company.
