The Skua was the Royal navy’s first all-metal monoplane and a dive-bomber. This kind of bomber equipped most naval air forces at the beginning of World War Two but did not prove very successful and soon disappeared from service.

The Skua was a ground braking aeroplane for its time, introducing all-metal construction, monoplane wings, retractable undercarriage, flaps and variable pitch propeller to British naval aviation.

The prototype flew in February and the first of 190 machines began entering service with the Fleet Air Arm in October 1938.

In April 1940 16 Skuas attacked and sank the German cruiser Konigsberg but as the war continued they were found to be too slow and vulnerable and they were withdrawn from front line service by 1941.

This model represents a Skua in the camouflage colours used in 1941.

Novo(Frog) 1:72 kit with decals from kit and many scratch built alterations. Completed in May 2001.