Blackburn B.44

The Blackburn B.44 was a British single-engined fighter designed by Blackburn Aircraft in 1942 to meet the requirements of Air Ministry Specification N.2/42. It is notable as a rare example of a flying boat fighter, built around the unique retractable hull that Blackburn had developed for its experimental B-20 flying boat. The Napier Sabre engine was to have been fitted in the nose of the upper fuselage half, with the armament carried in the wings. After Japan's early successes in the Pacific, a fighter able to operate from austere island sites with minimal infrastructure was a high priority, and N.2/42 called for a retractable-hull flying-boat fighter. Blackburn planned to reuse as much of the Firebrand structure as possible, with the fuselage split in two and the lower float-like half extending and retracting hydraulically. Engine supply difficulties and the Firebrand's serious control and stability shortcomings led to cancellation, and Saunders-Roe carried the concept further in the SR.A/1.