What did the Kangaroo do in its six months of war?

Short answer

Anti-submarine patrols with No. 246 Squadron RAF, based at Seaton Carew, County Durham, which had six months of war operations: they sank one submarine and damaged four others. On 28 August 1918, a Kangaroo spotted UC-70 submerged near Runswick Bay.

Published: November 5, 2026 · Updated: November 5, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

What did the Kangaroo do in its six months of war?

Eastern Grey Kangaroo Feeding editedEastern_Grey_Kangaroo_Feeding.jpg: Toby Hudson derivative work: Durova ( talk ) (CC BY SA), vía commons

A design scaled back before entering service

An earlier Blackburn design was never ordered, but the company developed from it a land-based version, the Blackburn R.T.1 Kangaroo. Test results were disappointing: the rear fuselage tended to twist and the aircraft suffered control problems, leading to the order being cut from 50 aircraft to 20, most of which were already partly built.

Six months of patrols

The Kangaroo entered service with No. 246 Squadron RAF, based at Seaton Carew in County Durham, which had six months of war operations, during which they sank one submarine and damaged four others.

UC-70, at Runswick Bay

UC-70 was spotted submerged on the seabed near Runswick Bay on 28 August 1918 by a Kangaroo flown by Lieutenant E. F. Waring. The submarine was badly damaged by the close explosion of a 520 lb (240 kg) bomb and was finished off by the destroyer HMS Ouse. By 1929 the last Kangaroo had already been withdrawn from service and scrapped.