The first monoplane torpedo bomber of the Fleet Air Arm, the Fairey Barracuda was designed in Britain as a three seat torpedo/bomber/reconnaissance aircraft, which began entering service in late 1943.
When first flown on 7th December, 1940, the first prototype Barracuda a cantilever shoulder-wing monoplane of all-metal construction, the foldable wings incorporating Fairey-Youngman trailing-edge flaps that gave the aircraft a much improved performance capability over its predecessors, the Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore. The fuselage accompanied a crew of three in tandem cockpits, enclosed by a long 'greenhouse' canopy; and housed the main units of the tailwheel landing gear when retracted.
Because of the high priority afforded to RAF fighters and bombers, the prototype did not fly until 29th June, 1941, and it was not until February 1942 that service trials and evaluation were completed. These showed the need for airframe strenthening which, together with the addition of equipment not included in the original specification, resulted in the Barracuda suffering from a weight problem that persisted through its service life. It seriously reduced take-off and climb performance and after 30 Barracuda Mk.Is had been built, introduction of the 1640 hp (1223-kW) Merlin 32 resulted in the redesignation to Barracuda Mk.II, which was the main production version. In all, 1688 Barracuda Mk.IIs were built by Fairey, Blackburn, Boulton Paul, and Westland.
The Barracuda TR.III was evolved to take a new ASV radar installation, with a blister radome beneath the rear fuselage. The prototype, converted from a Boulton Paul-built Barracuda Mk.II, first flew in 1943. Following orders placed that year, production of this version began in early 1944, built alongside Barracuda Mk.IIs, and 852 Barracuda TR.IIIs were manufactured by both Boulton Paul and Fairey. No fewer than 2,572 Barracudas of all marks were delivered to the FAA. The Barracuda began entering service in late 1943 with Fleet Air Arm units, and at one point the Fairey Barracuda equipped twenty-three first-line squadrons. It gained a measure of fame in attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz in the spring and summer of 1944 in Arctic Norway. It went on to serve with the British Pacific Fleet (BPF) as well as seeing some post-war service.
Service: With the Fleet Air Arm and RAF, French Fleet Air Arm and Dutch Fleet Air Arm.
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