The Fairey Barracuda: A modern bomber for the Royal Navy

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
09/20/2017 at 11:35 • Filed to: planes you've (probably) never heard of, wingspan, Planelopnik

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From the Planes You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of Department of Wingspan , we bring you the Fairey Barracuda .

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(Key Archive via key.aero)

When the Royal Navy entered WWII, its primary carrier-based attack aircraft looked like it would have been more at home in the previous war. The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a biplane nicknamed the Stringbag, nevertheless took part in some of the most important naval battles of the war, and became famous for is role in the sinking of the German battleship !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Though the Swordfish continued to do yeoman’s work throughout the conflict, it was clear that the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) needed to find a replacement, one that was more rugged and more powerful, a modern bomber for the modern era. Thus, the Swordfish was replaced by another pelagic predator, the Barracuda.

(Fleet Air Arm)

The Barracuda was the first FAA monoplane dive/torpedo bomber and the first to be built entirely from metal. Compared to its predecessor, it was a significantly larger aircraft and featured a shoulder-mounted cantilever wing with special !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to control the aircraft in a dive. The fuselage held a three-man crew seated in tandem, and windows placed in the side of the fuselage improved downward visibility. The Barracuda was initially powered by a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! 30 engine turning a three-bladed propeller, but that engine proved to be underpowered as the Barracuda gained weight, and the Mk II variant received a more powerful Merlin 32 turning a four-bladed propeller. This became the definitive variant, with nearly 1,700 produced. The Mk III variant added radar for antisubmarine warfare (ASW) missions, and the Mk V variant introduced a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! engine, though this variant was only built in small numbers.

Barracuda Mk II (Royal Navy)

The Barracuda entered service in 1943 in the North Atlantic, eventually equipping 23 squadrons and serving from Norway to the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific. Armed with two .303 !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! machine guns in the rear cockpit and carrying a single 1,620-pound torpedo or 1,800 pounds of depth charges or 1,500 pounds of bombs, the Barracuda took part in the landings at Salerno, Italy in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and is best known for its role in the attack on the German battleship !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Though the Barracuda proved its mettle in combat, it did have its problems. As development progressed, the requirements for a simple dive/torpedo bomber evolved and more and more equipment was added, greatly increasing the Barracuda’s weight. Thus, even with the more powerful Merlin 32 engine, it was not particularly fast, and was susceptible to fighter interception. Even experienced pilots were known to crash into the sea when the dive brakes were improperly retracted, and leaks in the cockpit hydraulic pressure gauge caused hydraulic fluid, which contained ether, to spray in the pilot’s face, leading to a loss of consciousness and crash. Oxygen masks were mandated in 1945.

A Barracuda makes a rocket-assisted takeoff from HMS Trumpeter during WWII (Royal Navy)

The Barracuda continued to serve the FAA into the 1950s, and a total of 2,607 of all Marks was produced, the most of any single type ever ordered by the Royal Navy. Despite these numbers, however, not a single complete example survives today. In the 1970s, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! undertook the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to rebuild a Barracuda from parts scavenged from all over the world. They currently have a nose, center section and wing components, and recently completed a rebuilt tail section from a mixture of original and remanufactured parts. Unfortunately, funding difficulties continue, and it is unknown when, or even if, the project will be completed.

Barracuda Mk II (the-blueprints.com)

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More Planes You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of

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If you enjoy these posts, please join in the conversation and let me know. If you missed an episode, you can find them all at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Other aircraft also-rans can be found at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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DISCUSSION (11)

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > ttyymmnn
09/20/2017 at 12:00

It’s amazing with that many produced that it’s challenging to make even one complete example!

Also the ether spray in the face, that’s a scary thought on top of the harrows of battle.

ttyymmnn > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
09/20/2017 at 12:04

We look back today with nostalgia, but in 1959 they were just so much scrap metal to be turned into new aircraft.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn
09/20/2017 at 12:44

I just spent way too much time learning about different kinds of flaps....

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck
09/20/2017 at 12:49

I started going down that rabbit hole while writing this and finally punted to “the flaps help.” Pretty fascinating stiff, though.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn
09/20/2017 at 12:57

Kinja'd!!!

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck
09/20/2017 at 13:11

THE U AND THE I ARE NEXT TO EACH OTHER! I need auto context correct along with my auto spelling correct.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn
09/20/2017 at 13:41

Happens to me all the time. I’m not sure which made me laugh more, the original mistake or the response! :)

The Compromiser > ttyymmnn
09/20/2017 at 20:39

I have actually heard of the Barracuda. I don’t remember where, but I have. I’m such a dork.

ttyymmnn > The Compromiser
09/20/2017 at 20:43

I’m really not that surprised. They made so many of them. I was looking through one of my WWII aviation books and came across it, and it was one that I had never heard of. So I wrote about it and learned something myself!

The Compromiser > ttyymmnn
09/20/2017 at 20:53

So far it’s the only one! Keep up the work!

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
09/21/2017 at 00:19

Lots of use around salt water doesn’t help.