Fairey Barracuda The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier - borne torpedo - and dive bomber used during the Second World War , the first of its type used by the Royal Navy ' s Fleet Air Arm to be fabricated entirely from metal . It was introduced as a replacement for the Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore biplanes . It is notable for its role in attacking the German battleship " Tirpitz " and known for its ungainly appearance on the ground . Design and development . The Barracuda resulted from Air Ministry Specification S . 24 / 37 issued in 1937 for a monoplane torpedo bomber to meet Operational Requirement OR . 35 . Of the six submissions , the designs of Fairey Aviation and Supermarine ( Type 322 ) were selected and two prototypes of each ordered . The first Fairey prototype flew on 7 December 1940 . The Supermarine Type 322 first flew in 1943 but with the Barracuda already in production it did not progress further . The Barracuda was a shoulder - wing cantilever monoplane with an oval , all - metal fuselage . It had a retractable landing gear and non - retracting tailwheel . The hydraulically - operated main landing gear struts were of an " L " shape and retracted into a recess in the side of the fuselage , with the wheels held in the wing . A flush arrestor hook was fitted ahead of the tail wheel . The crew of three were in tandem under a continuous glazed canopy . The pilot had a sliding canopy and the other two crew members ' canopy was hinged . The two rear - crew had alternate locations in the fuselage , with the navigator having bay windows below the wings for downward visibility . The wings had large Fairey - Youngman flaps that doubled as dive brake s . Originally fitted with a conventional tail , flight tests suggested stability would be improved by mounting the stabiliser higher , similar to a T - tail , which was implemented on the second prototype . The Barracuda was originally intended to use the Rolls - Royce Exe X block , sleeve valve engine , but production of this powerplant was abandoned , which delayed the prototype ' s trials . The prototypes eventually flew with the lower - powered 12 - cylinder Vee type Rolls - Royce Merlin 30 engine ( 1 , 260 hp / 940 kW ) and a three - bladed de Havilland propeller . Further experience with the prototypes and the first production machines ( Barracuda Mk I ) revealed the aircraft to be underpowered as a result of the weight of extra equipment that had been added since the initial design . Only 30 Mk Is were built ( including five by Westland Aircraft ) , and used only for trials and conversion training . Replacing the Merlin 30 with the more powerful Merlin 32 ( 1 , 640 hp / 1 , 225 kW ) and a four - bladed propeller resulted in the definitive Barracuda Mk II variant of which 1 , 688 were manufactured ; by Fairey ( at Stockport and Ringway ) ( 675 ) , Blackburn Aircraft ( 700 ) , Boulton Paul ( 300 ) , and Westland ( 13 ) . The Mk II carried metric wavelength ASV II ( Air to Surface Vessel ) radar , with the Yagi - Uda antennae carried above the wings . The Barracuda Mk III was the Mk II optimised for anti - submarine work , with the metric wavelength ASV set replaced by a centimetric variant , the scanner for which was housed in a blister under the rear fuselage . 852 Mk IIIs were eventually produced ( 406 by Fairey , 392 by Boulton Paul ) . A total of 2 , 607 of all marks of Barracuda were built . The Barracuda Mk IV never left the drawing board ; the next and final variant was the Barracuda Mk V , in which the Merlin powerplant was replaced with the Rolls - Royce Griffon . The increased power and torque of the Griffon required various aerodynamic changes ; the vertical stabiliser was enlarged and the wing span was increased with the tips clipped . The Mk V , converted from a Mk II , did not take to the air until 16 November 1944 , and Fairey built only 37 before the war in Europe was over . Early Merlin 30 - powered Mk 1 Barracudas were underpowered and suffered from a poor rate of climb . Once airborne , however , the type proved easy to fly . Trials of the Mk 1 at Boscombe Down in October 1941 showed a weight of 12 , 820 lb ( 5 , 830 kg ) when equipped with 1 , 566 lb ( 712 kg ) torpedo ; at this weight the Mk 1 showed a maximum speed of 251 mph ( 405 km / h ) at 10 , 900 ft ( 3322 m ) , a climb to 15 , 000 ft ( 4572 m ) took 19 . 5 minutes , with a maximum climb rate of 925 fpm ( 4 . 7 m / s ) at 8 , 400 ft ( 2 , 560 m ) , and a 19 , 100 ft ( 5 , 822 m ) service ceiling . The later Mk II had a more powerful Merlin 32 with a 400 hp ( 300 kW ) increase in power . Boscombe Down testing of the Mk II in late 1942 , at 14 , 250 lb ( 6 , 477 kg ) showed a climb to 10 , 000 ft ( 3048 m ) in 13 . 6 minutes , with a maximum climb rate of 840 fpm ( 4 . 3 m / s ) at 5 , 200 ft and an effective ceiling of 15 , 000 ft ( 4 , 572 m ) . Further testing at Boscombe Down in June 1943 , showed a maximum range , with either a 1 , 630 lb ( 750 kg ) torpedo or a single 2 , 000 lb bomb ( 909 kg ) , of 840 statute miles ( 1 , 355 km ) , and a practical range of 650 statute miles ( 1 , 048 km ) , while carrying 6 x 250 lb ( 114 kg ) bombs reduced the range to 780 miles ( 1 , 258 km ) and 625 miles ( 1 , 008 km ) , respectively . Pilots came to appreciate the powerful flaps / airbrakes ; carrier landings were simple due to the flaps and good visibility from the cockpit . Retracting the airbrakes at high speeds , whilst simultaneously applying rudder caused a sudden change in trim which could throw the aircraft into an inverted dive . This proved fatal on at least five occasions during practice torpedo runs , but the problem was identified , and appropriate pilot instructions issued , before the aircraft entered carrier service . During the earlier part of its service life , the Barracuda suffered a fairly high rate of unexplained fatal crashes , often involving experienced pilots . In 1945 this was traced to small leaks developing in the hydraulic system . The most common point for the leak was at the point of entry to the pilot ' s pressure gauge and was situated such that the resulting spray went straight into the pilot ' s face . The chosen hydraulic fluid contained ether and as the aircraft rarely were equipped with oxygen mask s ( and few aircrew wore them below 10 , 000 ft / 3 , 000 m anyway ) the pilot quickly became unconscious leading to a crash . An Admiralty order issued at the end of May 1945 required all examples of the type to be fitted with oxygen as soon as possible , and for pilots to use the system at all times . Operational history . British service . The first Barracudas entered service on 10 January 1943 with 827 Squadron and were deployed in the North Atlantic . A total of 24 front - line squadrons were eventually equipped with Barracudas . From 1944 onwards , the Mk IIs were accompanied in service by radar - equipped , but otherwise similar , Mk IIIs , which were used for anti - submarine work . The Barracuda first saw action with 810 Squadron aboard off the coast of Norway in July 1943 before deploying to the Mediterranean to support the Salerno landings . The following year they entered service in the Pacific Theatre . The Royal Air Force used the Barracuda Mk II , initially in 1943 with No . 567 Sqn . at RAF Detling . In 1944 , similar models went to 667 Sqn . ( RAF Gosport ) , 679 Sqn . ( RAF Ipswich ) and 691 Sqn . ( RAF Roborough ) . All the aircraft were withdrawn between March and July 1945 . Barracudas were used as dive bombers and played a part in a major attack on the . On 3 April 1944 ( Operation Tungsten ) , 42 aircraft from British carriers and scored 14 direct hits on " Tirpitz " with 1 , 600 lb ( 730 kg ) and 500 lb ( 230 kg ) bombs at the cost of one bomber . The attack disabled " Tirpitz " for over two months . However , the slow speed of the Barracudas contributed to the failure of the Operation Mascot and Operation Goodwood attacks on " Tirpitz " during July and August . From April 1944 , Barracudas of No 827 Squadron aboard " Illustrious " started operations against Japanese forces , taking part in raids against Sabang in Sumatra ( Operation Cockpit ) . The Barracuda ' s performance was reduced by the high temperatures of the Pacific , with its combat radius being reduced by as much as 30 % , and the torpedo bomber squadrons of the fleet carriers of the British Pacific Fleet were re - equipped with Grumman Avengers . The Barracuda ' s primary problem in the Pacific was the need to fly over Indonesian mountain ranges to strike at targets on the eastern side of Java , which necessitated a high - altitude performance which the Barracuda ' s low - altitude - rated Merlin 32 engine with single stage supercharger could not provide . Additionally , carrying maximum underwing bomb loads caused extra drag which further reduced performance over a Barracuda armed with a torpedo . However the Light Fleet Carriers of the 11th ACS which joined the BPF in June 1945 were all equipped with a single Barracuda and single Corsair squadron , so by VJ day the BPF had five Avenger and four Barracuda squadrons embarked on its carriers . Barracudas were used to test several innovations including RATO G rockets for takeoff and a braking propeller which slowed the aircraft by reversing the blade pitch . The Barracuda continued in Fleet Air Arm service until the mid - 1950s , by which time they were all replaced by Avengers . Canadian service . The Royal Canadian Navy took delivery on 24 January 1946 of 12 radar - equipped Mk II aircraft ; this was a Canadian designation , in British service these were the Mk . III . The first acquired aircraft were assigned to the newly formed 825 Sqn . aboard aircraft carrier HMCS " Warrior " . Canadian aircraft mechanics had been trained in the UK during the war serving on British aircraft carriers , notably and which along with some Canadian pilots , the RCN crewed and operated for the RN . " Warrior " paid off in 1948 and returned to Britain along with the Barracuda aircraft . Survivors . The Fleet Air Arm Museum is in the process of restoring an aircraft for static display using wreckage from two crashed examples , DP872 and LS931 .