Foreword-

“Here is news to stir all naval aviators, a Fairey Barracuda is to be restored to rise phoenix-like form the wrecks of others. The once prolific Barra – some 2,600 were built by the Fairey, Blackburn, Boulton Paul and Westland factories for the Fleet Air Arm, where the aircraft received a mixed reception. It was never a pleasing sight in flight, and a positive eyesore when in the landing configuration. However, to be fair to the Barra it was not all bad news, for although it did not perform at all well in the torpedo-dropping role, it could lay claim to being an effective dive-bomber. Most indisputable of all, it was the easiest aeroplane to land on an aircraft carrier, and so with the help of rocket assistance, for take-off. It was able to operate from small carriers and give valuable anti-submarine protection to convoys in the Battle of the Atlantic. All in all, a welcome will await this orphan of the storms when it finally re-appears as the only one of its type in the world.”

  -Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown, CBE, DSC, AFC, MA, Hon FRAeS, RN

 

Hello and welcome to the website of The Barracuda Project. Working with the Fleet Air Arm Museum, we aim to resurrect for static display a historically important type of British aircraft from World War II which was thought to be long-extinct, but which in fact still exists, albeit currently in the form of large piles of twisted wreckage. Rebuilt from its own remains, the world will see the mighty Barra once again!

Please take a look around our site to follow the progress of the rebuild, learn more about the type and our project, meet the team, and lend us your support; and we’d love to hear from you!