THE FAIREY BARRACUDA

 

The Fairey Barracuda was a British

Carrier-borne torpedo and dive bomber

Powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine

Later replaced by the Griffon engine

It was the first Fleet Air Arm aircraft

To be fabricated entirely from metal

The FAA ordered so many aircraft

Blackburn Aircraft, Boulton Paul

And Westland also produced them

They served in all theatres of WW2

But its most noteworthy engagement

Was Operation Tungsten, in 1944

Attacking the German battleship Tirpitz

It was in service from 1943

Until its retirement in the 50s

THE FAIREY SEAL

 

The Fairey Seal was a British

Carrier-borne 1930’s spotter-plane,

Serving with the Fleet Air Arm

Which had mostly been retired

By the start of World War 2

And replaced by the Swordfish

When it adopted a training role

While some found their way

To Ceylon and Latvia

THE FAIREY SPEARFISH

 

The Fairey Spearfish was a British

Carrier-borne torpedo and dive bomber

Which came into service too late

In 1945 to see active service

Only five aircraft were ever built

The last one was scrapped in 1952 

THE FAIREY SWORDFISH

 

The Fairey Swordfish was a British

Carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber

Nicknamed the ”Stringbag”,

Primarily serving with the Fleet Air Arm

But was also an RAF favourite

Despite dating from 1930

The remained in frontline service

Throughout the Second World War.

Distinguishing itself in the Battle of Taranto

And participating in the destruction

Of the German battleship Bismarck,

Swordfishes sank a higher tonnage

Of enemy shipping during the war

Than any other Allied aircraft

They remained in front line service

Right up until V-E Day in 1945

THE FAIREY ALBACORE

 

The Fairey Albacore was a British

single-engine biplane torpedo bomber

Primarily serving with the Fleet Air Arm

But was also an RAF favourite

Nicknamed the ”Applecore”

Conceived to replace the Swordfish,

Operated by a crew of three

It was widely used on land and sea

Taking part in the sinking of the Tirpitz

The Battle of Cape Matapan,

The Second Battle of El Alamein,

As well as the Siege of Malta

And the landings in Sicily and Salerno

And at Normandy with the Canadians

They remained in front line service

Right up until the end of the war

THE FAIREY FIREFLY

 

The Fairey Firefly was a British

Carrier-borne single-engine fighter

And submarine hunter aircraft

Serving with the Fleet Air Arm

Conceived to replace the Fulmar,

Operated by a crew of two

It came into service in March 1943

And took part in the sinking of the Tirpitz

They remained in service

In an anti-submarine role

THE HAWKER TEMPEST

 

The Hawker Tempest was a British

Single-seat fighter-bomber

Known originally as the Typhoon II

A high-altitude interceptor

But with its Typhoon speed

It also found success as

A low-level ground attack aircraft

It entered service in 1944

And was the fastest single engine

Propeller-driven aircraft of the war

And was used in all theatres

Until its retirement in 1953

THE HAWKER SEA FURY

 

The Hawker Sea Fury was a British

Single-seat fighter-bomber aircraft

Operated by the Fleet Air Arm

It was too late for World War Two

And entered service in 1947

Although it did see action in Korea

THE HAWKER OSPREY

 

The Hawker Osprey was a British

Two-seater biplane light bomber

It was a Naval version of the Hart

And served with the FAA from 1936

But was already obsolete

By the start of the World War 2

And it played only minor roles

Before being retired in 1943

THE WESTLAND PV-3

 

The Westland PV-3 was a British

1930s two-seat torpedo bomber

Based on the Westland Wapiti

Which never entered production

However it was one of the first two Planes

To fly over Mount Everest in 1933

THE BLACKBURN B.44

 

The Blackburn B.44 was a British

Single-engine fighter aircraft

Which was notable in two ways

Firstly it was a flying boat fighter

And it possessed a retractable hull

However due to engine supply issues

It never made it into production

THE BLACKBURN B-24 SKUA

 

The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a British

Carrier-borne two-seater single-engine

Low-wing Naval dive bomber and fighter

The aircraft took its name from the sea bird

Which 'divebombs' any potential predators

They served with the Fleet Air Arm

During the Allied campaign in Norway,

As well as the evacuations from Dunkirk

Later in the war it reverted to a training role

The Skua was withdrawn altogether 1945

THE BLACKBURN ROC

 

The Blackburn B-25 Roc was a British

Carrier-borne single-engine naval fighter

Named after the mythical bird of the Arabian Nights,

And primarily served with the Fleet Air Arm

During the Allied campaign in Norway,

As well as the evacuations from Dunkirk

Later in the war it reverted to a training role

The Roc was withdrawn altogether during 1943

THE BLACKBURN FIREBRAND

 

The Blackburn Firebrand was a British

Carrier-borne single-engine naval strike fighter

And was a low-winged, all-metal monoplane

Primarily serving with the Fleet Air Arm

They were not delivered until the end of WW2

And were withdrawn from front-line service in 1953

THE BLACKBURN FIRECREST

The Blackburn B.48 Firecrest was a British

Carrier-borne single-engine naval strike fighter

And was a low-winged, all-metal monoplane

Intended to serve with the Fleet Air Arm

But never got passed the protype stage 

THE BLACKBURN SHARK

 

The Blackburn Shark was a British

Carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber

Primarily serving with the Fleet Air Arm

Despite reaching obsolescence in 1937

They still played an active combat role

At Dunkirk and in the Pacific theatre

The Sharks were finally retired in 1945

THE BLACKBURN BAFFIN

 

The Blackburn B-5 Baffin was a British

Carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber

Primarily serving with the Fleet Air Arm

They were in frontline service from 1937

Until 1941 and were retired in 1945

THE SAUNDERS-ROE SR.A/1

 

The Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 was a British

Experimental prototype flying boat fighter

And was the first jet-propelled sea plane

Ever conceived and built in the world

Work commenced on it in mid-1943

But the first prototype didn’t make

Its maiden flight until four years later

However the project was scrapped in 1951

THE WESTLAND WYVERN

 

The Westland Wyvern was a British

Carrier-based multi-role strike aircraft

Powered by a turboprop engine with

Distinctive contra-rotating propellers

And served during the Suez Crisis in 1956

But was retired two years later in 1958

THE AIRSPEED OXFORD

 

The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a British

Twin-engine monoplane transport aircraft

Widely used by the RAF for training

Aircrews, in navigation, radio-operating,

Bombing and gunnery throughout WW2