The Barracuda Mk.II was the definitive variant of the aircraft. It was powered by the Merlin 32 engine which yielded 1640 hp of power and drove a four-bladed propeller. A total of 1688 Mk.II were manufactured by various companies, with Fairey being the second main manufacturer with 675 machines made both at Stockport and Ringway, Blackburn being the first one with 700 machines made at Brough, Boulton Paul being the third with 300 machines made at Wolverhampton and Westland being the fourth one with just 13 machines manufactured at Yeovil. The Mk.II was equipped with the metric wavelength ASV II (Air Surface Vessel) radar with the Yagi-Uda antennae carried above the wings.
Early Merlin 30-powered Barracuda Mk.Is proved to be under powered and suffered from a poor rate of climb, however, once airborne, the type proved easy to fly. During October 1941 the Barracuda Mk.I was tested at RAF Boscombe Down and it was found that the aircraft had an overall weight of 12820 lb (5830 kg) if equipped with a 1566 lb (712 kg) torpedo. At that weight it showed a maximum speed of 251 mph (405 km/h) at 10900 ft (3322 m) with a climb to 15000 ft (4572 m) taking 19.5 minutes.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Barracuda
2. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Barracuda-Mk-II-t8638
3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 35 - Fairey Barracuda
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