The Fairey Barracuda will never win any aircraft beauty contests, but it proved to be a capable and long serving aircraft. Serving the British, it’s commonwealth, and a couple of foreign countries as well. The aircraft served until the early 1950s with some still existing into the early 1960s. Today, no intact example exists, but the Fleet Air Arm Museum is working to restore/build one out of a couple of recovered wrecks.

The book is divided into 5 sections. First is the introduction containing a short history not only of operational use, but also the development of the air frame. The second, but labeled first section, is full of technical drawings as well as under-construction photos. The second section contains many drawings depicting the prototype as well as production and proposed variants. Section three has many color profiles of Barracudas in service, as well as two rare color pictures.

The final few pages cover the building of a 1/72 Special Hobby Barracuda by Libor Jekl, and then a listing of every kit, decal sheet, and aftermarket detail in 1/144, 1/72 and 1/48 scale.

The reader is provided with many photos and color profiles to enjoy a truly unique and interesting aircraft. I can heartily recommend this book to all with an interest in the Fairey Barracuda, whether casual reader, historian, FAA enthusiast, or modeler. This is one of the definitive books on the Barracuda with much to assist the modeler to build a great replica. The book makes me want to build another 1/48 SH Barracuda model and is a welcome addition to my library.

Our thanks to Valiant Wings Publishing for the review copy and my thanks to IPMS/USA for the review opportunity.