A Fairey Albacore taking off from a British aircraft carrier during World War II.
The Fairey Albacore was a British single-engine carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber built by Fairey Aviation between 1939 and 1943 for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm and used during the Second World War. It had a three-man crew and was designed for spotting and reconnaissance as well as level bombing, dive bombing, and torpedo bombing. The Albacore, popularly known as the "Applecore", was conceived as a replacement for the ageing Fairey Swordfish, which had entered service in 1936 and as a backup if the more advanced Boulton-Paul Sea Lance was a failure.
However, the Albacore served with the Swordfish and Sea Lance and was retired before both in 1943 being replaced by the Fairey Barracuda monoplane dive-torpedo bomber.
Variants[]
- Albacore Mk.I: Production version powered by one 1,130hp Bristol Taurus 12 radial-piston engine.
Operators[]
Canada
- Royal Canadian Air Force
- No. 415 Squadron RCAF
- Royal Canadian Air Force
British Empire
- Royal Air Force
- No. 36 Squadron RAF
- No. 119 Squadron
- Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm
- 700 Naval Air Squadron
- 733 Naval Air Squadron
- 747 Naval Air Squadron
- 750 Naval Air Squadron
- 753 Naval Air Squadron
- 754 Naval Air Squadron
- 756 Naval Air Squadron
- 763 Naval Air Squadron
- 766 Naval Air Squadron
- 767 Naval Air Squadron
- 768 Naval Air Squadron
- 769 Naval Air Squadron
- 771 Naval Air Squadron
- 774 Naval Air Squadron
- 775 Naval Air Squadron
- 778 Naval Air Squadron
- 781 Naval Air Squadron
- 782 Naval Air Squadron
- 783 Naval Air Squadron
- 785 Naval Air Squadron
- 786 Naval Air Squadron
- 787 Naval Air Squadron
- 788 Naval Air Squadron
- 789 Naval Air Squadron
- 791 Naval Air Squadron
- 793 Naval Air Squadron
- 796 Naval Air Squadron
- 797 Naval Air Squadron
- 799 Naval Air Squadron
- 810 Naval Air Squadron
- 815 Naval Air Squadron
- 817 Naval Air Squadron
- 818 Naval Air Squadron
- 820 Naval Air Squadron
- 821 Naval Air Squadron
- 822 Naval Air Squadron
- 823 Naval Air Squadron
- 826 Naval Air Squadron
- 827 Naval Air Squadron
- 828 Naval Air Squadron
- 829 Naval Air Squadron
- 830 Naval Air Squadron
- 831 Naval Air Squadron
- 832 Naval Air Squadron
- 841 Naval Air Squadron
- Royal Air Force
