The specifications behind the Albacore

Cancelled specifications did not necessarily mean abandoned work; designs and requirements could be carried into a modified specification. The sequence shows the Air Ministry and Royal Navy refining an established three-seat torpedo, spotting, and reconnaissance need rather than starting afresh each time. The resulting Albacore moved from 1936 procurement to a 1938 first flight and 1940 service entry, deliberately faster than the more ambitious Barracuda timetable. Comparing that schedule with the Barracuda's 1940 first flight and 1943 entry explains why the supposedly conservative aircraft existed: it was intended to cover the dangerous gap before the advanced monoplane was ready.