Barracuda and Firefly in anti-submarine warfare

How good were the Fairey Barracuda and Firefly as anti-submarine aircraft?

They were adequate for their time, but fixed-wing aircraft struggled once a submarine was submerged; later sensors and helicopters addressed that limitation more effectively.

Both aircraft were adequate for their period rather than exceptional. Radar, rockets, cannon, depth charges, and later sensors could help when a submarine was on or near the surface, but a submerged target remained difficult to prosecute from a fixed-wing aircraft. Weapons carried against surfaced boats have to be separated from the sensor problem of finding a submerged target. The later preference for helicopters reflects the value of dipping sonar combined with sonobuoys.