How useful would the Barracuda have been in the Mediterranean if available in limited numbers by early 1941?
Short answerIt would offer a faster, more flexible strike aircraft, balanced by a smaller embarked air group because of its size.
NotesAn early Barracuda could replace Swordfish in torpedo and dive-bombing missions. Its greater speed would make a strike harder to intercept and give the air group a more flexible general-purpose bomber. The larger airframe would reduce the number of aircraft that fit aboard each carrier. That capacity penalty could change the mass available for operations on the scale of Taranto or Cape Matapan, so performance per aircraft cannot be separated from embarked numbers.