Radar, ASW, and Griffon variants extend the design

The Barracuda family adapted to new sensors and missions rather than remaining only a torpedo and dive bomber. The Mk II carried air-to-surface-vessel radar that improved its ability to find targets over water. The Mk III became the principal anti-submarine variant, combining revised surface-search radar and other equipment, with about 850 divided broadly between Fairey and Boulton Paul. The Mk IV appears to have remained primarily a drawing-board proposal, although reports suggest a Mk III may have tested some of its ideas. Development quickly shifted to the Mk V and the more powerful Rolls-Royce Griffon. Only thirty-seven Mk Vs had been built by the end of the war in Europe, repeating the program's persistent pattern of valuable capability arriving after its best operational moment.