Nicknamed Dumbo, the Type 322 could carry an 18-inch torpedo or six 250-pound bombs. Supermarine's wartime manufacturing network might have helped it mass-produce a naval strike aircraft for war in the Far East, especially when Fairey had already transferred Swordfish production to Blackburn. The reason the design lost remains uncertain, and hindsight about the Barracuda's difficult service introduction colors the comparison. The broader contrast is between Supermarine's mix of selective innovation and practical engineering and Fairey's more complicated solutions.
Chapter · 33:50-38:17
Type 322 offers an alternative to the Fairey Barracuda
Supermarine's Type 322 combined useful strike capacity with straightforward engineering but lost the Albacore-successor contest to the Barracuda.