About the contributor

I submitted an article on behalf of my father, Thomas Halhead (known in the Fleet Air Arm as Oscar).

He's 87, not up to writing articles on a computer any more but wanted to contribute one of the moments that left a deep imprint on his memory. That was when dive bombing the Tirpitz (Bismark's sister battleship) in a Norwegian Fjord and the moment when the Barracuda aircraft next to his was hit by a heavy AA shell. He was astonished with the speed at which the debris 'flew backwards'.

I've inherited an interest, with involvement in a project to recover some Barracuda aircraft from the sea bed near Trinidad (disposed of by the Navy after hostilities - the FAA had a training base on the island). No whole Barracuda is left anywhere now, but if we can obtain the support and sponsorship it may be possible to recover some examples. If anyone is interested in supporting the project please drop me a message.