The Fairey Barracuda is being resurrected somewhere at sea onboard HMS Tyneside. Meet the crew…

 

  

 

Captain Hammerton-Smyth Bash
A self-made man who used too much lard, Captain Bash is the everyday commander of HMS Tyneside and is chief in charge of rebuilding crashed Barracudas in the field, often expecting the impossible and wanting it yesterday to boot. Spinner of many, many, many, many yarns

Commander Bulldog Detail-Detail, OCD
Commander Detail-Detail ensures that every aircraft looks exactly like the one shown in a picture that’s stuck to his wall; alas, the picture is of a Fairey Barracuda

 

 

Lieutenant Fford Mackem-Drillbit
Chief in charge of Barracuda dismantling, Lieutenant Mackem-Drillbit yearns for the day when he passes his exam in sweeping up. Takes wartime milk rationing to revolting extremes

Lieutenant Duggie Hangar-Windpipe
Duggie can’t be doing with working on those aeroplane things- or on anything, really- but he enjoys pottering about doing half a job the hard way to maintain the ship’s hangar

Lieutenant St.John Sponsonby-Clarin III
The only member of the crew fit to be seen in public, Lieutenant Sponsonby-Clarin III has the finest tailored uniform and a suspiciously youthful complexion. He would probably have an app for fixing Barracudas, if they’d been invented yet

Lieutenant Dickie Armour-Rivet
On secondment from the Desert Rats, Lieutenant Armour-Rivet will happily work on Barracudas all day long once you’ve told him that no, honestly, the piece of mangled metal in his hand really is from a tank

Lieutenant Gordian Aspirin-Pump
An expert on working in noxious atmospheres- granted, often of his own creation- Lieutenant Aspirin-Pump has a worrying tendency to eschew proper engine power in favour of wind, sails, ropes and effeminate vessel names

 

 

 

Junior Aircraftwoman Fillyann MacBlast
Fillyann will always be one of the boys, and is ever-eager to scrub or blast clean any scruffy bits of Barracuda. Longs after a member of the ship’s rugby team- any one will do

Junior Aircraftwoman McKay McMorrison-Fiest
Another female Scot with a penchant for blasting dirty tin, McMorrison-Fiest can also be deployed against the enemy as a deadly weapon if sufficiently fuelled with white wine

Very Junior Aircraftlad Ginger Copper-Nugget
Barely old enough to make the tea, Copper-Nugget is mostly of use as a work lamp, as he tends to glow in the dark a bit