Reference: Fairey Barracuda Restoration - Facebook

We initially thought that the Solent wreck was likely to be BV739, a Blackburn built Mk II, that suffered engine failure on take off on 29 September 1943 whilst being flown by S/Lt DJ Williams.
There was a later candidate identified and this was LS473, a Fairey built Mk II, that failed to obtain climbing speed on 6 January 1944. We have not yet been able to identify the Solent wreck but all indications are that it is a Fairey built example. Of course, it could be another undocumented example.
Lee Howard
had access to the Pilot’s Flying Log of Temporary Acting Sub Lieutenant Michael Hume Sandes and made the connection with an entry on 6 January 1944 with the loss of a Barracuda of 817 Squadron coded ‘A’. The museum has now been granted access to the Log Book by Sandes’ grandson Richard and the first two photos are images from the Log Book, posted with Richard’s kind permission. Could the Solent wreck be LS473? The Log Book entry raises a question or two in my mind that we’ll never know the answers to.