The Fairey Albacore was a British single-engine carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber built by Fairey Aviation between 1939 and 1943 for the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and used during World_War_II. It had a three-man crew and was designed for spotting and reconnaissance as well as level bombing [ bomber ], dive bombing [ dive_bomber ] and as a torpedo bomber. The Albacore, popularly known as the "Applecore", was conceived as a replacement for the ageing Fairey Swordfish (Swordfish_(airplane)), which had entered service in 1936. The Albacore served with the Swordfish and was retired before it, being replaced by the Fairey Barracuda (Barracuda_(airplane)) and Grumman Avenger monoplane torpedo bombers.