Abstract In the spirit of advancing joining concepts as well as adoption of hybrid composites, the interface of a metallic foil and carbon fabric reinforced polymer matrix composite was explored experimentally and computationally. An out-of-autoclave manufacturing method, double-infusion VARTM, was successfully employed to create a hybrid composite laminate that was composed of a layer of metal foil (Al or NiTi) placed at the center of sixteen layer plain weave T300 carbon fabric with epoxy Epikote-Epikure 04908 matrix. The fracture behavior was obtained via the Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) tests at room and elevated temperatures and were monitored on-line using Rayleigh backscattering fiber optics technique. Distributed strain profiles were measured on both at the top and bottom surfaces of the specimen to validate/assist computational models. This new technique to measure distributed strains in-situ during testing has introduced a new dimension to the visualization of strain energy release upon crack propagation.The virtual crack closure method was employed to simulate crack propagation at the hybrid interface. The experimental results revealed the dominant mode of failure as cohesive. Load-displacement and strain profiles measured from the experiments were in good agreement with the numerical results. The foremost research highlight is the novel integration of computational simulation with fiber optics Distributed Strain System (DSS) in DCB experiments to elucidate crack growth at a hybrid interface.