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Gloster Gladiator
Gloster Gladiator
About the video: Another 8mm film never seen before, showing the Gladiator circa 1959 when at Brockworth just before it was donated to the Shuttleworth Collection. Film kindly permitted to be uploaded by the Bellamy family. Note the fuselage guns...they fired thru the cowling! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator (or Gloster SS.37) is a British-built biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. It was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane designs even as it was being introduced. Though often pitted against more formidable foes during the early days of the Second World War, it acquitted itself reasonably well in combat. The Gladiator saw action in almost all theatres during the Second World War, with a large number of air forces, some of them on the Axis side. The RAF used it in France, Norway, Greece, the defence of Malta, the Middle East, and the brief Anglo-Iraqi War (during which the Royal Iraqi Air Force was similarly equipped). Other countries deploying the Gladiator included China against Japan, beginning in 1938; Finland (along with Swedish volunteers) against the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War; Sweden as a neutral non-combatant (although Swedish volunteers fought for Finland against USSR as stated above); and Norway, Belgium, and Greece resisting Axis invasion of their respective lands. The South African pilot Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle was the top Gladiator ace with 15 victories with the type. The first version, the Gladiator Mk I, was delivered from July 1936, becoming operational in January 1937. The Mk II soon followed, the main differences being a slightly more powerful Mercury VIIIAS engine with Hobson mixture control boxes and a partly automatic boost control carburettor, driving a Fairey fixed-pitch three-blade metal propeller, instead of the two-blade wooden one of the Mark I. All MK II Gladiators also carried Browning 0.303-inch machine guns (licence-manufactured by the BSA company in Birmingham) in place of the Vickers-Lewis combination of the MK I. A modified Mk II, the Sea Gladiator, was developed for the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), with an arrestor hook, catapult attachment points, a strengthened airframe and an underbelly fairing for a dinghy lifeboat, all for operations aboard aircraft carriers. Of the 98 aircraft built as, or converted to, Sea Gladiators, 54 were still in service by the outbreak of the Second World War. The Gladiator was to be the last British biplane fighter to be manufactured, and the first to feature an enclosed cockpit. It possessed a top speed of about 257 mph (414 km/h; 223 kn) yet, even as the Gladiator was introduced, it was already being eclipsed by new-generation monoplane fighters, such as the RAF Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire, and the Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109. A total of 747 aircraft were built (483 RAF, 98 RN); 216 were exported to 13 countries, some of these were from the total allotted to the RAF. Gladiators were sold to Belgium, China, Egypt, Finland, Free France, Greece, Iraq, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, South Africa and Sweden. Role Fighter Manufacturer Gloster Aircraft Company, Ltd. Designer Henry Phillip Folland First flight 12 September 1934 Introduction 23 February 1937 Retired 1953 (Portugal) Primary users Royal Air Force Fleet Air Arm Chinese Nationalist Air Force Finnish Air Force Norwegian Army Air Service Number built 747 Developed from Gloster Gauntlet In February 1937, No. 72 Squadron based at Tangmere became the first squadron to be equipped with the Gladiator; No. 72 would go on to operate the type until April 1939, longer than any other home-based frontline unit. Between March and April 1937, No. 3 Squadron at Kenley would also receive Gladiators from the remainder of the first production batch, replacing their obsolete Bristol Bulldogs. Initial service with the type proved the Vickers guns to be problematic; the Gladiator was quickly armed with .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns, which were substantially more popular, leading to the other guns often only being resorted to if deemed necessary. On 27 March 1937, No. 54 Squadron at Hornchurch became the first unit to receive Browning-armed Gladiators. By September 1937, all eight Gladiator squadrons had achieved operational status and had formed the spearhead of London's air defences. Difficulties with introducing the type had been experienced. Although the Gladiator was typically well liked by pilots, the accident rate encountered during operational training for the type were so numerous that a small replacement batch of 28 Gladiator Mk IIs was hurriedly produced. Most accidents were caused by pilots being caught out by the fighter’s increased wing loading and many aviators had little experience in landing aircraft with such a wide flap area. The aircraft had a tendency to stall more abruptly, frequently dropping a wing while doing so. The Gladiator proved even easier to enter a flat spin with and great skill was needed to recover. During 1938, the RAF had begun to receive its first deliveries of the Hurricane and Spitfire monoplanes; an emphasis was soon placed on quickly reequipping half of the Gladiator squadrons with either of these monoplane types. By the outbreak of the Second World War, the Gladiator had largely been replaced by the Hurricane and Spitfire in frontline RAF service. The introduction of these aircraft had been eased by the presence of the Gladiator, squadrons that had operated Gladiators prior to converting to the monoplane types experienced a noticeably improved accident record than those who converted from older types such as the Gauntlet. Experiences such as operating the Gladiator's landing flaps and familiarisation with its sliding hood have been attributed as having favourably impacted pilot conversion. Specifications (Gloster Gladiator Mk I) General characteristics Crew: 1 Length: 27 ft 5 in (8.36 m) Wingspan: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m) Height: 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m) Wing area: 323 ft2 (30.0 m2) Empty weight: 3,217 lb (1,462 kg) Loaded weight: 4,594 lb (2,088 kg) Powerplant: 1 × Bristol Mercury IX radial engine, 830 hp (619 kW) Performance Maximum speed: 253 mph (220 knots, 407 km/h) at 14,500 ft (4,400 m) Cruise speed: 210 mph Stall speed: 53 mph (46 knots, 85 km/h) Endurance: 2 hours Service ceiling: 32,800 ft (10,000 m) Rate of climb: 2,300 ft/min (11.7 m/s) Climb to 10,000 ft (3,050 m): 4.75 min Armament Guns: Initially; Two synchronised .303 in Vickers machine guns in fuselage sides, two ..303 in Lewis machine guns; one beneath each lower wing. Later aircraft; Four .303 calibre M1919 Browning machine guns; two synchronised guns in fuselage sides and one beneath each lower wing. In at least some Sea Gladiators, provision existed for a pair of Brownings to be fitted under the upper wings as well, bringing the total to six. Official service release trials were not completed before the Sea Gladiators were replaced by later types – but some upper wing Brownings may have been fitted in the field, in particular in Malta. * |
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