Gloster Gauntlet
Gloster Gauntlet | |
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![]() Gloster Gauntlet of the Finnish Air Force |
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Type: | Fighter plane |
Design country: | |
Manufacturer: | |
First flight: |
1933 |
Commissioning: |
1935 |
Production time: |
1933-1936 |
Number of pieces: |
246 |
The Gloster Gauntlet ( " gauntlet ") was a British biplane - fighter aircraft of the 1930s.
history
The Gauntlet was the predominant fighter aircraft type in the Royal Air Force in the 1930s . In 1937 no fewer than 14 squadrons of the British Air Force were equipped with it. The history of the development of the aircraft is quite complicated. Three tenders were necessary before the machine was delivered as a series model. At the first tender a relatively complicated all-metal construction was presented. It did not meet with the expected response. The Gloster Gauntlet was also unable to convince in the second tender. When it finally successfully passed the third tender and an order for 24 aircraft for the RAF had been issued, Gloster was already part of the Hawker-Siddeley group .
These first aircraft types were named Gloster Gauntlet MkI . They had a two-bladed Watts propeller. The main model, however, was the Gloster Gauntlet MkII with a three-bladed Fairey Reed metal propeller. The Gloster Gauntlet was the last open-cockpit fighter in the British Air Force. A total of 24 MkI and 204 MkII were produced. Until 1940, these aircraft served mainly in the Middle East.
production
Approval of the Gloster Gauntlet by the RAF:
version | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | total |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mk.I | 24 | 24 | ||
Mk. II | 200 | 14th | 214 | |
total | 24 | 200 | 14th | 238 |
User countries
The Gauntlet was manufactured under license in Denmark, among others.
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Royal Australian Air Force
- No. 3 Sqn
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Danish Air Force
- No. 1 Squadron Royal Danish Air Force
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Suomen ilmavoimat
- Lentolaivue 30
- Lentolaivue 34
- Täydennyslelentolaivue 25
- T-LLv 17
- T-LLv 35
- Royal Rhodesian Air Force
- No. 1 Squadron SRAF
-
South African Air Force
- No. 1 Squadron SAAF
- No. 2 Squadron SAAF
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Royal Air Force
- No. 6 Squadron RAF
- No. 17 Squadron RAF
- No. 19th Squadron RAF
- No. 32 Squadron RAF
- No. 33 Squadron RAF
- No. 46 Squadron RAF
- No. 47 Squadron RAF
- No. 54 Squadron RAF
- No. 56 Squadron RAF
- No. 65 Squadron RAF
- No. 66 Squadron RAF
- No. 73 Squadron RAF
- No. 74 Squadron RAF
- No. 79 Squadron RAF
- No. 80 Squadron RAF
- No. 111 Squadron RAF
- No. 112 Squadron RAF
- No. 151 Squadron RAF
- No. 213 Squadron RAF
- No. 234 Squadron RAF
- No. 237 Squadron RAF
- No. 504 Squadron RAF
- No. 601 Squadron RAF
- No. 602 Squadron RAF
- No. 615 Squadron RAF
- No. 616 Squadron RAF
Technical specifications
Parameter | Data |
---|---|
crew | 1 |
length | 8.05 m |
span | 9.99 m |
height | 3.12 m |
Wing area | 29.3 m² |
Empty mass | 1259 kg |
Takeoff mass | 1800 kg |
Top speed | 370 km / h |
Service ceiling | 10,120 m |
Range | 740 km |
Engine | air-cooled 9-cylinder radial engine Bristol Mercury VI S2, 640 PS (477 kW) |
Armament | 2 × 7.7 mm Vickers MG |
Received aircraft
The world's only airworthy Gauntlet Mk II is the OH-XGT in Finland . It is stationed at Kymi Airfield near Kotka and is regularly shown at flight demonstrations. The original engine was replaced by an Alvis Leonides with 520 hp.
See also
literature
- Michael Sharpe: biplanes, triple decks & seaplanes . Gondrom Verlag, Bindlach, 2001, ISBN 3-8112-1872-7
Web links
- The Gloster "Gauntlet". (PDF) In: FLIGHT, DECEMBER 14, 1933. Flightglobal.com , October 30, 1931, pp. 1259-1260 , accessed on January 18, 2019 (English): "The" Gauntlet "is certainly one of the strongest fighters ever built. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Håkan's aviation page: Gloster Gauntlet, accessed on January 26, 2011
- ↑ Halley, James J .: The K File. The Royal Air Force of the 1930s, Tunbridge Wells, 1995, p. 178 ff.
- ↑ Gloster Gauntlet II GT-400 / OH-XGT (s / n K5271). Flying Museum of Karhula's Flying Club, archived from the original on July 25, 2008 ; accessed on January 18, 2019 (English): "It is the only survivor of its type in the world."