(Gloster) Gauntlet @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • A Fin Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II A Fin Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II
    A Fin Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II
  • Gloster Gauntlet Gloster Gauntlet
    Gloster Gauntlet
  • OH-XGT at EFSE OH-XGT at EFSE
    OH-XGT at EFSE
  • OH-XGT OH-XGT
    OH-XGT
  • Danish Gauntlet IIJ (Vaerloese - 1938) Danish Gauntlet IIJ (Vaerloese - 1938)
    Danish Gauntlet IIJ (Vaerloese - 1938)
  • The Gloster SS.19A The Gloster SS.19A
    The Gloster SS.19A
  • RAAF Gauntlets RAAF Gauntlets
    RAAF Gauntlets
  • Gloster SS.19B with the Bristol Mercury VIS engine (May 1933) Gloster SS.19B with the Bristol Mercury VIS engine (May 1933)
    Gloster SS.19B with the Bristol Mercury VIS engine (May 1933)
  • OH-XGT OH-XGT
    OH-XGT
  • Gauntlet Mk.Is of RAF No.19 Sqn Gauntlet Mk.Is of RAF No.19 Sqn
    Gauntlet Mk.Is of RAF No.19 Sqn
  • Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II of No. 46 Squadron in 1936 Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II of No. 46 Squadron in 1936
    Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II of No. 46 Squadron in 1936
  • The Gloster SS.19A with the Bristol Jupiter VIIF engine (December 1932) The Gloster SS.19A with the Bristol Jupiter VIIF engine (December 1932)
    The Gloster SS.19A with the Bristol Jupiter VIIF engine (December 1932)
  • Gauntlets of No.46 Squadron in 1936 Gauntlets of No.46 Squadron in 1936
    Gauntlets of No.46 Squadron in 1936
  • Gloster Gauntlet in No 3 Sqn RAAF before operations over Bardia Gloster Gauntlet in No 3 Sqn RAAF before operations over Bardia
    Gloster Gauntlet in No 3 Sqn RAAF before operations over Bardia
  • A Danish Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II A Danish Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II
    A Danish Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II
  • No.19 Squadron No.19 Squadron
    No.19 Squadron
  • Gauntlets of No.213 Sqn Gauntlets of No.213 Sqn
    Gauntlets of No.213 Sqn
  • Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II
    Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II
  • A Gauntlet of No.74 Squadron, in 1937 A Gauntlet of No.74 Squadron, in 1937
    A Gauntlet of No.74 Squadron, in 1937
  • Gauntlet Mk.I of RAF No.19 Sqn (1935) Gauntlet Mk.I of RAF No.19 Sqn (1935)
    Gauntlet Mk.I of RAF No.19 Sqn (1935)
  • A Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II of No.17 Squadron A Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II of No.17 Squadron
    A Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II of No.17 Squadron
  • OH-XGT in 2005 OH-XGT in 2005
    OH-XGT in 2005

Gloster Gauntlet

The British Gloster Gauntlet was a single-seat biplane fighter of the RAF, designed and built by Gloster Aircraft in the 1930s. It was the last RAF fighter to have an open cockpit and the penultimate biplane fighter in service.

Design and development

The Gloster S.S.18 first flew in January 1929. The Gauntlet was a development of the Gloster S.S.19B design, which originally mounted six machine guns (four in the wings and two in the fuselage), the original S.S.19 prototype being re-engined with a Bristol Mercury VIS engine, first flying in this form in 1933. On testing the S.S.19, the Air Ministry placed an order for 24 aircraft in September 1933, to be named the "Gauntlet".

This initial order was followed up with orders for the revised Gauntlet Mk. II. This new model used a revised construction method based on that used by Hawker following Hawker's takeover of Gloster, as this was much easier to build and repair than Gloster's welded structure. A total of 204 Mk IIs were produced in the UK.

Operational history

The Gauntlet Mk. I first entered service with No 19 Squadron at RAF Duxford in May 1935. The Gauntlet proved successful and popular in operational service, being 56 mph (90 km/h) faster than the aircraft it replaced, the Bristol Bulldog to form the main part of the RAF's fighter strength. The Gauntlet was the fastest aircraft in the RAF from 1935 to 1937.

The Gauntlet Mk II entered service with 56 Squadron and 111 Squadron in May 1936, a further six squadrons being re-equipped with the Gauntlet by the end of the year. At the height of its career, the Gauntlet equipped a total of 14 Squadrons of RAF Fighter Command. No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron RAF Gauntlets were used in early trials of ground direction of fighters by radar.

As more advanced fighters, such as the Gloster Gladiator, Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire started to re-equip the Gauntlet squadrons in 1936 and 1937, the Gauntlets were passed on to freshly formed units as their first equipment to allow then to gain training before receiving more modern fighters. Gauntlets were also shipped to the Middle East, equipping three RAF squadrons.

All home-based Gauntlet squadrons had re-equipped with more modern fighters by the start of the Second World War, but remained in service in the Middle East for longer, with a flight of Gauntlets remaining in service with No.3 Sqn RAAF in the Middle East when Italy declared war in 1940. These were briefly used for ground-attack operations against the Italians before being retired from operations owing to maintenance problems. Gauntlets continued in use for meteorological flights until 1943.

Seventeen Gauntlets IIs were licence-produced in Denmark, while 25 ex-RAF machines were supplied by South Africa as support to Finland in 1940 as a result of the Winter War. Already obsolete, they were used as advanced trainers by the Finns. The Finnish nickname for the Gauntlet was Kotletti (literally "cutlet").

Variants

  • S.S.18 : Single-seat prototype. The aircraft was fitted with a 450-hp (336-kW) Bristol Mercury IIA radial piston engine.
  • S.S.18A : The S.S.18 was fitted with a 480 hp (358 kW) Bristol Jupiter VIIF radial piston engine.
  • S.S.18B : The SS.18 was later fitted with a 560 hp (418 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Panther III radial piston engine.
  • S.S.19 : Single-seat prototype; fitted with a Bristol Jupiter radial piston engine.
  • S.S.19A : The S.S.19 was later fitted with two wheel spats and a single spatted tailwheel.
  • S.S.19B : Single-seat prototype; fitted with a 536 hp (400 kW) Bristol Jupiter VIS radial piston engine.
  • Gauntlet Mk I : Single-seat fighter aircraft for the RAF; 24 built.
  • Gauntlet Mk II : Single-seat fighter aircraft; modified version of the Gauntlet Mk I; 221 built.

Operators

  • Australia : Royal Australian Air Force
  • Denmark : Hærens Flyvetropper
  • Finland : Finnish Air Force
  • Southern Rhodesia : Southern Rhodesian Air Force
  • South Africa : South African Air Force
  • United Kingdom : Royal Air Force

Survivors

  • As of 2008, the only airworthy Mk II in the world, GT-400, was registered in Finland where it spent its summers in Kymi Airfield Aviation Museum near Kotka.

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This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Gloster Gauntlet of Wikipedia ( authors )

Gloster Gauntlet

  • Role : Fighter.
  • Manufacturer : Gloster Aircraft.
  • First flight : 1933.
  • Introduction : 1935.
  • Retired : 1943.
  • Produced : 1933–1936.
  • Number built : 246.
  • Developed from : Gloster S.S.19B.
  • Variant : Gloster Gladiator.

    • Specifications (Gauntlet Mk II)

  • Crew : 1.
  • Length : 26 ft 5 in (8.05 m).
  • Height : 10 ft 3 in (3.13 m).
  • Wingspan : 32 ft 9½ in (10 m).
  • Wing area : 315 ft² (29.3 m²).
  • Wing loading : 12.6 lb/ft² (61.6 kg/m²).
  • Empty weight : 2,770 lb (1,259 kg).
  • Loaded weight : 3,970 lb (1,805 kg).
  • Maximum speed : 200 kts (230 mph, 370 km/h) at 15,800 ft (4,820 m).
  • Range : 400 nm (460 mi, 740 km).
  • Service ceiling : 33,500 ft (10,210 m).
  • Rate of climb : 2,300 ft/min (11.7 m/s).
  • Power/mass : 0.162 hp/lb ( 266 W/kg).
  • Climb to 20,000 ft (6,100 m) : 9 min.
  • Powerplant : One Bristol Mercury VI S2 9-cylinder radial engine.
  • Power : 645 hp (481 kW).
  • Armament : Two 0.303 in Vickers machine guns.

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Gloster Gauntlet of Wikipedia ( authors )
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