The Gloster Gauntlet was a British fighter aircraft in service with the RAF in the 1930s. Along with its successor, the Gladiator, it was the last combat biplane used by the RAF, forming the backbone of Great Britain´s home air defense until a couple of years before the Battle of France in 1940. Both biplanes would be gradually replaced by the Hawker Hurricane from 1937 onward. By 1936, a total of 250 Gauntlets had been produced.
The first prototype of the Gloster Gauntlet, the S.S.18, was first flown in 1928. The pilot was Howard Saint, achieving a 183 mph speed at 10,000 feet of altitude. It was powered by a Bristol Mercury IIA piston engine. It had a lot of shortcomings as its performance was not satisfactory. Thus, a second prototype was built, the S.S.19, which would take to the air for the first time in 1931. This model would be upgraded into the S.S.19B, which first flew in the spring of 1933. This prototype was powered by one Bristol Mercury VIS radial engine, which had a power output of 575 HP. It entered service as the Gauntlet Mk I.
Technical Characteristics
The Gloster Gauntlet was a single-seat, single-engine biplane. Its airframe was made of metal longerons and stringers, while its fuselage consisted of plywood and hardened canvas. The upper plane of wing had a 6-degree dihedral bend, with ailerons being fitted to both planes, which were joined by struts and braced with steel wire. The tail plane and fin were elliptical. Like all biplanes, it had a fixed landing gear.
Specifications
Type: biplane fighter
Length: 8 m (26 feet, 5 inches)
Wing Span: 9.9 m (32 feet, 9 inches)
Wing Area: 29.3 m2 (315 square feet)
Height: 3.12 m (10 feet, 3 inches)
Power Plant: one 640-HP, Bristol Mercury VIS2, 9-cylinder, radial piston engine.
Maximum Speed: 230 mph, or 370 km/h
Range: 460 miles, or 740 km
Service Ceiling: 10,200 m (33,500 feet)
Crew: one
Armament: two 7.7-mm (.303) Vickers Mk V machine guns.
Below, three Gloster Gauntlet biplane fighters in flight in 1937.
The first production Gauntlet Mk I, serial No K4081, which flew for the first time during December 1934.
Below, the prototype S.S.19B, J9125, during a flight test.
