The Gloster Sea Gladiator was a single-seat, carrier-based fighter aircraft in service with the Royal Navy´s Fleet Air Arm from 1939 to 1944. Developed from the Gladiator Mk-II of the British Royal Air Force, it was fitted with arrestor hook for landing on carrier flight deck as the air speed indicator was recalibrated from `mile per hour´ to knots. Also the fuselage was reinforced with a rigid cross member and the anchoring for the `V´-shaped arrestor hook at the junction.
The Gloster Sea Gladiator would remain in service as a fighter until 1942 as it was replaced by faster monoplane aircraft. From that year, it would be relegated to the pilot trainer role. A total of 98 Sea Gladiator aircraft were produced and about half of them were shipped overseas to be used on carriers in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Theater. 18 of them had also been assigned to Kalafrana, Malta, in 1939. These saw combat action in the Mediterranean Theater against the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) Fiat CR.32 and CR.42 Falco biplane fighters.
Technical Description
The Sea Gladiator was a single-seat, single-engine biplane. It was fitted with single-bay wings, with two pair of inter-plane struts. The top wing upper surface was covered by aluminum sheets. Landing gear was fixed.
Specifications
Type: carrier-borne fighter
Length: 8.4 m (27 feet, 5 inches)
Wing Span: 9.8 m (32 feet, 3 inches)
Height: 3.6 m (11 feet, 9 inches)
Power Plant: one 830-HP, Bristol Mercury VIIIA, 9-cylinder, radial piston engine, with three-bladed propeller.
Maximum Speed: 414 km/h (257 mph)
Service Ceiling: 10,000 m (32,805 feet)
Crew: one
Armament: four 7.7-mm (.303) Browning machine guns.
Below, two photographs of the Gloster Sea Gladiator in flight, N5525.
