Gloster Gladiator

Неспособность британских производителей создать адекватную замену истребителю Bristol Bulldog привела к тому, что был выдан еще один заказ на Gloster Gauntlet, которыми предстояло оснастить дополнительные эскадрильи, организованные в рамках программы 1935 года по расширению ВВС. Хотя проработка проектов истребителей-монопланов указывала на большой потенциал этой схемы, главный конструктор Генри Фолланд приступил к детальному анализу конструкции Gauntlet, чтобы определить возможные пути ее совершенствования. Конструкцию бипланной коробки изменили на одностоечную, а основные опоры шасси выполнили без подкосов, установив колеса Dowty с внутренней амортизацией. Эти доработки позволили снизить сопротивление и увеличить максимальную скорость машины примерно на 16-24 км/ч.
   "Gloster" в инициативном порядке построила прототип этой машины, получившей обозначение SS.37 и совершившей первый полет 12 сентября 1934 года. Ее пилотировал летчик-испытатель фирмы флайт-лейтенант П.Е.Дж. Сейер. С двигателем Bristol Mercury IV самолет развивал максимальную скорость 380 км/ч, а в ноябре 1934 года после установки мотора Mercury VIS мощностью 645 л.с. (481 кВт) он показал результат 389 км/ч. Помимо двух унаследованных от Gauntlet пулеметов Vickers Mk III в фюзеляже установили еще пару пулеметов Lewis под нижним крылом. В таком виде SS.37 отвечал требованиям Министерства авиации, и в начале 1935 года в Мартлешем Хит начались официальные испытания прототипа.
   Проект фирмы "Gloster" был принят Министерством авиации в июне 1935 года, и под него выпустили техническое задание F.14/35. А 1 июля был выдан заказ на 23 самолета, получивших имя Gladiator. На новой машине решили установить двигатель Mercury IX мощностью 840 л.с. (626 кВт). Другие изменения включали установку закрытой кабины, доработку шасси, новое хвостовое оперение и замену фюзеляжных пулеметов на усовершенствованные Vickers MkV. 23 самолета Gladiator Mk I первой партии, поставленные в феврале - марте 1937 года, несли под крылом пулеметы Lewis, так же как и 37 из 180 самолетов второй партии. Все машины второй партии получили универсальные держатели, позволявшие устанавливать пулеметы Vickers или Lewis или лицензионный вариант американского Colt-Browning, который монтировался на большинстве самолетов, поставленных в 1938 году. Третий заказ, на этот раз на 28 машин, довел общее число Gladiator Mk I, поставленных ВВС, до 231 самолета. Некоторые из них позднее были доработаны до стандарта Gladiator Mk II.
   Позднее ВВС получили еще 252 новых Gladiator Mk II, построенных по техническому заданию F.36/57, оснащенных двигателем Mercury VIIIA мощностью 830 л.с. (619 кВт) с автоматическим регулятором состава смеси, электростартером и фильтром Vokes на воздухозаборнике карбюратора. Из них 38 машин оснастили посадочными крюками, и в декабре 1938 года передали флоту, где они временно заменили истребители Hawker Nimrod и Osprey до поступления 60 полноценных палубных истребителей Sea Gladiator. Последние имели посадочный гак, узлы для крепления к катапульте и надувную спасательную лодку. В общей сложности построили 746 Gladiator, из которых 147 Gladiator Mk I и 18 Mk II были поставлены Бельгии, Китаю, Ирландии, Греции, Латвии, Литве, Норвегии и Швеции.
   Первой в феврале 1937 года Gladiator получила 72-я эскадрилья в Черч-Финтоне, Йоркшир. Хотя большинство из эскадрилий, получивших эти самолеты, к сентябрю 1939 года перевооружились на Hawker Hurricane или Supermarine Spitfire, некоторые Gladiator повторно начали службу во вспомогательных подразделениях в метрополии, четыре из которых были полностью боеготовыми в сентябре 1939 года. Два из них, 601-я и 615-я эскадрильи, в ноябре были отправлены во Францию. А 263-я эскадрилья ВВС совместно с 804-й эскадрильей ВМС принимала участие в кампании в Норвегии. Горстка самолетов из истребительного звена Хал-Фар и 261-й эскадрильи участвовала в обороне Мальты с апреля по июнь 1940 года. На Балканах и Ближнем Востоке Gladiator несли службу во время войны в составе 6-й, 33-й, 80-й, 94-й, 112-й и 127-й эскадрилий, а также в 3-й эскадрилье австралийских ВВС. После вывода из боевых частей Gladiator продолжали использоваться ВВС для связи и разведки погоды вплоть до 1944 года.

  
ТАКТИКО-ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЕ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКИ

   Gloster Gladiator Mk II

   Тип: одноместный истребитель
   Силовая установка: один радиальный двигатель Bristol Mercury VIIIA или VIIIA мощностью 830 л. с. (619 кВт)
   Летные характеристики: максимальная скорость на высоте 4450 м - 414 км/ч; время набора высоты 3050 м - 4 мин 45 с; потолок 10210 м; дальность полета 708 км
   Масса: пустого 1562 кг; максимальная взлетная 2206 кг
   Размеры: размах крыла 9,83 м; длина 8,36 м; высота 3,53 м; площадь крыла 30,01 м2
   Вооружение: четыре 7,7-мм пулемета Browning по бортам носовой части фюзеляжа и два аналогичных пулемета под нижним крылом

Flight, June 1935

NEW and EXPERIMENTAL TYPES at HENDON

   Gloster Day and Night Fighter: As sole representative at this year's R.A.F. Display of the day and night fighter class, produced to Air Ministry specification F.7/30, particular interest will attach to this Gloster machine. Designed and built by the producers of the "Gauntlet" single-seater fighter, which has a maximum speed of more than 230 m.p.h., the Gloster day and night fighter has to carry a considerably heavier load than is demanded of the "Gauntlet," yet it is believed that its performance bears comparison with that of the smaller machine. The engine is a Bristol "Mercury VI" nine-cylinder radial supercharged engine, which develops 645 h.p. at 15,000ft. In its general lines the Gloster day and night fighter resembles the "Gauntlet," but it has a cantilever undercarriage.

Flight, November 1935

FOR THE SERVICE ARENA
The Gloster Gladiator Day and Night Fighter: First Performance Figures Disclosed: 260 m.p.h. at 15,500 ft.

   THE last competition held by the Air Ministry for single-seater day-and-night fighters resulted in the placing of an order with the Gloster Aircraft Company for a large number of machines similar to the private venture type which it submitted. Subsequently the aircraft became known as the Gladiator, and as such will soon be going into service with the Royal Air Force.
   Essentially it is a development of the Gauntlet, which is already standard equipment. Unlike the Gauntlet, however, it has single-bay wings, which, it is said, have been arranged to give equal rigidity. Another innovation is the single-strut cantilever undercarriage, which is fitted with Dowty internally sprung wheels, and which is reported to have given entire satisfaction during service trials. There are four machine guns - two in the fuselage and two below the bottom planes.
   The wings embody "dumbell" spars and duralumin ribs, and the fuselage construction is generally similar to that employed in the Gauntlet.
   Although carrying some hundreds of pounds more fuel and equipment, even with the same engine as the Gauntlet (the 605-645 h.p. Bristol Mercury VI.S.), the Gladiator has a greatly improved performance. With a later type of Mercury - the Mk. IX., rated at 685-715 h.p. - the performance for a biplane in the day-and-night fighter category is quite amazing.
   At 15,500 ft. the Gladiator makes a top speed of 260 m.p.h. It stalls at 60 m.p.h., climbs to 10,000 ft. in 4 1/2 mins., and to 20,000 ft. in 9 mins. 20 secs. Its service ceiling is 35,000 ft. The weight empty is 3,234 lb., and with full military load, which includes wireless, oxygen and night-flying gear, the machine weighs 4,400 lb.

Flight, March 1937

ENTRY of the GLADIATOR
Production Gloster Fighter Now Being Delivered to Squadrons: Manoeuvrability Combined with Speed: Flaps Increase: Speed Range to 4 1/2 : 1

   MANY interesting features are found on close examination of the Gloster Gladiator, which is now being produced in very large quantities at the Hucclecote works of the Gloster Aircraft Company. Some delay in production was unavoidable in view of the rebuilding of large sections of the old factory and its extension into new works, but the production of the “bits and pieces” has proceeded, only the final assembly having been held up somewhat by the works extensions. Now, however, the Gladiators are erupting on to the aerodrome in a steady stream, and a number of fighter squadrons in the R.A.F. are looking forward to giving their new equipment a thorough try-out. From the reports of the Gloster test pilots there is little doubt that the Gladiator will very rapidly become as popular in the squadrons as is its predecessor, the Gauntlet.
   In a general way the Gladiator resembles the earlier type, but various refinements have been introduced which have resulted in a very marked increase in performance. The biplane wings have single-bay instead of two-bay bracing, and the undercarriage is of the Dowty cantilever sprung-wheel type, which probably offers remarkably small drag. The Plastilume-moulded Perspex roof over the cockpit should add several m.p.h. to the speed, in addition to affording protection at the great altitudes at which the single-seater day-and-night fighter has to do its work. (The service ceiling is 35,000 ft.) The Bristol Mercury IX engine is of 730/840 b.h.p., and gives its maximum power at 14,000 ft. The combined Townend and exhaust ring may be assumed to play its part in the general reduction of drag, and the efficiency of the machine is indicated by the fact that the top speed is 253 m.p.h., while the speed range, when using the trailing-edge flaps, reaches the very good value of 4 1/2 : 1.
   In spite of the growing popularity of the monoplane there are still many people, including a number of fighter pilots, who believe that, provided the speed of the fighter is sufficiently greater than the speed of the bomber against which it is being used, the biplane has much to recommend it, its smaller overall dimensions and lower moments of inertia making it more nimble in manoeuvres than the heavier and larger monoplane. While that view persists there is no cause for regretting that the Air Ministry is still taking delivery of biplane fighters.
   Structurally, the Gladiator is a quite simple and straightforward aeroplane. The fuselage is built on the well-tried Hawker system, the rear portion having tubular longerons of circular section, with fiats formed at the points where the struts are attached. The forward fuselage portion is built up of square-section tubes, the joints being of the flat-plate type. In the wing construction also one finds Hawker influence, the main spars being of "dumb-bell" section manufactured from high-tensile steel strip. The drag ribs are of steel and duralumin strip and the lighter ribs of duralumin strip. The rounded form of the fuselage is produced by a light secondary structure of light-metal formers and stringers, the latter being attached by a very neat stud-and-split-pin arrangement. The lower wing roots are built integral with the fuselage and have spars of circular-section steel tube.
   One of the interesting features of the Gladiator is the undercarriage, which, as already mentioned, is of the cantilever type. The "legs" form a letter A as seen from in front, the upper ends meeting at the top of the fireproof engine bulkhead and the lower ends being splayed out to give the necessary wheel track. Each strut is of double taper, being of small diameter at both ends but of large diameter in the centre. The Dowty internally sprung wheels are in themselves of a form to give low drag, and the shape of the lower end of the strut is such that interference drag is probably reduced to a minimum. That this type of undercarriage is strong was demonstrated when one of Gloster's test pilots had to make a hurried forced landing during a test flight. The machine ran through a couple of hedges and finished up on its nose, but the cantilever undercarriage was undamaged.
   The biplane wing arrangement of the Gladiator is along orthodox lines, with single-bay bracing. Rigging is facilitated by having special fine-adjustment turnbuckles only at the lower ends of the streamline wires. One unusual feature is provided by the trailing-edge flaps, a modern touch not usually found on biplanes. These flaps are quite small and are fitted on both upper and lower wings. They serve to increase drag rather than to increase lift, although there is a difference in stalling speed of 3 m.p.h. between flaps-up and flaps-down minima, the actual figures being 59 m.p.h. and 53 m.p.h. respectively. For making landings at night, the advantage of being able to steepen the approach angle is obvious. The flaps are operated by a hydraulic hand pump. An interesting wing detail is the use of strut-root cuffs made of Plastilume-moulded Celastoid.
   The Bristol Mercury engine drives a wooden two-bladed airscrew in the standard production Gladiator, although one batch has been fitted experimentally with Fairey three-bladed metal airscrews. The main petrol tank is housed in the fuselage, just ahead of the pilot's feet, and has a capacity of 84 gallons. Normally, however, it contains only 70, which quantity gives the machine its range at normal load. As the Gladiator is stressed for an all-up weight of 4,750 lb. and the normal gross weight is only 4,640 lb., the extra fuel does not represent an overload. The oil tank is carried in the deck fairing, and a corrugated oil cooler forms a curved “mat” outside it.
   Military equipment is, needless to say, very complete indeed, and includes full day-and-night-fighter gear, such as navigation lights, two-way wireless, oxygen bottle and cockpit heating. The armament consists of four machine guns (Vickers or Browning), two of which are carried in the side fairings of the fuselage and provided with interrupter gear, while the other two are carried in "blisters" in the lower wings. The wing guns are, of course, outside the airscrew disc, and so no interrupter gear is necessary.
   Some of the performance figures of the Gladiator have already been quoted. It may be added that the maximum speed of 253 m.p.h. is attained at 14,500 ft. The climb to 15,000 ft. occupies but 6.25 minutes, and a height of 20,000 ft. is reached in 9 minutes. The Gloster Aircraft Co., Ltd., guarantees the weight and performance figures within narrow limits, viz., +-3 per cent, on speed and climb, and +-2 per cent, on weight. The tare weight, by the way, is 3,476 lb. The load factors built into the Gladiator are such as to permit the machine to be used for aerobatics and T.V. dives at full gross weight.

Flight, November 1939

Britain's Military Aircraft
A Survey of Our Service Machines

GLOSTER

   THE Gloster Gladiator single-seater fighter biplane is by now so familiar that structural description is hardly warranted, particularly in view of the fact that the following details are now available of the latest Gladiator II. This has a Mercury VIIIA engine, of the type built in the shadow factories, with automatic mixture control carburettor and Hobson control box; a flying instrument panel with B.3 vacuum pump; desert equipment, consisting ot a two-gallon water tank, Service water bottle, emergency ration container, tool kit, ground signalling strips, sand excluders and Vokes air cleaner, and a larger accumulator for electric starting from the cockpit.
   The armament is four Browning machine guns and the top speed is 255 m.p.h. at 15,000ft. The climb to 20,000ft. takes only nine minutes and the service ceiling is as high as 32,800ft.

The Gloster Aircraft Co.. Ltd., 3, St. James’s Square, London.