fastmongrel
1st Sergeant
The Fleet Air Arm Museum at RNAS Yeovilton has released pictures of the only Remaining Gloster Gannet MkIa rebuilt after 15 years of restoration of the remains of a crashed fighter lifted from the seabed off Dunkirk.
Because it only served on the front line for 15 months not many people know the story of the Gannet and how the Royal Navy aquired it almost by accident.
In January 1938 the Ruritanian Air Force was about to order a second batch of Gloster Gladiators when its Intelligence Branch discovered that the neighbouring country of Dunogravia had just ordered 5 squadrons worth of Heinkel He112 fighters from Germany a modern monooplane that was a generation ahead of the biplane Gladiator. This shock was doubled when it was found that another neighbour Bolgorova had ordered I-16 Rata fighters from the Soviets. Ruritanian High Command realised they would be overwhelmed in an air battle with their 2 ancient enemies and a modern monoplane fighter must be obtained as soon as possible.
Aircraft factories in Britain, France and the USA were contacted but every factory had back orders and couldnt promise delivery before late 1940 or even later. A desperate Prince Herbold chief of the RAF (Ruritanian Air Force) purchasing commision visited the Gloster factory to ask if a monoplane could be produced to make an emergency fighter that could be utilised as an advanced trainer when the Curtiss Model 75s and Hawker Hurricanes that had just been ordered came into service.
The Gloster design team were still smarting about the Hurricane being chosen by the Air Ministry over their F5/34 fighter a fact made worse by both Hawkers and Glosters being part of the same manufacturing group. The F5/34 had been scrapped and all tooling dismantled so their was no chance of it being built for Ruritania but the design team did some work and realised the F5/37 wing design could be adapted to fit the Gladiator fuselage without too much modification. A fixed undercarriage prototype flew in the astonishgly short time of 9 months on Christmas Eve 1938. In February 1939 the prototype flew with modified Hawker Hurricane landing gear and proved to be a nippy and very manouverable plane. Ruritania ordered 68 and by taking Gladiator fuselages from the production line work started on the order.
Glosters were ready to deliver the first new fighters in September, October and November but unfortunately a secret pact had been signed by Dunogravia and Bolgorova in May 1939 and Ruritania was invaded on the 1st of September fighting was fierce but brief as the pincer attack swept through the border defences. Glosters were now stuck with 24 completed fighters and 44 in various stages of construction that no one wanted. Luckily with war being declared on the 3rd September the Royal Navy suddenly realised they were short of modern fighters the Fairey Fulmar was on order but could be a year or more from service. The Gloster Monoplane was tested by FAA pilots and found to be ideal for deck landing and able to carry 6 Browning .303 mgs. All the 68 planes started plus another 100 that would be known as the MkIa were ordered for the Navy.
The new fighter was named the Gannet and first saw action escorting Swordfish and Skuas attacking the German Army outside of Dunkirk. The Gannet would go on to be successful against Luftwaffe bombers but was outclassed by the 109 and 110 fighters. In the Mediteranean the Gannet was highly successful against Italian Fighters and Bombers until it was replaced by the Sea Hurricane and Fulmar.
Gloster Gannet MkI and MkIA
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 27 ft 5 in (8.36 m)
Wingspan: 36 ft 3 in (11.0 m)
Height: 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m)
Wing area: 174 ft2 (16.2 m2)
Empty weight: 3,614 lb (1,650 kg)
Loaded weight: 4,850 lb (2,199 kg)
Powerplant: MkI 1 × Bristol Mercury XXV radial engine, 930 hp (709 kW) at 14,000 ft:
MkIA 1 x Bristol Mercury XXVI 960 hp at 8,000 ft
Propeller De Havilland 3 blade constant speed (License built Hamilton Standard)
Performance
Maximum speed: MkI 296 mph (257 knots, 476 km/h) at 14,500 ft (4,400 m), MkIA 292 mph (260 knots, 270 km/h) at 8,000 ft
Cruise speed: 210 mph (183 knots, 388 km/h)
Stall speed: 63 mph (55 knots, 94 km/h)
Endurance: 2 hours
Service ceiling: MkI 32,800 ft (10,000 m), MkIA 24,500 ft (7468 m)
Rate of climb: MkI 2,300 ft/min (11.7 m/s), MkIA 2600 ft/min (12.2 m/s)
Climb to 10,000 ft (3,050 m): MkI 4.75 min, MkIA 4.2 min.
Armament
MkI Six .303 calibre Colt Browning machine guns
MkIA Eight .303 calibre Colt Brownings and could be fitted with underwing racks to carry two 112lb GP or AS Bombs.
IMG_20200301_183352339 by Stuart, on Flickr
IMG_20200301_183400210 by Stuart, on Flickr
IMG_20200301_183422969 by Stuart, on Flickr
IMG_20200301_183441060 by Stuart, on Flickr
Build thread on Britmodeller Gloster Gannet
Because it only served on the front line for 15 months not many people know the story of the Gannet and how the Royal Navy aquired it almost by accident.
In January 1938 the Ruritanian Air Force was about to order a second batch of Gloster Gladiators when its Intelligence Branch discovered that the neighbouring country of Dunogravia had just ordered 5 squadrons worth of Heinkel He112 fighters from Germany a modern monooplane that was a generation ahead of the biplane Gladiator. This shock was doubled when it was found that another neighbour Bolgorova had ordered I-16 Rata fighters from the Soviets. Ruritanian High Command realised they would be overwhelmed in an air battle with their 2 ancient enemies and a modern monoplane fighter must be obtained as soon as possible.
Aircraft factories in Britain, France and the USA were contacted but every factory had back orders and couldnt promise delivery before late 1940 or even later. A desperate Prince Herbold chief of the RAF (Ruritanian Air Force) purchasing commision visited the Gloster factory to ask if a monoplane could be produced to make an emergency fighter that could be utilised as an advanced trainer when the Curtiss Model 75s and Hawker Hurricanes that had just been ordered came into service.
The Gloster design team were still smarting about the Hurricane being chosen by the Air Ministry over their F5/34 fighter a fact made worse by both Hawkers and Glosters being part of the same manufacturing group. The F5/34 had been scrapped and all tooling dismantled so their was no chance of it being built for Ruritania but the design team did some work and realised the F5/37 wing design could be adapted to fit the Gladiator fuselage without too much modification. A fixed undercarriage prototype flew in the astonishgly short time of 9 months on Christmas Eve 1938. In February 1939 the prototype flew with modified Hawker Hurricane landing gear and proved to be a nippy and very manouverable plane. Ruritania ordered 68 and by taking Gladiator fuselages from the production line work started on the order.
Glosters were ready to deliver the first new fighters in September, October and November but unfortunately a secret pact had been signed by Dunogravia and Bolgorova in May 1939 and Ruritania was invaded on the 1st of September fighting was fierce but brief as the pincer attack swept through the border defences. Glosters were now stuck with 24 completed fighters and 44 in various stages of construction that no one wanted. Luckily with war being declared on the 3rd September the Royal Navy suddenly realised they were short of modern fighters the Fairey Fulmar was on order but could be a year or more from service. The Gloster Monoplane was tested by FAA pilots and found to be ideal for deck landing and able to carry 6 Browning .303 mgs. All the 68 planes started plus another 100 that would be known as the MkIa were ordered for the Navy.
The new fighter was named the Gannet and first saw action escorting Swordfish and Skuas attacking the German Army outside of Dunkirk. The Gannet would go on to be successful against Luftwaffe bombers but was outclassed by the 109 and 110 fighters. In the Mediteranean the Gannet was highly successful against Italian Fighters and Bombers until it was replaced by the Sea Hurricane and Fulmar.
Gloster Gannet MkI and MkIA
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 27 ft 5 in (8.36 m)
Wingspan: 36 ft 3 in (11.0 m)
Height: 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m)
Wing area: 174 ft2 (16.2 m2)
Empty weight: 3,614 lb (1,650 kg)
Loaded weight: 4,850 lb (2,199 kg)
Powerplant: MkI 1 × Bristol Mercury XXV radial engine, 930 hp (709 kW) at 14,000 ft:
MkIA 1 x Bristol Mercury XXVI 960 hp at 8,000 ft
Propeller De Havilland 3 blade constant speed (License built Hamilton Standard)
Performance
Maximum speed: MkI 296 mph (257 knots, 476 km/h) at 14,500 ft (4,400 m), MkIA 292 mph (260 knots, 270 km/h) at 8,000 ft
Cruise speed: 210 mph (183 knots, 388 km/h)
Stall speed: 63 mph (55 knots, 94 km/h)
Endurance: 2 hours
Service ceiling: MkI 32,800 ft (10,000 m), MkIA 24,500 ft (7468 m)
Rate of climb: MkI 2,300 ft/min (11.7 m/s), MkIA 2600 ft/min (12.2 m/s)
Climb to 10,000 ft (3,050 m): MkI 4.75 min, MkIA 4.2 min.
Armament
MkI Six .303 calibre Colt Browning machine guns
MkIA Eight .303 calibre Colt Brownings and could be fitted with underwing racks to carry two 112lb GP or AS Bombs.
Build thread on Britmodeller Gloster Gannet
