Continued from above… Gladiator happened at the height of the war; in the Mediterranean.
The situation was desperate: British forces had been driven from Greece and Crete; they now rested at Gibraltar. Royal Navy forces under Cunningham were pounding the Italian Navy. And a little island stood in the way of supplies to Rommel in North Africa: Malta. The Italians decided to wipe Malta off the face of the earth. To defend itself, Malta had only the component pieces of five Gloster Gladiators. Two were lost on runway accidents. The remaining three, named Faith, Hope and Charity, successfully defended Malta against the entire might of the Regia Aeronautica. They took heavy toll on the Italians, and stopped only when Hurricanes arrived. Marking the end of the era of the single-seat fighter biplane in the R.A.F. Indeed, it was one of the last three warplanes of this type to see operational service, the others being the Fiat C.R.42 Falco and the Polikarpov I-153. The Gloster Gladiator enjoyed a distinguished wartime career. The Gladiator was largely replaced in front line service by the Hurricane and Spitfire at the outbreak of World War II, although two squadrons were used in the French and Norwegian campaigns. The Gladiator will probably be best remembered for the heroic defense of Malta by three Sea Gladiators, (Faith, Hope, and Charity) and their exploits in the western desert. The Gloster Gladiator was a classic biplane fighter and was also one of Britain's biggest export successes before the war, seeing service in many other countries. |  | |
The Gloster Gladiator was the last biplane fighter built for use in the RAF but it served on many different war fronts until 1943 (it finished out the war as a trainer) It fought in many campaigns including Norway, Finland, Russia, Malta, North Africa, Greece, Egypt and France and even had a version designed for use by the Fleet air arm called the 'Sea Gladiator'. | Fact File:
Gloster Gladiator Last of the RAF biplane fighters The Gloster Gladiator enjoyed the distinction of being the last biplane fighter to serve with the Royal Air. Force, and was perhaps the ultimate expression of the fighter design philosophy to emerge from World War I. The Gladiator was derived from the Gloster Gauntlet fighter, which it resembled quite closely apart from having an enclosed cockpit, improved undercarriage, considerably more powerful engine and single-bay rather than twin-bay wings. Produced as a private venture in 1934, the Gladiator was first ordered by the RAF in July 1935, when the new generation of monoplane fighters was already well under way. In the event the Gladiator proved a useful interim type, its high performance, flaps and enclosed cockpit making eventual transition to monoplanes easier. Some 23 were ordered in the first batch as Marks Is. Two months later the RAF ordered 186 Mark IIs with Bristol Mercury VIIIA radials in place of the earlier mark's Mercury IXs. The same engine powered the 60 Sea Gladiators for the Fleet Air Arm. Gladiator construction was completed in the spring of 1940. The Gladiator entered service with the RAF in January 1939 and the Sea Gladiator with the Fleet Air Arm in February. The Sea Gladiator had the addition of an arrestor hook, dinghy bay, and catapult points. Already obsolescent at the time of their introductions, the two types were phased quite rapidly out of front-line service. Gladiators served in France with the Advanced Air Striking Force (two squadrons). Others served in Norway, and one final squadron with RAF Fighter Command (No 247) fought in the Battle of Britain, defending the Plymouth area. Gladiators nonetheless enjoyed a longer and very useful career against the Italians in North Africa, Greece and in the early stages of the Malta campaign. The Gladiator was the favorite mount of Britain's highest scoring 'ace', M. St J. Pattle, who fought in North Africa and Greece. The Gladiator's top speed of 253 mph made it only slightly slower than the biplane Fiat CR42, which was capable of 267 mph. Specifications: Span: 32 ft 3in. Length: 27 ft 5 in. Gross weight: 4,750 lb. Top speed: 253 mph. Armament: 4 x .303 cal Browning machine guns. | |
