Time Period: Interwar Period, World War II (WW2)
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Type: Fighter Aircraft
Manufacturer: Gloster Aircraft
Gloster F.5/34 Aircraft Overview
The Gloster F.5/34 was a British prototype fighter aircraft developed in the mid-1930s. It was designed by the Gloster Aircraft Company in response to an Air Ministry specification for a new fighter aircraft to replace the aging biplane fighters then in service with the Royal Air Force.
The F.5/34 had a monoplane design and was powered by a Rolls-Royce Goshawk engine. It was armed with four machine guns and had a top speed of around 270 mph. The aircraft first flew in 1935, and a total of four prototypes were built.
Despite some promising flight tests, the F.5/34 was ultimately not selected for production by the Air Ministry, due to concerns over its engine and armament. Instead, the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire were selected for production, and went on to become the mainstay fighters of the Royal Air Force during World War II.
However, the F.5/34 did contribute to the development of later Gloster fighters, such as the Gloster Gladiator and the Gloster Meteor, which became the first British jet fighter to enter service.
Gloster F.5/34 Specifications
- Crew: 1
- Length: 32 ft 0 in (9.75 m)
- Wingspan: 38 ft 2 in (11.63 m)
- Height: 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m)
- Wing area: 230 sq ft (21 m2)
- Airfoil: root: NACA 2218; tip: NACA 2209
- Empty weight: 4,190 lb (1,901 kg)
- Gross weight: 5,400 lb (2,449 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Bristol Mercury IX 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 840 hp (630 kW)
- Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch propeller
Gloster F.5/34 Performance
- Maximum speed: 316 mph (509 km/h, 275 kn) at 16,000 ft (4,877 m)
- Service ceiling: 32,500 ft (9,900 m)
- Time to altitude: 20,000 ft (6,096 m) in 11 minutes
- Wing loading: 23.5 lb/sq ft (115 kg/m2)
- Power/mass: 0.156 hp/lb (0.256 kW/kg)
Gloster F.5/34 Armament
- Guns: 8x 0.303-in (7.7-mm) Browning machine guns.
