Göta Wing ( Swedish : Göta flygflottilj ), also F 9 Säve , or simply F 9 , was a Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located near Gothenburg in south-west Sweden .
81-446: The decision to set up the air wing was made in 1936 to defend the import/export harbours on the west coast. The wing itself was not commissioned until October 1, 1940 and the airfield took until 1941 to complete. Initially, two squadrons of J 8 fighters were commissioned in 1940, but they were quickly replaced by three squadrons of J 11s . In 1942 hangars and some of the base command were relocated inside large shelters blasted out of
162-657: A Dornier Do 18 flying boat ('8L+DK' of 2.KuFlGr 606), on the North Sea. On 10 April 1941, 804 NAS took off from Hatston , in Orkney , to intercept a group of approaching German aircraft. Lt Cdr J. C. Cockburn was credited with one destroyed and Blue Section with a "damaged". The Norwegian Campaign saw both Norwegian and British Gladiators battling the Luftwaffe, with the Norwegian Jagevingen fighting in
243-467: A cantilever main undercarriage, which incorporated Dowty internally sprung wheels, allowing for more simple rigid landing gear struts. In spring 1934, Gloster embarked on the construction of a single SS.37 prototype. On 12 September 1934, the SS.37 prototype conducted its maiden flight , piloted by Gloster chief test pilot Gerry Sayer . Initially powered by a 530 hp (400 kW) Mercury IV engine,
324-552: A British formation of nine Blenheims that was attacking Bardia, and was in turn reportedly attacked by 15 Gladiators. The five Gladiators of 33 Squadron claimed four CR.42s destroyed. On 4 August 1940, Fiat biplanes from 160 Squadriglia of Capitano Duilio Fanali intercepted four Gladiators commanded by Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle (eventually to become one of the top-scoring Allied aces with approximately 50 claims) that were attacking Breda Ba.65s while they were strafing British armoured vehicles. The battle became confused. Initially it
405-585: A CR.32 and a CR.42, therefore air superiority was finally achieved by Gladiators and the Hurricanes. The Gladiator's last air combat with an Italian fighter was on 24 October 1941, with the CR.42 of Tenente Malavolti (or, according to historian Håkan Gustavsson, sottotenente Malavolta ). The Italian pilot took off to strafe British airfields at Dabat and Adi Arcai . According to the Italian historian Nico Sgarlato,
486-482: A Luftwaffe bombing raid destroyed many of the BEF's Gladiators and Hurricanes on the ground at Vitry-en-Artois , shortly after which the BEF's withdrawal to Dunkirk for evacuation to mainland Britain began. Gladiators typically flew patrol flights that led to occasional clashes with Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft. On 17 October 1940, British Gladiators scored their first success when No 607 Squadron "B" Flight shot down
567-471: A Macchi and on 23 June, a Gladiator flown by George Burges, managed to shoot down an MC.200. Another successful pilot over Malta was "Timber" Woods who managed to shoot down two S.79s and two CR.42s, also claiming a Macchi hit on 11 June and another S.79 damaged. The Gladiators forced Italian fighters to escort bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Although the Regia Aeronautica had started with
648-451: A dogfight a CR.42 flown by Serg. Manlio Tarantino shot down Hartley's Gladiator (N5519), badly burning him. Woods shot down Antonio Chiodi, commander of the 75a Squadriglia five miles east of Grand Harbour. Chiodi was subsequently awarded a posthumous Medaglia d’Oro al Valor Militare , Italy's highest military award. In May 2009, the remains of Charity and others were the subject of an underwater search by NATO minesweepers. Hope (N5531)
729-495: A handful of them and suffering almost as many losses in the process, which could be one of the reasons for its quick retirement from first-line duty; the CR.42 on the other hand was successful against early British bombers, shooting down a hundred of them with minimal losses. In Eastern Africa, it was determined that Italian forces based on Ethiopia posed a threat to the British Aden Protectorate , thus it
810-441: A myth that three aircraft, named Faith , Hope and Charity , formed the entire fighter cover of the island. The aircraft names came into use after the battle. More than three aircraft were operational, though not always at the same time; others were used for spare parts. No 1435 Flight , which later assumed control of Malta's air defence, took on the names Faith , Hope and Charity for its aircraft upon its reformation as
891-677: A need to defend Britain's trade routes throughout the overseas territories of the British Empire had been recognised, so the RAF redeployed many of its Gladiators to the Middle East to defend the theatre and the crucial Suez Canal . The Gladiator saw considerable action during early stages of the war, including participating in the action in the French and Norwegian campaigns, in addition to various peripheral campaigns. In October 1937,
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#1732801366436972-564: A number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed privately as the Gloster SS.37 , it was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft, and was rendered obsolescent by newer monoplane designs even as it was being introduced. Though often pitted against more advanced fighters during the early days of the Second World War , it acquitted itself reasonably well in combat. The Gladiator saw action in almost all theatres during
1053-579: A numerical advantage and air superiority, during the summer of 1940 the situation was reversed, with Hurricanes being delivered as fast as possible and gradually taking over the island's air defence. By June, two of the Gladiators had crashed and two more were assembled. Charity was shot down on 31 July 1940. Its pilot, Flying Officer Peter Hartley, scrambled at 09.45 with fellow pilots F. F. Taylor and Flight Lieutenant "Timber" Woods, to intercept an SM.79, escorted by nine CR.42s from 23° Gruppo. During
1134-633: A slightly more powerful Mercury VIIIAS engine with Hobson mixture control boxes and a partly automatic boost-control carburettor, driving a Fairey fixed-pitch three-blade metal propeller, instead of the two-blade wooden one of the Mark I. All MK II Gladiators also carried Browning 0.303-inch machine guns (licence-manufactured by the BSA company in Birmingham) in place of the Vickers-Lewis combination of
1215-441: A two-blade wooden fixed-pitch propeller, improved wheel discs, and a fully enclosed cockpit. K5200 was later used to trial modifications for production aircraft, such as the addition of a sliding hood for the pilot. In June 1935, production plans for the aircraft were proposed; two weeks later, a production specification, Specification F.14/35, had been rapidly drawn up, partially prompted by events in continental Europe, such as
1296-702: The Air Ministry were keen to supersede these aircraft. In particular, some dissatisfaction had arisen with the level of reliability experienced with the 'one pilot, two machine guns' design formula previously used; the guns were often prone to jams and being unreliable. The Air Ministry's technical planning committee formulated Specification F.7/30 , which sought a new aircraft capable of a maximum speed of at least 250 mph (400 km/h), an armament of no fewer than four machine guns, and such handling that that same fighter could be used by both day and night squadrons. Gloster, being already engaged with development of
1377-635: The Battle of Britain . Although no combat sorties took place at the height of the aerial battles, 247 Squadron Gladiators intercepted a Heinkel He 111 in late October 1940, without result. 239 Squadron , using Gladiators for army cooperation and 804 Naval Air Squadron , outfitted with Sea Gladiators, were also operational during the Battle of Britain. In the Mediterranean Theatre during 1940–41, Gladiators saw combat with four Allied air forces:
1458-664: The Gloster Gauntlet , did not initially respond to the specification, which later proved to be beneficial. The specification had also encouraged the use of the new Rolls-Royce Goshawk evaporatively cooled inline engine; many of the submissions produced by various aviation companies in response accordingly featured the Goshawk engine. However, the Goshawk engine proved to be unreliable, mainly due to its overcomplex and underdeveloped cooling system, and unsuited to use on fighter aircraft and this outcome stalled development of
1539-630: The Greco-Italian War . Flying Regiment 19, Finnish Air Force The Flight Regiment 19 ( Swedish : Flygflottilj 19 , Finnish : Lentorykmentti 19 or LentoR 19 ), also known as the Swedish Voluntary Air Force or F 19 was a Finnish Air Force unit, manned by Swedish volunteers, which operated from Kemi in northern Finland for the last 62 days of the Winter War . The aircraft also came from
1620-485: The J 29 . The 29 Tunnan did serve for over ten years until they were finally replaced by the J 34 where some units came from Svea Wing (F 8) and Södertörn Wing (F 18). The squadrons were gradually decommissioned one per year 1967-1969 until the wing itself was decommissioned on June 30, 1969. The airfield later operated as Gothenburg City Airport . The old mountain hangars house the Aeroseum museum. The wing
1701-561: The Mitsubishi A6M Zero entered the theatre, the Gladiators' days were numbered. "Buffalo" Wong, the first Gladiator flying ace and first American fighter ace of the war, was eventually shot down in combat with A6M Zeros on 14 March 1941 and died two days later from his injuries. Arthur Chin and he were among a group of 15 Chinese Americans who formed the original group of American volunteer combat aviators in China. During
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#17328013664361782-488: The Nanking area, Chinese-American Capt John Wong Sun-Shui (nicknamed 'Buffalo') shot down a Mitsubishi A5M "Claude" naval fighter, the first victim of a Gladiator. Wong is believed to have shot down a second A5M as the wrecks of two Japanese fighters were found. During that clash, Chinese Gladiators lost two of their number. Chinese Gladiators scored several more victories over Japanese aircraft from 1938 to 1940 during
1863-687: The North African and Greek Campaigns , making him the highest-scoring RAF biplane ace of the war. The 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War was unique in that the RAF and Royal Iraqi Air Force , used the Gladiator as their main fighter. Gladiators also saw action against the Vichy French in Syria . A stock of 18 Sea Gladiators from 802 Naval Air Squadron had been delivered by HMS Glorious , in early 1940. Three were later shipped out to take part in
1944-557: The Second Sino-Japanese War . In China, Gladiators were used extensively before the start of 1940 by the 28th, 29th, and 32nd squadrons of the 3rd Group. Chinese aviators considered the Gladiator an excellent fighter in its class, but pilots soon found it increasingly difficult to hold their own against the modern A5M, and because of a lack of spare parts due to an arms embargo, the surviving Gladiators were mostly relegated to training. When newer Japanese aircraft such as
2025-655: The Swedish Air Force inventory. Its designation number was taken from the Swedish Air Force which had 18 flying regiments at the time. The designation F 19 has not been used in Sweden. When new regiments were later formed they were named F 20, F 21 and F 22. The unit made a significant contribution to the defense of Finnish Lapland, from January 7, 1940, with 12 Gloster Gladiator II fighters, five Hawker Hart bombers, and eight other planes. In total,
2106-631: The Winter War , the Finnish Air Force (FAF) obtained 30 Mk II fighters from the UK. Ten of the aircraft were donated, while the other 20 were bought by the FAF; all were delivered between 18 January and 16 February 1940, the first entering service on 2 February 1940. The Finnish Gladiators served until 1945, but they were outclassed by modern Soviet fighters during the Continuation War , and
2187-591: The 10 June surrender of the mainland Norwegian forces. Only the aircraft of the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service (one M.F.11 and four He 115s ) had the range to fly from their last bases in northern Norway to the UK. Two Army Air Service Fokker C.V .Ds and one Tiger Moth also managed to escape eastwards to Finland before the surrender. Three naval M.F.11s and one He 115 flew to Finland, landing on Lake Salmijärvi in Petsamo . All
2268-502: The Air Ministry were sceptical about the aircraft achieving such performance from a radial engine design, so funded a protracted series of evaluation trials. On 3 April 1935, the prototype was transferred to the RAF, receiving the designation K5200 , and commenced operational evaluations of the type. Around the same time, Gloster proceeded to plan a further improved version, featuring an 840 hp (630 kW) Mercury IX engine,
2349-412: The CR.42 pilot took violent evasive action, Hope pursued, closing to 20 yards and firing as it tried to dive away. There was a brief flicker of flame and the last Italian aircraft to be shot down over East Africa spun into the ground and burst into flames near Ambazzo. The next day the wreckage was found, the dead pilot still in the cockpit. Hope dropped a message on Italian positions at Ambazzo: "Tribute to
2430-453: The CR.42 was intercepted by three Gladiators and managed to shoot down two of them, but was then itself shot down and the pilot killed. Other authors state that Malavolti managed only to fire on the two Gladiators before being shot down. According to Gustavsson, SAAF pilot (no. 47484V) Lieutenant Lancelot Charles Henry "Paddy" Hope, at Dabat airfield, scrambled to intercept the CR.42 (MM7117). Diving on it, he opened fire at 300 yards. Although
2511-734: The Chinese Central Government ordered 36 Gladiator Is, which were delivered in two crated batches to Guangzhou via Hong Kong . The Chinese Gladiators used the American M1919 Browning machine gun to fire American .30-06 Springfield ammunition, the main ammunition of the new Chinese Nationalist Air Force . By February 1938, these aircraft had been assembled into two squadrons and the Chinese pilots familiarised themselves with them. The Gloster Gladiator had its combat début on 24 February 1938. That day, in
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2592-467: The East African campaign. Towards the end of the war Gladiators were flown by Meteorological Flight 1566 out of Hiswa, Aden. Tension had been building between Greece and Italy since 7 April 1939, when Italian troops occupied Albania . On 28 October 1940, Italy issued an ultimatum to Greece, which was promptly rejected ; a few hours later, Italian troops launched an invasion of Greece, initiating
2673-613: The FAF Gladiators, the Swedish Voluntary Air Force , responsible for the air defence of northernmost Finland during the later part of the Winter War, was also equipped with Gladiator fighters, known as J8s (Mk Is) and J8As (Mk IIs). The Flying Regiment F 19 arrived in Finnish Lapland on 10 January 1940 and remained there until the end of hostilities. It fielded 12 Gladiator Mk II fighters, two of which were lost during
2754-569: The Hurricane and Spitfire monoplanes; an emphasis was soon placed on quickly re-equipping half of the Gladiator squadrons with either of these monoplane types. By the outbreak of the Second World War, the Gladiator had largely been replaced by the Hurricane and Spitfire in front-line RAF service. The introduction of these aircraft had been eased by the presence of the Gladiator, squadrons that had operated Gladiators prior to converting to
2835-531: The Italians lost four aircraft, and four more force-landed (it seems that all were later recovered). That battle highlighted the strong points of the Gladiator over the CR.42, especially the radio equipment, which had permitted a coordinated attack, being also crucial for obtaining the initial surprise, and the Gladiator's superior low-altitude overall performance, including speed and a markedly superior horizontal manoeuvrability over its Italian opponent. Overall,
2916-581: The MK I. A modified Mk II, the Sea Gladiator, was developed for the Fleet Air Arm , with an arrestor hook , catapult attachment points, a strengthened airframe, and an underbelly fairing for a dinghy lifeboat, all for operations aboard aircraft carriers . Of the 98 aircraft built as, or converted to, Sea Gladiators, 54 were still in service by the outbreak of the Second World War. The Gladiator
2997-550: The Norwegian Campaign and another three were sent to Egypt. By April, Malta was in need of fighter protection and it was decided to form a flight of Gladiators at RAF Hal Far , to be composed of RAF and FAA personnel. Several Sea Gladiators were assembled and test-flown. In the siege of Malta in 1940, for ten days the fighter force defending Malta was the Hal Far Fighter Flight , giving rise to
3078-556: The RAF, Royal Australian Air Force , South African Air Force and Ellinikí Vasilikí Aeroporía (Royal Hellenic Air Force) squadrons. These achieved some success against the Italian Regia Aeronautica , which was mainly equipped with Fiat CR.32 and Fiat CR.42 biplanes, and against Luftwaffe bombers. The South African ace Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle (who served with the RAF), claimed 15 kills in Gladiators during
3159-590: The Second World War, with a large number of air forces, some of them on the Axis side. The RAF used it in France , Norway , Greece , the defence of Malta , the Middle East, and the brief Anglo-Iraqi War (during which the Royal Iraqi Air Force was similarly equipped). Other countries deploying the Gladiator included China against Japan, beginning in 1938; Finland (along with Swedish volunteers ) against
3240-633: The Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War ; Sweden as a neutral noncombatant (although Swedish volunteers fought for Finland against USSR); and Norway, Belgium, and Greece resisting Axis invasion of their respective lands. South African pilot Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle was the top Gladiator ace with 15 victories with the type. During the 1920s, Britain's air defences had been based around interceptor aircraft capable of flying only for short ranges and at speeds of 150 to 200 miles per hour (240 to 320 km/h), but by 1930, figures within
3321-521: The air defence unit in the Falkland Islands in 1988. The Italian air force units deployed against Malta should have easily defeated the Gladiators but its manoeuvrability and good tactics won several engagements, often starting with a dive on Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero bombers before the Fiat CR.42 and Macchi MC.200 escort fighters could react. On 11 June 1940, a Gladiator damaged
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3402-505: The aircraft intended to use it. A further stumbling point for many of the submitted designs was the placement of the machine gun breeches within arm's reach of the pilot. At the same time, the development of monoplane fighters such as the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire cast doubt over the future viability of the requirement altogether. Gloster recognised that instead of developing an all-new design from scratch,
3483-510: The aircraft was mostly used for reconnaissance from 1941. The Finnish Air Force obtained 45 aerial victories by 22 pilots with the aircraft during the Winter War and one victory during the Continuation War. Twelve Gladiators were lost in combat during the Winter War and three during the Continuation War. Two pilots became aces with this aircraft: Oiva Tuominen (6.5 victories with Gladiators) and Paavo Berg (five victories). Besides
3564-410: The biplanes took place on 14 June over Amseat. Tenente Franco Lucchini , of 90 Squadriglia , 10° Gruppo , 4° Stormo , flying a CR.42 from Tobruk , shot down a Gladiator; it was the first claim made against the RAF in the desert war. On the afternoon of 24 July, CR.42s and Gladiators clashed over Bardia . A formation of 11 CR.42s from 10° Gruppo , backed by six more from the 13° Gruppo attacked
3645-825: The defence of Oslo on the first day of Operation Weserübung , the German invasion. Later, British Gladiators fought to provide fighter cover for the Allied reinforcements sent to the assistance of the Norwegian government. The Gladiator pilots of the Norwegian Jagevingen (fighter flight) were based at Fornebu Airport . On 9 April, the first day of the invasion of Norway, the seven serviceable aircraft managed to shoot down five German aircraft: two Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters, two He 111 bombers and one Fallschirmjäger -laden Ju 52 transport . One Gladiator
3726-578: The end of 1937. The first version, the Gladiator Mk I, was delivered from July 1936, becoming operational in January 1937. When difficulties with Rolls-Royce Merlin combustion chamber threatened to postpone the readiness of the next-generation fighters, the Air Ministry hedged its bets by procuring three hundreds of Mk II Gladiators as a stopgap via Specification F.36/37 (the delivery of 252 planes took until April 1940). The main differences were
3807-460: The existing Gauntlet fighter could be used as a basis for a contender to meet Specification F.7/30. Development of what would become the Gladiator began as a private venture, internally designated as the SS.37, at Gloster, by a design team headed by H.P. Folland , who soon identified various changes to increase the aircraft's suitability to conform with the demands of the specification. Making use of wing-design techniques developed by Hawker Aircraft ,
3888-527: The few Gladiators and CR.42s clashed with a substantial parity: considering all theatres, the kill ratio was 1.2-to-1 in favour of the former, a ratio similar to that of the Bf 109 and the Spitfire in the Battle of Britain, a duel considered evenly balanced by most historians. However, the Gladiator, optimised for dogfighting, met with only little success against the relatively fast Italian bombers, shooting down only
3969-571: The fighting and five Hawker Hart dive bombers, plus a Raab-Katzenstein RK-26 liaison aircraft and a Junkers F.13 transport aircraft. The aircraft belonged to and were crewed by the Swedish Air Force but flew with Finnish nationality markings. The Swedish Gladiators scored eight aerial victories and destroyed four aircraft on the ground. One concern was expressed when F 19's executive officer Captain Björn Bjuggren wrote in his memoirs, that
4050-436: The first unit to receive Browning-armed Gladiators. By September 1937, all eight Gladiator squadrons had achieved operational status and had formed the spearhead of London's air defences. Difficulties with introducing the type had been experienced. Although the Gladiator was typically well-liked by pilots, the accident rate during operational training on the type was so high that a small replacement batch of 28 Gladiator Mk IIs
4131-514: The former Norwegian aircraft were later flown by the Finns against the Soviet Union. Gladiators were used also by 263 Squadron during the remaining two months of the Norwegian campaign. Prior to the German invasion of Norway, Britain had prepared this squadron with low-temperature environmental training. 263 Squadron arrived on the carrier HMS Glorious on 24 April and operated from an improvised landing strip built by Norwegian volunteers on
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#17328013664364212-462: The frozen lake Lesjaskogsvatnet in Oppland in central southern Norway. On 25 April, a pair of Gladiators destroyed a Heinkel He 115 aircraft; Luftwaffe bombers attacked the runway that day, wounding several pilots on the ground. By the end of the day, ten Gladiators had been destroyed for the loss of three German aircraft. After less than a week, all the squadron's aircraft were unserviceable and
4293-455: The initial batch was performed simultaneously, leading to many aircraft being completed around the same time. On 16 February 1937, K6129 , the first production Gladiator, was formally accepted by the RAF; on 4 March 1937, K6151 , the last aircraft of the initial batch, was delivered. In September 1935, a follow-up order of 180 aircraft was also received from the Air Ministry; this order had the proviso that all aircraft had to be delivered before
4374-545: The invasion of Abyssinia by Fascist Italy and the rise of Adolf Hitler to power in Germany, in response to which the British government mandated an urgent expansion of the RAF to counter the emerging threats. This culminated in an initial order for 23 aircraft. On 1 July 1935, the aircraft formally received the name Gladiator . Manufacturing of the Gladiator was started at Gloster's Hucclecote facility. Production of
4455-477: The mission of defending Aden airspace at day and night, and to protect Allied shipping operating in the vicinity. It was in the latter role that a single 94 Squadron Gladiator, piloted by Gordon Haywood, was responsible for the surrender and capture of the Italian Archimede-class submarine Galilei Galileo . On 6 June 1941, the Regia Aeronautica had only two serviceable aircraft remaining:
4536-530: The monoplane types experienced a noticeably improved accident record than those who converted from older types such as the Gauntlet. Experiences such as operating the Gladiator's landing flaps and familiarisation with its sliding hood have been attributed to having favourably impacted pilot conversion. Although by 1941, all Gladiators had been withdrawn from front-line duties defending the British Isles,
4617-413: The new fighter adopted single-bay wings in place of the two-bay wings of the Gauntlet, and two pairs of interplane struts were also dispensed with as a drag-reduction measure. The Bristol Mercury M.E.30 radial engine , capable of generating 700 hp (520 kW), was selected to power the SS.37, which provided a performance boost over the preceding Gauntlet. Another design choice was the fitting of
4698-735: The personnel were evacuated to Britain. Having re-equipped in Britain, 263 Squadron resumed its Gladiator operations in Norway when it returned to the north of Norway on 21 May, flying from Bardufoss airfield near Narvik . At the Narvik front , 263 Squadron was reinforced by Hurricanes of 46 Squadron , which flew to an airstrip in Skånland Municipality a few days later and several German aircraft were shot down. Due to unsuitable ground at Skånland, 46 Squadron moved to Bardufoss and
4779-538: The pilot of the Fiat. He was a brave man. South African Air Force." But operational record books of the Commonwealth units in the area state that they did not suffer any losses on this date. The dedication of the posthumous Medaglia d’oro al valor militare states that Malavolti shot down a Gladiator and forced another to crash land, but was himself shot down by a third Gladiator. This was the last air-to-air victory in
4860-545: The preceding Phoney War , on 24 April 1940 Belgian Gladiators on neutrality patrol shot down a German Heinkel He 111 bomber which subsequently crashed in the Netherlands . The bomber, V4+DA of Kampfgeschwader 1 , had been damaged by French fighters at Maubeuge , France, and chased across the Belgian border. The Gloster Gladiator was in operational service with 247 Squadron , stationed at RAF Roborough , Devon during
4941-419: The prototype was quickly re-equipped with a more powerful 645 hp (481 kW) Mercury VIS engine. During flight tests, the prototype attained a top speed of 242 mph (389 km/h; 210 kn) while carrying the required four .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns (two synchronised Vickers guns in the fuselage and two Lewis guns under the lower wing). According to aviation author Francis K. Mason,
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#17328013664365022-428: The remainder of the first production batch, replacing their obsolete Bristol Bulldogs . Initial service with the type proved the Vickers guns to be problematical; the Gladiator was quickly armed with .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns , which were substantially more popular, leading to the other guns often only being resorted to if deemed necessary. On 27 March 1937, No. 54 Squadron at Hornchurch became
5103-414: The rocks. Initially the shelter area was only 8,000 m (72,000 sq ft.) but it was later extended to 22,000 m (200,000 sq ft.) 30 m (100 ft) below ground level. During 1943, the J 11s were replaced by J 22s and subsequently by J 21s in 1946. The J 21s served for only three years until 1949 when they were replaced by the J 28B . After yet only two years the J 28Bs were in turn replaced by
5184-471: The top scoring pilot of all belligerent air forces in Eastern Africa (Africa Orientale) and the top biplane fighter ace of World War II. Tactically, the SAAF aircraft erred by engaging the CR.42's in a piecemeal fashion and not en masse, and they were heavily outnumbered. Early on in the offensive, Gladiators of No. 94 Squadron performed various attacks on the Italian forces; typical targets included airfields, supply depots, and aircraft. They were also assigned
5265-494: The total allotted to the RAF. Gladiators were sold to Belgium, China, Egypt, Finland, Free France , Greece, Iraq, Ireland, Latvia , Lithuania , Norway, Portugal, South Africa , and Sweden. In February 1937, No. 72 Squadron, based at Tangmere , became the first squadron to be equipped with the Gladiator; No. 72 operated the type until April 1939, longer than any other home-based frontline unit. Between March and April 1937, No. 3 Squadron at Kenley also received Gladiators from
5346-514: The tracer rounds of the Gladiator's machine guns would not ignite the aviation spirit when penetrating the fuel tanks of Soviet bombers. At the beginning of the Second World War, during what was known as the " Phoney War ", Britain deployed the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) into France to fight alongside the French army. As part of this force, RAF units operating various aircraft were dispatched to contribute, including two Gladiator squadrons. Initial air operations on either side were limited by
5427-634: The unit destroyed twelve Soviet aircraft (eight in the air, four on the ground), and lost a total of six planes; two to enemy action and four to accidents. Three of its pilots were killed and two more were captured by Soviet forces. The captives were returned to Sweden five months after the end of the war. The unit was equipped with 12 Gloster Gladiator Mk. Is, four Hawker Hart Mk. Is, one Raab-Katzenstein RK-26 , one Waco ZQC-6 , and one Junkers F 13k ä. The F 19 unit destroyed 12 enemy aircraft, and lost three Hawker Harts and three Gloster Gladiators due to various incidents, however, only one of these,
5508-422: The wing was presented by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf at the Säve Airfield on 13 October 1941. Blazon : "On blue cloth in the centre the badge of the Air Force; a winged two-bladed propeller under a royal crown proper, all in yellow. In the first corner a rampant yellow lion with an open crown." Decor through inserting and embroidery. Commanding officers from 1940 to 1969. The commanding officer
5589-432: The winter weather; however, immediately following Germany's commencement of the Manstein Plan and its invasion of the Low Countries on 10 May 1940, the BEF's Gladiators participated in the Dyle Plan , an unsuccessful counterattack on German forces. From 10 May 1940 to 17 May, the Gladiators were in continuous demand on the front line, quickly losing numerous aircraft and their crews in the rapid action. On 18 May 1940,
5670-575: Was credited with the destruction of three Heinkel He 111s, along with the probable destruction of a Junkers Ju 88 and another He 111 aircraft, during one sortie. British action in the theatre was short but intense before the squadrons, due to the British government's response to the invasion of France , were instructed on 2 June to undertake Operation Alphabet the evacuation from Norway. By then, 263 Squadron had flown 249 sorties and claimed 26 enemy aircraft destroyed. The ten surviving Gladiators landed on Glorious on 7 June. Glorious sailed for home but
5751-427: Was decided that an offensive would be necessary, in which the Gladiator would face off against the Italian biplane fighters: Fiat CR.32s and CR.42s. On 6 November 1940, in the first hour of the British offensive against Ethiopia, the Fiat CR.42 fighters of the 412a Squadriglia led by Capt. Antonio Raffi shot down five Gloster Gladiators of 1 SAAF Sqn; among the Italian pilots was the ace Mario Visintini , who later became
5832-572: Was destroyed on the ground by enemy bombing in May 1941. The fuselage of Faith is on display at the National War Museum , Fort St Elmo , Valletta today. The fate of at least five more Gladiators that saw action over Malta is not as well documented. In North Africa, Gladiators faced Italian Fiat CR.42 Falcos biplanes, which had a slightly superior performance to that of the Gladiator at higher altitudes. The first aerial combat between
5913-473: Was during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine . From September to December 1938, 33 Squadron RAF flew Gladiator strafing missions in support of British Mandate security forces. These were often in mountainous areas, and the aircraft came under substantial rifle fire. Three aircraft were destroyed, and two pilots killed, in these operations. During 1938, the RAF had begun to receive its first deliveries of
5994-550: Was first based at F 7 and from 16 June 1941 on the Säve Airfield at Hisingen in the City of Gothenburg . The runway system comprised three runways and the wing had two underground hangars; one from 1944 and one from 1955. Blazon : "The coat of arms of Gothenburg , azure, with waves argent six times divided bendy-sinister argent, charged with a double-tailed crowned lion rampant or, armed and langued gules". The colour of
6075-445: Was hurriedly produced. Most accidents were caused by pilots being caught out by the fighter's increased wing loading, and many aviators had little experience in landing aircraft with such a wide flap area. The aircraft had a tendency to stall more abruptly, frequently dropping a wing while doing so. The Gladiator very easily entered a flat spin , and great skill was needed to recover. The first use of RAF Gladiators on active service
6156-615: Was intercepted by the German battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst . Despite the valiant defence put up by the destroyers, HMS Acasta and Ardent , she was sunk along with the aircraft from four squadrons; 263 Squadron lost its CO, S/Ldr John W. Donaldson, and F/Lt Alvin Williams along with eight other pilots. Belgian Gladiators suffered heavy losses to the Germans in 1940 , with all 15 operational aircraft lost, while only managing to damage two German aircraft. During
6237-482: Was operating from this base by 27 May. The squadrons had been ordered to defend the fleet anchorage at Skånland and the Norwegian naval base at Harstad on the island of Hinnøya , as well as the Narvik area after it was recaptured. In the last days of May ground attack missions were also flown by the Gladiators against railway stations, German vehicles and coastal vessels. On 2 June, one Gladiator pilot, Louis Jacobsen,
6318-537: Was referred to as flottiljchef ("wing commander") and had the rank of colonel. 57°46′44″N 11°53′01″E / 57.77889°N 11.88361°E / 57.77889; 11.88361 Gloster Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter . It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to
6399-481: Was shot down during the air battle by the future experte Helmut Lent , while two were strafed and destroyed while refuelling and rearming at Fornebu airport. The remaining four operational fighters were ordered to land wherever they could away from the base. The Gladiators landed on frozen lakes around Oslo and were abandoned by their pilots, then wrecked by souvenir -hunting civilians. No Norwegian Army Air Service aircraft were able to evacuate westwards before
6480-662: Was the last British biplane fighter to be manufactured, and the first to feature an enclosed cockpit. It possessed a top speed of about 257 mph (414 km/h; 223 kn), yet even as the Gladiator was introduced, it was already being eclipsed by new-generation monoplane fighters, such as the RAF Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire, and the Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109 . In total, 747 aircraft were built (483 RAF, 98 RN), with 216 being exported to 13 countries, some of which were from
6561-793: Was thought that only the old CR.32s were involved, but there were also many CR.42s; it is likely that the then inexperienced Pattle was shot down by another future ace, Franco Lucchini . On this occasion, the Fiats managed to surprise the Gladiators, shooting down three of them. Wykeham Barnes, who was shot down but survived, claimed a Breda 65, while Pattle claimed a Ba 65 and a CR.42. On 8 August 1940, during another dogfight , 14 Gladiators of 80 Squadron took 16 Fiat CR.42s from 9° and 10° Gruppi of 4° Stormo (a Regia Aeronautica elite unit) by surprise over Gabr Saleh, well inside Italian territory. British pilots claimed 13 to 16 confirmed victories and one to seven probables, while losing two Gladiators. Actually
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