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Gloster F.5/34

1938 WORLD WAR 2 X-PLANE

History

The period before World War II (1939-1945) was a period of advancing agendas and technologies. Many aircraft makers are looking to strike potentially lucrative deals with governments around the world. Gloster Aircraft, a major player in the British aviation industry since its inception in 1917 during the First World War, attempted to sell its new single-seat, single-engine monoplane - the Gloster "F.

5/34".

Gloucester only had biplane type experience before working on the F.5 project. The F.5 is a step in the right direction, giving the company's engineers much-needed experience in the nuances of monoplane flight, including retractable landing gear, fully enclosed cockpits and metal fairings. Henry Folland and H.E.

Preston are both credited with designing it.

The F.5/34 was developed by the company to meet the Air Ministrys F.5/35 specification (hence the name), and the design will be aligned with submissions from industry giants such as Bristol, Martin Baker and Vickers compete. The requirement calls for a radially powered artillery platform with no less than 8x7.7mm machine guns.

Its main purpose was to operate in the tropical and mountainous environments of the Far East, where claims of British colonialism are still alive and well. The uniqueness of this environment requires an equally unique fighting platform.

As planned, the F. 5/34 will be powered by an 840-horsepower Bristol Mercury IX 9-cylinder radial-piston air-cooled engine that drives the three-bladed propeller in the nose. The cockpit will be mounted directly to the stern, and the empennage will contain a simple single rudder dual stabilizer assembly. The landing gear consists of a trailing configuration for ground operations. The main aircraft is set amidships forward and is designed to be straight and rounded at the tip.

The structure includes metal alloys and fabrics, using a duralumin skin process. Its appearance is similar to the classic Japanese Mitsubishi A6M "Zero", and the British design may have been the inspiration for this famous aircraft.

The first flight was recorded in December 1937, followed by a second prototype.

The aircraft is 32 feet long, with a wingspan of 38.1 feet and a height of 10.1 feet. The kerb weight is 4,200 pounds and the MTOW is 5,400 pounds. Top speed hits 316 mph, advertised service caps at 32,500 feet, and 20,000 feet in 11 minutes.

The proposed weapon is the requested 8 x 7.7mm machine gun.

The Gloucester F. 5/34 performed well during testing, but it faces an uphill battle, a new war is brewing in Europe, and the RAF has committed to buying Hawker Hurricane stocks as well as Supermarine Spitfire fighters , these fighters are for the foreseeable future, it's more than a powerful shooting platform. After the outbreak of war service in September 1939, the Gloucester aircraft was downgraded for testing, and its flight days ended in May 1941.