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Gloster Gauntlet

History of Gloucester Gloves

The Gloster Gauntlet originated from the Gloster design, which appeared for the Royal Air Force in the late 1920s and served with several local and foreign air forces throughout the 1930s. As a fighter jet, the plane was the fastest aircraft of its kind in the RAF when it was launched, before being eliminated by the faster Hurricane Hawke two years later. Despite its dated appearance (by 1940s standards), the Gauntlet had a presence on several key fronts during World War II, becoming the first flying experience many pilots had acquired through training.

The Gloster Gauntlet is believed to be the last open-cockpit biplane used by the Royal Air Force.

Gloucester designed, produced and flew a prototype SS.18 in January 1929 with a 450 hp Bristol Mercury IIA series radial engine, followed by a similar SS. 18A and SS.18B-models.

The A model features a 480hp Bristol Jupiter VIIF engine, while the B model features a 560hp Armstrong Siddeley Panther III range. These developments were further refined with the arrival of the SS. 19 Prototype with its Bristol Jupiter engine. Here, the prototype model is also merged into two other submodels of SS.

19A and SS. 19B. Aside from the running gear, the A model is unchanged, while the B model gets a 536-hp Bristol Jupiter VIS engine. In September 1933, the Air Ministry liked what they saw in the SS.

19 model prototypes and initial production orders were placed for 24 of the types designated as Gauntlet Mk I. The Mk I first flew in October 1934.

The Gloster Gauntlet was tested in the Night Fighter Experiment in 1937 and was the first aircraft in history to have a target guided entirely by ground radar. By 1938, the genre had shown its inherent limitations, and alternatives appeared in the form of the Gloucester Gladiator, Hawker Hurricane, and the all-powerful Super Sea Spitfire. In June 1939, the aircraft was still the primary mount for some RAF front-line units, but was inevitably relegated to secondary duties, especially as an instructor for aspiring rookies. With the intensification of World War II events and the advent of more modern aircraft, virtually all combat gloves on the British mainland disappeared, leaving some overseas-based systems still in use.

By April 1940, Gauntlets were still in use throughout Palestine, and later that year in East Africa, Gauntlets were blamed for the downing of Italian Caproni Ca 133 series bombers and limited ground attack sorties.

About 26 (14 at peak) RAF squadrons equipped with Gauntlets constitute the largest operator of the aircraft line. Australia deploys former RAF Gauntlets in the 3rd Squadron, while Denmark deploys them to the 1st Squadron Air Force of the Royal Danish Air Force (the latter has 17 locally licensed systems). Likewise, Southern Rhodesia uses ex-RAF handguards in its Southern Rhodesian Air Force 1 Squadron, and South Africa uses ex-RAF handguards in its 1st and 2nd Squadrons through the South African Air Force. Finland became the second largest operator, using Gauntlet for no less than five seasons.

These systems are mainly used as trainers and are equipped with ski suspensions for the rigors of the Finnish winter.