Gloster F.9/37

Gloster F.9/37
	Gloster F.9/37
Role	Heavy fighter
Manufacturer	Gloster Aircraft Company
Designer	George Carter
First flight	3 April 1939
Primary user	Royal Air Force (intended)
Number built	2

The Gloster F.9/37, also known as the Gloster G.39, was a British twin-engined design from the Gloster Aircraft Company for a cannon-armed heavy fighter to serve with the Royal Air Force, planned before the Second World War. The F.9/37 was rejected in favour of other designs.

A development of the F.9/37 as a night fighter, for a new Air Ministry Specifications F.29/40 – known unofficially as the "Gloster Reaper" – was dropped so that Gloster would be able to concentrate on existing work and on the nascent British jet projects.

Design and development

Gloster had designed a twin-engined turret-fighter for specification F.34/35 but the single-engine design from Boulton Paul (Boulton Paul Defiant) for F.9/35 was seen to cover both requirements and the F.34/35 design dropped. Less than two years later, F.9/37 for a "twin-engined single-seat fighter with fixed armament" was issued.^[1]

The F.9/37 was designed under the direction of W. G. Carter, his first for Gloster, to F.9/37 (hence the name) as a single-seat fighter carrying an armament of four 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns and two 20 mm Hispano cannon in the nose. Intended for dispersed production by semi-skilled labour, the structure broke down into sub-assemblies.^[2]

A prototype (military serial L7999) with 1,060 hp Bristol Taurus T-S(a) radial engines flew on 3 April 1939,^[3] and demonstrated excellent performance, its maximum speed of 360 mph (580 km/h) being the best recorded by a British fighter at the time.^[3] Test flights revealed that the prototype was very manoeuvrable and "a delight to fly."^[4] However, after being badly damaged in a landing accident in July 1939, it was re-engined with 900 hp Taurus T-S(a)-IIIs in 1940, which resulted in reduced performance. A second prototype (L8002) with 880 hp Rolls-Royce Peregrine I liquid-cooled inline engines flew on 22 February 1940;^[3] it proved capable of 330 mph (530 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,570 m).^[5]

F.18/40 and F.29/40

Specification F.18/40, for a dedicated night fighter, with both nose- and turret-mounted guns, led to Gloster submitting a design based on the F.9/37, fitted with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, a dorsal four-gun turret and Airborne Interception (AI) radar.^[6] This received support from the Air Staff who saw it as superior to the Bristol Beaufighter and the Air Ministry ordered one of the F.9/37 prototypes to be converted to the new specification as F.29/40.^[7]

Unofficially known as the "Gloster Reaper", it inherited the admirable handling characteristics of the F.9/37, and despite being judged superior to other designs, including turreted variants of the Beaufighter and de Havilland Mosquito, the Reaper was terminated^[7] in May 1941, so that Gloster could concentrate on other work, especially its work on jet aircraft.

Specifications (L7999 with Taurus engine)

Data from The British Fighter since 1912^[3]Gloster Aircraft since 1917^[8]

General characteristics

Crew: one

Performance

Climb to 28,000 feet (8,500 m): 19 min, 36 sec

Armament

Guns:
- Four 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns
- Two 20 mm Hispano cannon
Bombs: provision for 20lb bomb carriers^[8]

References

Notes

^ King, H. F. "From Mars to Javelin: F.9/37 (Taurus engines)." Flight, 27 May 1955, p. 275.
^ Mondey, David (1982). Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II. Chancellor Press. p. 117. ISBN 1851526684.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Mason 1992, p. 279.
^ Green 1961, p. 51.
^ James 1987, p. 236.
^ Morgan 1992, p. 360.
^ ^a ^b Buttler 2004, p. 62.
^ ^a ^b ^c James 1987, pp. 233–234.
^ Green and Swanborough 1994 ^{[page needed]}

Bibliography

Bowyer, Michael J.F. Interceptor Fighters for the Royal Air Force 1935–45. Wellingborough, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1984. ISBN 0-85059-726-9.
Buttler, Tony. Secret Projects: British Fighters and Bombers 1935 -1950 (British Secret Projects 3). Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-85780-179-2.
Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Two: Fighters. London: MacDonald & Co. (Publishers), 1961.
Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
James, Derek N. Gloster Aircraft since 1917. London: Putnam, 1987, First edition 1971. ISBN 0-85177-807-0.
Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter Since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
Mondey, David. The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II. London: Chancellor Press, 1994. ISBN 1-85152-668-4.
Morgan, Eric B. "The Gloster F.9/37" Twentyfirst Profile Volume 1, No. 12, March 1992. New Milton, Hampshire, UK: 21st Profile Ltd., 1992.

External links

Gloster F.9/37 – British Aircraft Directory
"Mars to Javelin" by H. F. King, Flight, pp. 713–731.

[1] King, H. F. "From Mars to Javelin: F.9/37 (Taurus engines)." Flight, 27 May 1955, p. 275.

[2] Mondey, David (1982). Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II. Chancellor Press. p. 117. ISBN 1851526684.

[mason_fighterp279-3] Mason 1992, p. 279.

[4] Green 1961, p. 51.

[5] James 1987, p. 236.

[6] Morgan 1992, p. 360.

[Buttler_p62-7] Buttler 2004, p. 62.

[James-8] James 1987, pp. 233–234.

[9] Green and Swanborough 1994 ^{[page needed]}

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v t e Gloster aircraft
Model numbers	G.1 G.11 G.12 G.14 G.16 G.17 G.18 SS.18 SS.19 G.20 G.21 G.22 G.23 G.25 G.27 G.28 G.30 AS/G.31 G.32 TC/G.33 SS.34 G.35 SS.35 FS.36 SS/G.37 G.38 TSR.38 G.39 G.40 G.41 G.42 G.43 G.44 G.47 G.50 GA.1 GA.2 GA.3 GA.4 GA.5 GA.6
Biplane fighters	Mars I Sparrowhawk Mars VI Nighthawk Mars X Nightjar Gannet Grebe Grouse Gorcock Gamecock Guan Goral Goring Goldfinch Gambet Gnatsnapper Gauntlet Gladiator
Monoplane fighters	F.5/34 F.9/37
Jet aircraft	E.28/39 Meteor E.1/44 Javelin Meteor "Prone Pilot" GA.1 GA.2 GA.3 GA.4 GA.5 P.370
Schneider Racers	II III IV VI
Other	Survey TC.33 TSR.38