"Gloster F5/34" Topic

In the July the 1st 1937 Flight Magazine an article introduced four of "our latest Military Aircraft" displayed at Hendon. Some splendid photo's show a very smart radial engined low wing, teardrop canopy, stressed skin, retractable undercarriage. Described as a MultiGun Model with a Bristol Mercuary Radial and a metal monocoque fuselage the magazine reckoned it could break 300mph.

This was the Gloster F5/34 or the "Unnamed Fighter" which would have been a pretty poor legacy if it had become a first line aircraft.
" I say old sport, just come back from a jape over the channel in my Unnamed fighter, bagged a few Zestorers!"

Yeah.

Well the Gloster was in competition with other machines for an 8 gun fighter for use in hot climates, obviously with a nod towards Japans increasing threat.
Duralumin was used for the skin "Strong as Steel -Light as Aluminum" boasted the advert.

Wiki says that the machine diddnt fly tilltill December 1937 but photographic evidence proves this wrong, it was flying displays in June.

Compared to its contemporaries, test pilots found the F.5/34 prototypes had a shorter takeoff, better initial climb, were more responsive and manoeuvrable due to ailerons that did not become excessively heavy at high speed. Handling was considered very good and the all-round cockpit visibility was far better than the other designs.

At a time where speed was all in a fighter the F5/34 was at best making 320mph A Hurricanes performance the year before was 314mph. Addition of a steel prop brought this in 1939 to 320mph.
Speed was obviously not the factor! The RAF had invested heavily in the Hurricane soon to enter squadron service and a contract for the F5 would have been expensive.

It does make you wonder how these two prototype planes, if they had reached service would have performed against Bf109's. Their superior climbing and turning might have made for an easier battle over Britain.
The undying legend of Spitfires and "unnamed fighters" might have carried forever into british history.

Gloster F5/34 in Blazing Skies.

link

Gloster F5/34
Throttle 5/4(12-16)
Structure 11
Speed 4/7
Manouver B
Weapons 8X.303 8/18/5
Special TDC C

In the F5 you have amachine that for all purposes is the equal to a Hurricane. Think of it as a slightly less tough Hawker Hurricane Mk1 with a more responsive aerobatic ability.
In this respect you can go toe to toe with Bf109E's quite happily. I assume for the game purposes that 8 .303 brownings would have been installed. Your options are varied against early war fighters. Either stay for the angles fight or go for diving attacks. It really depends on your positioning at the time. Bear in mind that you have the old gravity feed carburetors so spending time inverted is risky. Later war you will of course be utterly outclassed by the heavy armour, massive engined cannon armed death machines. The F5 would have perhaps evolved along with time and perhaps ahuge Griffon stuck on the front could have been a common sight on VE day?

"and perhaps ahuge Griffon stuck on the front could have been a common sight on VE day?"

Like Judge Dredds Lawmaster Bike.

link

Excellent find! Only Gloster Pilots smoke the smooth taste of Strathmore Fags

The reason for the Hawker bid over the Gloucester was made up of several points.

the RAF was rearming fast and was introducing an interim fighter between biplanes and the new monoplanes, this was the Gloucester Gladiator, so the production lines were already in use. Hawkers lines were clear and indeed Hurricanes did share some components with the earlier Fury so could be put into production faster.

And remember even at this point, the main Interceptor was seen as being the Spitfire, once enough of them were built.

Secondly the Bristol engine did not perform as well at high altitude as the Rolls Royce alternative, the rejection also took into account that the plane did not seem (due to its size) to have the same improvement curve that the alternatives did.

Gloucester could have continued with the design as a private venture (in the way DeHavilland built the Mosquito), but the design team was about to be given a most important task, developing the new fangled jet engine and airframe..

In other words there was nothing wrong wioth the gloucester design, or the Martin Baker one of the same era, just the RAFs aim was Spitfires for all, and the Hurricane was a better path to that goal. So wrong time, wrong place.

Thanks Rapier! That all makes good sense.

Also of interest is the myth that the Zero was developed from the F5.

In the bizarre world of inter war prototypes – in a different reality the aforementioned pilot could have traded in his Dormouse ( link ) for a Gloster Unknown !

Dormous – surely the worst name for a potential fighter…unless "you know different "

I've heard comments on the visual similarities to the Zero, I suspect with the same material and engineering technologies, along with the same basic understanding of streamlining, going for the same objective, it was possible it was going to happen (doubly so as Gloster seems to have helped with some early Japanese designs). It might have made the skies in the far east very confusing if they had both met in combat!