The Gloster Gladiator (or Gloster SS.37) was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

-built biplane

Biplane

A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...

 fighter

Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

. It was used by the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 (RAF) and the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. It was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane

Monoplane

A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...

 designs even as it was being introduced. Though often pitted against more formidable foes during the early days of the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, it acquitted itself reasonably well in combat.

The Gladiator saw action in almost all theatres during the Second World War, with a large number of air forces, some of them on the Axis side. The RAF used it in France

Battle of France

In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...

, Norway

Norwegian Campaign

The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...

, Greece

Greco-Italian War

The Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkans Campaign of World War II...

, the defence of Malta

Siege of Malta (1940)

The Siege of Malta was a military campaign in the Mediterranean Theatre of the Second World War. From 1940-1942, the fight for the control of the strategically important island of Malta pitted the air forces and navies of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany against the Royal Air Force and the Royal...

, and the brief Anglo-Iraqi War

Anglo-Iraqi War

The Anglo-Iraqi War was the name of the British campaign against the rebel government of Rashid Ali in the Kingdom of Iraq during the Second World War. The war lasted from 2 May to 31 May 1941. The campaign resulted in the re-occupation of Iraq by British armed forces and the return to power of the...

 (in 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 the Soviet Union in the Winter War

Winter War

The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...

 and the Continuation War

Continuation War

The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...

; and Norway, Belgium, and Greece resisting Axis invasion of their respective lands.

South African Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle

Marmaduke Pattle

Squadron Leader Marmaduke Thomas St. John "Pat" Pattle DFC & Bar was a South African-born Second World War flying ace for the Royal Air Force. Pattle was a fighter ace with a very high score, and is sometimes noted as being the highest-scoring British and Commonwealth pilot of the Second World War...

 was the top Gladiator ace with 15 victories over Italian aircraft.

Design and development

The Gladiator was developed from the Gloster Gauntlet

Gloster Gauntlet

-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Crawford, Alex. Bristol Bulldog, Gloster Gauntlet. Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2005. ISBN 83-89450-04-6....

 as a private venture by H.P. Folland's team at Gloster to meet Specification F.7/30. F.7/30 demanded a top speed of at least 250 mph (400 km/h) and an armament of four machine-guns, while encouraging the use of the new Rolls-Royce Goshawk

Rolls-Royce Goshawk

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...

 evaporatively cooled engine, which was used by most of the competitors for the specification. This engine proved, however to be unreliable, and Folland realised that the Gauntlet could be quickly revised to meet the specification. To reduce drag, the new fighter, the SS.37, had single-bay

Interplane strut

An interplane strut is an aircraft airframe component designed to transmit lift and landing loads between wing panels on biplanes and other aircraft with multi-wing designs. They also maintain the correct angle of incidence for the connected wing panels and are often braced with wires...

 wings instead of the two-bay wings of the Gauntlet, and was fitted with a cantilever

Cantilever

A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...

 main undercarriage incorporating internally sprung wheels.

The SS.37 first flew on 12 September 1934, powered by a 530 hp (395 kW) Bristol Mercury

Bristol Mercury

|-See also:-Bibliography:* Bridgman, L, Jane's fighting aircraft of World War II. Crescent. ISBN 0-517-67964-7* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...

 VIS engine, but was soon fitted with a more powerful engine, reaching 242 mph (390 km/h) while carrying the required four machine guns (two synchronised Vickers guns in the fuselage and two Lewis gun

Lewis Gun

The Lewis Gun is a World War I–era light machine gun of American design that was perfected and widely used by the British Empire. It was first used in combat in World War I, and continued in service with a number of armed forces through to the end of the Korean War...

s under the lower wing). On 3 April 1935, the Royal Air Force commenced operational evaluations, while Gloster planned a further improved version with a 830 hp (619 kW) Mercury IX and a fully enclosed cockpit.

Three months later, a first order was placed for 23 aircraft to Specification F.14/35, with the aircraft named "Gloster Gladiator", followed by an order of 180 in September. The first version, the Mk I, was delivered from July 1936, becoming operational in January 1937. The Mk II soon followed, the main differences being a slightly more powerful Mercury engine driving a Fairey fixed-pitch, three-bladed metal propeller instead of the two-bladed wooden one. A modified Mk II, the Sea Gladiator, was developed for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm

Fleet Air Arm

The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...

 (FAA), with an arrestor hook to be engaged when landing on an aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

, catapult points, a strengthened frame and an under-belly fairing for a dinghy lifeboat. Of the 98 aircraft built as, or converted to, Sea Gladiators, 54 were still in service by the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939.

The Gladiator was to be the last British biplane fighter and the first fighter with an enclosed cockpit. The Gladiator had a top speed of around 257 mph (414 km/h) yet, even as it was introduced, the design was being eclipsed by new-generation monoplane

Monoplane

A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...

 fighters, such as the RAF's new Hurricane

Hawker Hurricane

The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...

 and Spitfire

Supermarine Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...

, and the Luftwaffes Messerschmitt Bf 109

Messerschmitt Bf 109

The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...

.

A total of 747 aircraft were built (483 RAF, 98 RN; 216 exported to 13 countries, some of them from the total allotted to the RAF). Gladiators were sold to Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

, Free France, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

, Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, South Africa

South African Air Force

The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...

 and Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

.

Operational history

The Gladiator was largely replaced in front line RAF service by the Hurricane and Spitfire at the outbreak of the Second World War, though two squadrons were used in the French

Battle of France

In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...

 and Norwegian

Norwegian Campaign

The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...

 campaigns. It would, however, see service in more peripheral campaigns during the early years of the Second World War. The classic biplane fighter was also one of Britain's biggest pre-war export successes, seeing service in many countries. The Gloster Gladiator performed reasonably well in limited Finnish service against Soviet fighters during the Winter War

Winter War

The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...

, but was found to be outclassed by German fighters in other theatres. Carrier-based Sea Gladiators were more successful, since their slower speed made them more suitable for carrier operations and they were less likely to be facing more modern fighter opposition. In the African theatres against Italian opposition, the Gladiator fared well.

China

In October 1937, the Chinese Central Government ordered 36 Gladiator Is, which were delivered in two crated batches to Guangzhou

Guangzhou

Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...

 via Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. By February 1938 these aircraft had been assembled into two squadrons, and the Chinese pilots familiarized with them. The Gloster Gladiator had its combat début on 24 February 1938. That day, in the Nanking

Nanjing

' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

 area, Chinese-American Capt John Wong Sun-Shui (nicknamed 'Buffalo') shot down an A5M Claude

Mitsubishi A5M

The Mitsubishi A5M, Japanese Navy designation was "Type 96 carrier-based fighter" was a Japanese carrier-based fighter aircraft. It was the world's first monoplane shipboard fighter and the direct ancestor of the famous Mitsubishi A6M 'Zero'...

 navy fighter, Gladiator's first victim. Wong is believed to have shot down a second A5M, for the wrecks of two Japanese fighter were found. During that clash, Chinese Gladiators lost two of their number. Chinese Gladiators scored several more victories over Japanese aircraft between 1938 and 1940 during the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

. In China Gladiators were used extensively before the start of 1940 by the 28th, 29th and 32nd Squadrons of the 3rd Group. The Chinese aviators considered the Gladiator an excellent fighter in its class.
But pilots flying the Gloster fighter were soon finding it increasingly difficult to hold their own against the modern A5M, and because of a lack of spares due to arms embargo, the surviving Gladiators were mostly relegated to the training role. Then, when newer Japanese aircraft such as the Mitsubishi A6M entered the theatre, the Gladiators' days were numbered. American-born Chinese pilots, John "Buffalo" Wong the first Gladiator flying ace

Flying ace

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

 and first American fighter ace of the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, was, actually, shot down in a combat with A6M Zeros on 14 March 1941 and died two days later for the injuries.
He and Arthur Chin

Arthur Chin

Major Arthur Chin was an American pilot and a Second Sino-Japanese War fighter ace.-Biography:Chin was born in Portland, Oregon to a Chinese father of Cantonese origin and a Caucasian mother of Peruvian background. Motivated by the Japanese invasion of China, Chin enrolled in flight school in 1932...

 were among a group of 15 Chinese American

Chinese American

Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...

s whom formed the original group of American volunteer combat aviators resisting Japanese aggression in China.

The Finnish Winter War and Continuation War

During the Winter War

Winter War

The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...

, the Finnish Air Force

Finnish Air Force

The Finnish Air Force is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions...

 (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 Finnish Gladiators served until 1945, but they were outclassed by the more modern Soviet fighters during the Continuation War

Continuation War

The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...

. The aircraft was mostly used for reconnaissance from 1941 onwards. The Finnish Air Force obtained 45 aerial victories by 22 pilots with the aircraft type 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

Oiva Tuominen

Oiva Emil Kalervo Tuominen was a Finnish fighter ace and a Mannerheim Cross knight of the second class. He flew over 400 flights and shot down 44 Soviet aircraft...

 (6.5 victories with Gladiators) and Paavo Berg

Paavo Berg

Paavo David "Pete" Berg was a Finnish fighter ace. He was the second most successful Finnish biplane fighter ace scoring 10.5 victories . The remaining 4.5 victories were with Curtiss Hawk 75s...

 (five victories).

Besides 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, designated as J8s (Mk Is) and J8As (Mk IIs) by the Swedes. The Flying Regiment F 19 arrived in Finnish Lapland on 10 January 1940, and remained there until the end of the hostilities. It fielded 12 Gladiator Mk II fighters, two of which were lost during the fighting, and five Hawker Hart

Hawker Hart

The Hawker Hart was a British two-seater biplane light bomber of the Royal Air Force , which had a prominent role during the RAF's inter-war period. The Hart was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and built by Hawker Aircraft...

 dive bombers, plus a Raab-Katzenstein RK-26

Raab-Katzenstein RK-26

|-Sources:* Heinonen, Timo: Thulinista Hornetiin, Keski-Suomen Ilmailumuseon julkaisuja 3, Gummerus Kirjapaino Oy, 1992, ISBN 951-95688-2-4-See also:...

 liaison aircraft and a Junkers F.13

Junkers F.13

The Junkers F.13 was the world's first all-metal transport aircraft, developed in Germany at the end of World War I. It was an advanced cantilever-wing monoplane, with enclosed accommodation for four passengers. Over 300 were sold...

 transport aircraft. The aircraft belonged to and were crewed by the Swedish Air Force

Swedish Air Force

The Swedish Air Force is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces.-History:The Swedish Air Force was created on July 1, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalating international tension during the 1930s the Air Force was reorganized and expanded...

, but flew with Finnish nationality markings. The Swedish Gladiators scored eight aerial victories and destroyed a further four aircraft on the ground. One concern was expressed when F 19's executive officer Captain Björn Bjuggren wrote in his memoirs that the tracer rounds of the Gladiator's machine guns would not ignite the gasoline when penetrating the fuel tanks of Soviet bombers.

The Phoney War

At the beginning of World War II during what was known as the "Phoney War", Gladiators flew patrol flights that led to occasional clashes with Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft. On 17 October 1940, the British Gladiators scored their first success when No 607 Squadron "B" Flight shot down a Dornier Do 18

Dornier Do 18

The Dornier Do 18 was a development of the Do 16 flying boat. It was developed for the Luftwaffe, but Lufthansa got 5 aircraft and used these for tests between the Azores and the North American continent in 1936 and on their mail route over the South Atlantic from 1937 to 1939.27–29 March 1938 a...

  flying boat ('8L+DK' of 2.KuFlGr 606), on the North Sea.
On 10 April 1941, 804 NAS took off from Hatston

RNAS Hatston

RNAS Hatston, also called HMS Sparrowhawk, was a Royal Naval Air Station.It was situated one mile to the north west of Kirkwall on the island of Mainland, Orkney...

, in Orkney, to counteract the attack of a wave of German aircraft. Lt Cdr J C Cockburn was credited with one destroyed and his unit's Blue Section with a "damaged".

The Norwegian Campaign

The Norwegian Campaign

Norwegian Campaign

The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...

 saw both Norwegian and British Gladiators battling the Luftwaffe, with the Norwegian Jagevingen fighting in the defence of Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

 on the first day of the German invasion

Operation Weserübung

Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...

. Later British Gladiators fought to provide fighter cover for the allied reinforcements sent to the assistance of the Norwegian government.

Jagevingen

The Gladiator pilots of the Norwegian Jagevingen (fighter flight) were based at Fornebu Airport

Oslo Airport, Fornebu

Oslo Airport, Fornebu was the main airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at Fornebu in Bærum, from the city center. Fornebu had two runways, one...

. 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

Messerschmitt Bf 110

The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often called Me 110, was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Hermann Göring was a proponent of the Bf 110, and nicknamed it his Eisenseiten...

 fighters, two He 111

Heinkel He 111

The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...

 bomber

Bomber

A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...

s and one Fallschirmjäger-laden Ju 52

Junkers Ju 52

The Junkers Ju 52 was a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1932 to 1945. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler...

 transport

Cargo aircraft

A cargo aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft designed or converted for the carriage of goods, rather than passengers. They are usually devoid of passenger amenities, and generally feature one or more large doors for the loading and unloading of cargo...

. One Gladiator was shot down during the air battle by the future Experte Helmut Lent

Helmut Lent

Oberst Helmut Lent was a German night-fighter ace in World War II. Lent shot down 110 aircraft, 103 of them at night, far more than the minimum of five enemy aircraft required for the title of "ace".For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see List of German World War II night fighter...

, while two were strafed

Strafing

Strafing is the practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. This means, that although ground attack using automatic weapons fire is very often accompanied with bombing or rocket fire, the term "strafing" does not specifically include the...

 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

Souvenir

A souvenir , memento, keepsake or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. The term souvenir brings to mind the mass-produced kitsch that is the main commodity of souvenir and gift shops in many tourist traps around the world...

-hunting civilians.

263 Squadron

Gladiators were also used by 263 Squadron

No. 263 Squadron RAF

No 263 Squadron was an Royal Air Force fighter squadron formed in Italy towards the end of World War I. After being disbanded in 1919 it reformed in 1939 flying mainly strike and heavy fighter aircraft until becoming No 1 Squadron in 1958.-First World War:...

 during the remaining two months of the Norwegian Campaign. The squadron arrived on the carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

 HMS Glorious

HMS Glorious (77)

HMS Glorious was the second of the cruisers built for the British Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord, Lord Fisher, they were very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Glorious was completed in late 1916...

 on 24 April, and first operated from an improvised landing strip built by Norwegian volunteers on the frozen lake Lesjaskogsvatnet

Lesjaskogsvatnet

Lesjaskogsvatnet is a lake which serves as the headwaters for Gudbrandsdalslågen . Gudbrandsdalslågen flows through the Gudbrandsdal valley bottom, ending in lake Mjøsa....

 in Oppland

Oppland

is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....

 in central southern Norway. After less than a week, all the squadron's aircraft were unserviceable and the squadron was evacuated back to the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

Having re-equipped in Britain, 263 Squadron resumed its Gladiator operations in Norway when the squadron returned to the north of Norway

Nord-Norge

North Norway or Nord-Noreg , North Sámi: Davvi-Norga) is the geographical region of northern Norway, consisting of the three counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in North Norway are Mo i Rana, Bodø, Narvik, Harstad, Tromsø...

 on 21 May, flying from Bardufoss

Bardufoss Air Station

Bardufoss Air Station is located in the municipality of Målselv in Troms county in Northern Norway. It is the location for the 139th Air Wing and two helicopter squadrons; the 337 Squadron operating Lynx MK 86 for the Norwegian Coast Guard and the 339 Squadron equipped with Bell 412SPs...

 airfield near Narvik

Narvik

is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...

. At the Narvik front, 263 Squadron was reinforced by Hurricanes

Hawker Hurricane

The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...

 of 46 Squadron

No. 46 Squadron RAF

No. 46 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force, formed in 1916, was disbanded and re-formed three times before its last disbandment in 1975. It served in both World War I and World War II.- World War I :...

, which flew into an airstrip at Skånland

Skånland

Skånland is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Evenskjer.- General information :...

 a few days later. Due to unsuitable ground at Skånland, 46 Squadron also moved to Bardufoss and was operating from this base by 27 May. The squadrons had been ordered to defend the fleet anchorage at Skånland and the military base at Harstad

Harstad

is the second largest city and municipality by population, in Troms county, Norway – the city is also the third largest in North Norway. Thus Harstad is the natural centre for its district. Situated approximately north of the Arctic Circle, the city celebrated its 100th anniversary in...

 on the island of Hinnøya

Hinnøya

-Geography and environment:Covering an area of , it is the fourth-largest island in the country, and the largest off the mainland. The western part of the island is in the Vesterålen district, while the southwestern part is in Lofoten. As of 2006, it had a population of 31,851, of which the only...

, as well as the Narvik area after it was recaptured. The action was short but intense before the squadrons, due to the British government's response to the invasion of France

Battle of France

In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...

, were instructed on 2 June to prepare for evacuation

Operation Alphabet

Operation Alphabet was an evacuation, authorized on May 24, 1940, of Allied troops from the harbour of Narvik in northern Norway marking the success of Nazi Germany's Operation Weserübung of April 9 and the end of the Allied campaign in Norway during World War II...

.

By then, 263 Squadron had flown 249 sorties and claimed 26 enemy aircraft destroyed. 263 Squadron's 10 surviving Gladiators landed on HMS Glorious on 7 June. Glorious sailed for home but was intercepted by the German battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

s Gneisenau

German battleship Gneisenau

Gneisenau was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the second vessel of her class, which included one other ship, Scharnhorst. The ship was built at the Deutsche Werke dockyard in Kiel; she was laid down on 6 May 1935...

 and Scharnhorst

German battleship Scharnhorst

Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...

. Despite the valiant defence put up by her two escorting destroyers, HMS Acasta

HMS Acasta (H09)

HMS Acasta , the third ship to bear that name, launched in 1929, was an A-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy. She served in the Second World War and was sunk on 8 June 1940 in action against the German warships and , while escorting the aircraft carrier...

 and HMS Ardent

HMS Ardent (H41)

HMS Ardent was an A-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War in Home waters and off the Norwegian coast, before becoming an early war loss when she was sunk by the German warships and on 8 June 1940 whilst escorting the aircraft carrier .-Construction and...

, she was sunk along with the aircraft from four squadrons. 263 Squadron lost its CO, S/Ldr John W. Donaldson, and F/Lt Alvin T. Williams along with eight other pilots.

No Norwegian Army

Norwegian Army

Norway achieved full independence in 1905, and in the first century of its short life has contributed to two major conflicts, the Cold War and the War on Terror. The Norwegian Army currently operates in the north of Norway and in Afghanistan as well as in Eastern Europe. The Army is the oldest of...

 Air Service

Royal Norwegian Air Force

The Royal Norwegian Air Force is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian armed forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peace force is approximately 1,430 employees . 600 personnel also serve their draft period in the RNoAF...

 aircraft were able to evacuate westwards before the 10 June surrender

Surrender (military)

Surrender is when soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and eventually become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. A white flag is a common symbol of surrender, as is the gesture of raising one's hands empty and open above one's head.When the...

 of the mainland

Mainland

Mainland is a name given to a large landmass in a region , or to the largest of a group of islands in an archipelago. Sometimes its residents are called "Mainlanders"...

 Norwegian forces. Only the aircraft of the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service

Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service

The Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service was alongside the Norwegian Army Air Service the forerunner to the modern-day Royal Norwegian Air Force.- History :...

 (one M.F.11 and four He 115

Heinkel He 115

The Heinkel He 115 was a World War II Luftwaffe seaplane with three seats. It was used as a torpedo bomber and performed general seaplane duties, such as reconnaissance and minelaying. The plane was powered by two 720 kW BMW 132K nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engines...

s) had the range to fly all the way from their last bases in northern Norway to the UK. Two Army Air Service Fokker C.V.Ds

Fokker C.V

Fokker C.V was a Dutch light reconnaissance and bomber biplane aircraft manufactured by Fokker. It was designed by Anthony Fokker and the series manufacture began in 1924 at Fokker in Amsterdam.-Development:...

 did however manage to escape eastwards to Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 before the surrender. Three M.F.11s also flew to Finland, landing on Lake Salmijärvi in Petsamo

Pechengsky District

Pechengsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the five in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It is located to the northwest of the Kola Peninsula on the coast of the Barents Sea and borders with Finland in the south and southwest and with Norway in the west, northwest, and north...

.

Battle of Britain

The Gloster Gladiator was in operational service with 247 Squadron

No. 247 Squadron RAF

No. 247 Squadron was formerly a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was also known as No.247 Squadron in recognition of the donations made by the British colonies, which at the outbreak of the Second World War, were established on the Chinese coast...

, stationed in Roborough, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

 during the Battle of Britain

Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

. Although no combat sorties took place at the height of the aerial battles, 247 Squadron Gladiators intercepted a Heinkel He 111

Heinkel He 111

The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...

 in late October 1940, without result. 239 Squadron

No. 239 Squadron RAF

No. 239 Squadron RAF was an anti-submarine squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War I. During World War II the squadron performed as an army co-operation squadron and later as a night intruder unit. After the war the squadron was disbanded....

, using Gladiators in an army cooperation role, and 804 Squadron Naval Air Squadron

804 Naval Air Squadron

804 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy, formed in November 1939 from part of 769 NAS Sea Gladiators which had been detached to RNAS Hatston. The squadron was merged into 800 NAS in June 1944 and subsequently reformed in September.-World War II:During World War II, she...

, outfitted with Sea Gladiators, were also operational during the Battle of Britain.

Mediterranean and Middle East theatres

In the Mediterranean Theatre

Mediterranean Theatre of World War II

The African, Mediterranean and Middle East theatres encompassed the naval, land, and air campaigns fought between the Allied and Axis forces in the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and Africa...

 during 1940–41, Gladiators saw combat with four Allied air forces: the RAF, Royal Australian Air Force

Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...

, South African Air Force

South African Air Force

The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...

 and Ellinikí Vasilikí Aeroporía

Hellenic Air Force

The Hellenic Air Force, abbreviated to HAF is the air force of Greece. The mission of the Hellenic Air Force is to guard and protect Greek airspace, provide air assistance and support to the Hellenic Army and the Hellenic Navy, as well as the provision of humanitarian aid in Greece and around the...

 (Royal Greek Air Force) squadrons. These achieved some success against the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 Regia Aeronautica

Regia Aeronautica

The Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946...

, which was mainly equipped with Fiat CR.32

Fiat CR.32

The Fiat CR.32 was an Italian biplane fighter used in the Spanish Civil War and World War II. This nimble little Fiat was compact, robust and highly manoeuvrable and gave impressive displays all over Europe in the hands of the Pattuglie Acrobatiche. The CR.32 fought in North and East Africa, in...

 and Fiat CR.42

Fiat CR.42

The Fiat CR.42 Falco was a single-seat sesquiplane fighter which served primarily in Italy's Regia Aeronautica before and during World War II. The aircraft was produced by the Turin firm, and entered service, in smaller numbers, with the air forces of Belgium, Sweden and Hungary...

 biplanes, and against Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

 bombers. The South African ace Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle

Marmaduke Pattle

Squadron Leader Marmaduke Thomas St. John "Pat" Pattle DFC & Bar was a South African-born Second World War flying ace for the Royal Air Force. Pattle was a fighter ace with a very high score, and is sometimes noted as being the highest-scoring British and Commonwealth pilot of the Second World War...

 (who served with the RAF), claimed 15 kills in Gladiators during the North African

North African campaign

During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...

 and Greek Campaigns

Battle of Greece

The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...

, making him the highest-scoring RAF biplane ace of the Second World War.

The 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War

Anglo-Iraqi War

The Anglo-Iraqi War was the name of the British campaign against the rebel government of Rashid Ali in the Kingdom of Iraq during the Second World War. The war lasted from 2 May to 31 May 1941. The campaign resulted in the re-occupation of Iraq by British armed forces and the return to power of the...

 was unique in the context of Gloster Gladiators in that the opposing air forces, being the RAF and Royal Iraqi Air Force, both used the Gladiator as their main fighter. Gladiators also saw action against the Vichy French

Vichy France

Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...

 in Syria.

Malta

One of the best-known campaigns fought by Gladiators was the siege of Malta

Siege of Malta (1940)

The Siege of Malta was a military campaign in the Mediterranean Theatre of the Second World War. From 1940-1942, the fight for the control of the strategically important island of Malta pitted the air forces and navies of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany against the Royal Air Force and the Royal...

 in 1940. The fighter force defending Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 was, for a period of 10 days, a small force of British-operated Gladiators, the Hal Far Fighter Flight

Hal Far Fighter Flight

The Hal Far Fighter Flight was a British fighter unit formed during the siege of Malta in 1940. For several weeks, the island of Malta was protected by a small force of Gloster Sea Gladiator biplane fighters, based at the Royal Air Force's Hal Far airfield, which was also known as the Fleet Air Arm...

, giving rise to a myth that three aircraft, named Faith, Hope and Charity, formed the entire fighter cover of the island. The aircraft names came into being only after the battle was over. In fact, more than three aircraft were operational, though not always at the same time; others were used for spare parts. No 1435 Flight

No. 1435 Flight RAF

No. 1435 Flight is a Eurofighter Typhoon unit of the Royal Air Force, based at RAF Mount Pleasant, providing air defence for the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.During the Second World War, No...

, which later assumed control of Malta's air defence, took on the names Faith, Hope and Charity for its aircraft upon its reformation as the air defence unit in the Falkland Islands in 1988.

A stock of 18 Sea Gladiators from 802 Naval Air Squadron

802 Naval Air Squadron

-Early history:802 Squadron was formed on 3 April 1933 aboard by the merger of two independent RAF naval units, 408 Flight and 409 Flight...

 had been delivered by HMS Glorious

HMS Glorious (77)

HMS Glorious was the second of the cruisers built for the British Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord, Lord Fisher, they were very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Glorious was completed in late 1916...

, in early 1940. Three were later shipped out to take part in 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

Flight (military unit)

A flight is a military unit in an air force, naval air service, or army air corps. It usually comprises three to six aircraft, with their aircrews and ground staff; or, in the case of a non-flying ground flight, no aircraft and a roughly equivalent number of support personnel. In most usages,...

 of Gladiators at RAF Hal Far

RAF Hal Far

The RAF Hal Far airfield in Malta, titled HMS Falcon during the Royal Navy base, was constructed and opened on 1 April 1929, and was used by Royal Navy air crews. It was the first permanent airfield to be built in Malta. It was transferred to the Maltese Government and redeveloped as from January...

, to be composed of RAF and FAA personnel. Several Sea Gladiators were assembled and test-flown and they became badly needed, since the war started soon thereafter.

The Italian air force units deployed against Malta should have easily defeated the weak defense offered by Gladiators, but the Gladiator's agility and tactics won several engagements, often started with a dive on the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79

Savoia-Marchetti SM.79

The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero was a three-engined Italian medium bomber with a wood and metal structure. Originally designed as a fast passenger aircraft, this low-wing monoplane, in the years 1937–39, set 26 world records that qualified it for some time as the fastest medium bomber in the...

 Sparviero bombers before the Fiat CR.42

Fiat CR.42

The Fiat CR.42 Falco was a single-seat sesquiplane fighter which served primarily in Italy's Regia Aeronautica before and during World War II. The aircraft was produced by the Turin firm, and entered service, in smaller numbers, with the air forces of Belgium, Sweden and Hungary...

 and Macchi MC.200 escort fighters could react. On 11 June 1940, a Gladiator damaged a Macchi and on 23 June, another successful battle was fought against S.79s and three Macchis. One of the two Gladiators, flown by George Burges

George Burges

George Burges was an English classical scholar born in India.-Biography:George Burges was educated at Charterhouse School and Trinity College, Cambridge, taking his degree in 1807, and obtaining one of the members' prizes both in 1808 and 1809. He stayed up at Cambridge and became a most...

, managed to shoot down a 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 (only damaged). Gladiators held the defence against Regia Aeronautica raids and forced Italian fighters to escort bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Although the Regia Aeronautica had started with 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. Even if Gladiators had not scored many air victories, they were a very important asset for the island's defence.

By June, two of the Gladiators had crashed and two more were assembled. Charity was shot down on 29 July 1940. Its pilot, Flying Officer Peter Hartley, scrambled at 09.45 with fellow pilots F. F. Taylor and Flight Lieutenant William Joseph "Timber" Woods, to intercept an SM.79, escorted by nine CR.42s from 23o Gruppo. During a dogfight Tarantino's CR.42 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 (he 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) was destroyed on the ground by enemy bombing in May 1941. The fate of at least five more Gladiators that saw action over Malta is not as well documented.

North Africa

In North Africa, Gladiators had to face Italian Fiat CR.42s. The Falco was superior to the Gloster Gladiator, but that was but a paltry success.

The first aerial combat between the biplanes took place on 14 June over Amseat. Tenente Franco Lucchini

Franco Lucchini

Franco Lucchini, MOVM, was an Italian World War II fighter pilot in the Aviazione Legionaria and in the Regia Aeronautica. During World War II he achieved 21 individual air victories, plus 52 shared, to add to the five kills in Spain, during the Civil War.He was born in Rome, son of a railway...

, of 90^a Squadriglia, 10° Gruppo, 4° Stormo, flying a CR.42 from Tobruk

Tobruk

Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....

, shot down a Gladiator; it was the first claim made against RAF in the desert war. On the afternoon of 24 July, CR.42s and Gladiators clashed over Bardia

Bardia

Bardia is a geographic region in the Democratic Republic of Nepal.Bardia comprises a portion of the Terai, or lowland hills and valleys of southern Nepal. The Terai is over 1,000 feet in elevation, and extends all along the Indian border...

. A formation of 11 CR.42s from 10° Gruppo, backed by six more from the 13° Gruppo attacked 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^a Squadriglia of Capitano Duilio Fanali intercepted four Gladiators commanded by Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle

Marmaduke Pattle

Squadron Leader Marmaduke Thomas St. John "Pat" Pattle DFC & Bar was a South African-born Second World War flying ace for the Royal Air Force. Pattle was a fighter ace with a very high score, and is sometimes noted as being the highest-scoring British and Commonwealth pilot of the Second World War...

 (eventually to become one of the top-scoring Allied aces with approximately 50 claims) that were attacking Breda Ba.65

Breda Ba.65

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Angelucci, Enzo and Paolo Matricardi. World Aircraft: World War II, Volume I . Maidenhead, UK: Sampson Low, 1978. ISBN 0-562-00096-8....

s while they were strafing British armoured vehicles. On this occasion, the Fiats managed to surprise the Gladiators, shooting down three of them. Wykeham Barnes (who survived losing his Gladiator in the battle) claimed a Breda 65, while Pattle claimed a Ba 65 and a CR.42.

On 8 August 1940, during another dogfight

Dogfight

A dogfight, or dog fight, is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft; in particular, combat of maneuver at short range, where each side is aware of the other's presence. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane...

, 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 1 to 7 probables, while losing two Gladiators. 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. The British celebrated the victory, while the Italians had to admit a hard defeat. Overall, the few Gladiators and CR.42s clashed with a substantial parity, despite many Italians having gained combat experience over Spain. Firepower, agility and speed were not far different in any sense, even the engine was comparable; although the Italians had the initial advantage to have fought over Spain while RAF pilots did not, but this was not too important either, as RAF/RAAF pilots had often better fighting tactics. From 1941, monoplanes like the Hurricane and the MC.200 increasingly replaced biplanes in air combat, relegating them to secondary roles or ground attack.

Eastern Africa

In Eastern Africa the Gladiators faced the Italian biplane fighters: Fiat CR.32s and CR.42s. The latter, more modern than the Gladiator, was a formidable opponent. 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 without losses, at the expenses of 1 SAAF Sqn; among the Italian pilots there was the ace Mario Visintini

Mario Visintini

Mario Visintini, MOVM, , was the first Regia Aeronautica World War II ace. He was the top scoring pilot of all belligerent air forces in Eastern Africa and the top biplane fighter ace of World War 2....

, but the real difference was made by tactical situation, as the Gladiators came few at once, and were outnumbered systematically. On 6 June 1941, the Regia Aeronautica had only two serviceable aircraft: a CR.32 and a CR.42, therefore the air superiority was finally archivied 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

Dabat

Dabat is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located on the Semien Mountains along the Gondar-Debarq highway it is in the Semien Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region. Dabat is one of two towns in Dabat woreda.There is a state run health centre in Dabat....

 and Adi Arcai. According to the Italian historian Nico Sgarlato, 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, South African Air Force 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 the Italian pilot took violent evasive action, Hope continued to follow, closing to only 20 yards and firing as the Fiat 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. Next day, the wreckage was found, the dead pilot still in the cockpit. Hope dropped a message on the Italian positions at Ambazzo: "Tribute to 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 didn’t 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 one to crash land, but was himself shot down by the third Gladiator.

This was the last air-to-air victory in the East African campaign.

Greece

Tension had been building between Greece and Italy since 7 April 1939, when Italian troops occupied Albania

Albania under Italy

The Albanian Kingdom existed as a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy. It was practically a union between Italy and Albania, officially led by Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III and its government: Albania was led by Italian governors, after being militarily occupied by Italy, from 1939 until 1943...

. On 28 October 1940, Italy issued an ultimatum to Greece, which was rejected, and after few hours Italian troops invaded Greece, initiating the Greco-Italian War

Greco-Italian War

The Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkans Campaign of World War II...

.

Britain sent help in the form of 80 Squadron

No. 80 Squadron RAF

No. 80 Squadron RAF was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force squadron active from 1917 until 1969. It was operative during both World War I and World War II.-Establishment and early service:...

, elements of which arrived at Trikkala by 19 November. That same day, the Gladiator debut came in the form of a surprise, intercepting a section of five Italian CR.42s on Coritza, only one of which returned to base. On 27 November, seven Gladiators attacked three Falcos, shooting down the lead aircraft, piloted by Com. Masfaldi, commanding the 364a Squadriglia. On 28 November, the commander of 365a Squadriglia, Com. Graffer, was shot down during a combat where seven aircraft were downed, four of them British. On 3 December, the Gladiators were reinforced with elements from 112 Squadron

No. 112 Squadron RAF

No. 112 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It served in both the First World War and Second World War and was active for three periods during the Cold War. It is nicknamed "The Shark Squadron", an allusion to the fact that it was the first unit from any air force to use the famous...

. The following day, a clash between 20 Gladiators and ten CR.42s resulted in a loss of five, two of them Italians. After a break of two weeks, 80 Sqn returned to operations on 19 December 1940. On 21 December, 20 Gladiators intercepted 15 CR.42 Falcos, shooting down two with two losses. Over the next few days, several groups of Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79

Savoia-Marchetti SM.79

The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero was a three-engined Italian medium bomber with a wood and metal structure. Originally designed as a fast passenger aircraft, this low-wing monoplane, in the years 1937–39, set 26 world records that qualified it for some time as the fastest medium bomber in the...

 and Savoia-Marchetti SM.81

Savoia-Marchetti SM.81

The Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 Pipistrello was a three-engine bomber/transport aircraft serving in the Italian Regia Aeronautica during World War II...

 bombers were also intercepted and victories claimed.

The complete 112 Sqn moved to Eleusis

Eleusina

Eleusina is a town and municipality in West Attica, Greece. It is situated about 18 km northwest from the centre of Athens. It is located in the Thriasian Plain, at the northernmost end of the Saronic Gulf. It is the seat of administration of West Attica regional unit...

 by the end of January 1941, and by the end of the following month, had received 80 Sqn’s Gladiators, after the latter unit had converted to Hawker Hurricane

Hawker Hurricane

The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...

s. On 5 April, German forces invaded Greece

Battle of Greece

The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...

 and quickly established air superiority. As the Allied troops retreated, Gladiators covered them, before flying to Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

 during the last week of April. There No 112 Sqn recorded a few claims over twin-engined aircraft before being evacuated to Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 during the Battle of Crete

Battle of Crete

The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...

.

Anglo-Iraqi War

The Royal Iraqi Air Force (RoIAF) had, since Iraq was granted independence in 1932, been trained and equipped by the British. One result of this was the dominance of British-built aircraft in the RoIAF inventory. In 1941, the sole RoIAF single-purpose fighter squadron, No. 4 Squadron consisted of seven operational Gloster Gladiators at Rashid Air Base

RAF Hinaidi

Royal Air Force Station Hinaidi, more commonly known as RAF Hinaida, was a British Royal Air Force station near Baghdad in the Kingdom of Iraq...

.

After a pre-emptive RAF attack from RAF Habbaniya

RAF Habbaniya

Royal Air Force Station Habbaniya, more commonly known as RAF Habbaniya, was a Royal Air Force station at Habbaniyah, about west of Baghdad in modern day Iraq, on the banks of the Euphrates near Lake Habbaniyah...

 against blockading Iraqi forces, Iraqi Gladiators took part in attacks on the British air base, strafing it ineffectively on 2 May. Although much of the RoIAF was destroyed in the air or on the ground in the following days, the Iraqi Gladiators kept flying until the end of the war, carrying out strafing attacks on A Company of 1 Battalion The Essex Regiment

Essex Regiment

The Essex Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army that saw active service from 1881 to 1958. Members of the regiment were recruited from across Essex county. Its lineage is continued by the Royal Anglian Regiment.-Origins:...

 on the outskirts of Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

 on 30 May.

Before the outbreak of hostilities in Iraq, the 4th Service Training School at RAF Habbaniya operated three old Gladiators as officers' runabouts. With the increased tension, the base was reinforced with another six Gladiators on 19 April, flying in from Egypt. During the early part of the war the nine Gladiators flew numerous sorties against air and ground targets, taking off from the base' polo

Polo

Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...

 field. The Gladiator force in Iraq was further reinforced when, on 11 May, another five aircraft arrived, this time from 94 Squadron

No. 94 Squadron RAF

No. 94 Squadron RAF was a unit of the Royal Air Force that served during World War I & World War II. The squadron has been formed a total of four times.The squadron was formed at RAF Harling Road on 1 August 1917, as a training unit for the Sopwith Camel...

 in Ismaïlia

Ismaïlia

-Notable natives:*Osman Ahmed Osman, a famous and influential Egyptian engineer, contractor, entrepreneur, and politician, was born in this town on 6 April 1917....

 on the Suez Canal

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

.
A last resupply of Gladiators came on 17 May in the form of four more 94 Squadron machines.

During the fighting, the sole Gladiator-on-Gladiator kill occurred on 5 May, when Plt. Off. Watson of the Fighter Flight shot down an Iraqi Gladiator over Baqubah

Baqubah

Baqubah is the capital of Iraq's Diyala Governorate.The city is located some to the northeast of Baghdad, on the Diyala River. In 2003 it had an estimated population of some 467,900 people....

 during a bomber escort mission. The Iraqi Gladiators' only claim during the war was a Vickers Wellington

Vickers Wellington

The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...

 bomber shared with ground fire on 4 May.

Immediately after launching his coup against King Faisal II

Faisal II of Iraq

Faisal II was the last King of Iraq. He reigned from 4 April 1939 until July 1958, when he was killed during the "14 July Revolution" together with several members of his family...

 in early April 1941, Prime Minister Rashid Ali al-Gaylani approached Germany and Italy for help in repelling any British counter-measures. In response, the Germans assembled a Luftwaffe task force under Iraqi colours called Fliegerführer Irak

Fliegerführer Irak

Flyer Command Iraq was a unit of the German Air Force sent to Iraq in May 1941 as part of a German mission to support the regime of Rashid Ali during the Anglo-Iraqi War...

 ("Flyer Command Iraq") which from 14 May operated out of Mosul. Before this force collapsed due to lack of supplies, replacements, quality fuel and aggressive RAF attacks, two Gladiators fought a pair of Me 110s over Rashid Airfield at Baghdad on 17 May. Both German machines were swiftly shot down.
"Regia Aeronautica" sent 12 Fiat CR.42s that arrived in Iraq on 23 May. Six days later, the Fiat CR.42s intercepted RAF Hawker Audax and clashed with escorting Gladiators in what was to prove the final air-to-air air combat of the brief campaign. Italian pilots claimed two No.94 Sqn Gladiators but one Fiat was shot down by a Gladiator flown by Wg Cdr Wightman, close to Khan Nuqta.
The Iraqis continued to use Gladiators until 1949 for ground attack missions against the Kurds

Kurdish people

The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...

.

Syria

After the end of the Iraq fighting the British decided to invade Vichy French-controlled Syria to prevent the area from falling under direct German control. The French in Syria had supported the Iraqi rebellion materially and allowed Luftwaffe aircraft to use their airfields for operations over Iraq. The month-long Syria-Lebanon Campaign

Syria-Lebanon campaign

The Syria–Lebanon campaign, also known as Operation Exporter, was the Allied invasion of Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon, in June–July 1941, during World War II. Time Magazine referred to the fighting as a "mixed show" while it was taking place and the campaign remains little known, even...

 in June–July 1941 saw heavy fighting both in the air and on land, until the Vichy French authorities in Syria surrendered on 12 July 1941. In one encounter between the Royal Air Force and the Vichy French Air Force

Vichy French Air Force

The Vichy French Air Force was the aerial branch of the armed forces of Vichy France - the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers following the defeat of France by Germany in 1940....

 on 15 June 1941, six Gloster Gladiators were jumped by an equal number of Dewoitine D.520

Dewoitine D.520

The Dewoitine D.520 was a French fighter aircraft that entered service in early 1940, shortly after the opening of World War II. Unlike the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, which was at that time the Armée de l'Airs most numerous fighter, the Dewoitine D.520 came close to being a match for the latest...

 monoplane fighter aircraft. In a confused battle, both sides lost one aircraft shot down and one severely damaged. French fighter ace Pierre Le Gloan

Pierre Le Gloan

Pierre Le Gloan , French pilot of World War II.He was born in Brittany, France. At the age of eighteen he joined the French Air Force. At the outbreak of the war he served in the GC III/6 fighter squadron, flying the Morane-Saulnier MS.406...

 shot down the Gladiator for his 15th confirmed kill. Le Gloan himself had to crash land his damaged D.520 at his own air base.

As late as mid-1941, the RAF Chief-of-Air Staff offered 21 Gloster Gladiators gathered from various meteorological and communications flights in the Middle East, as well as five from a Free French unit, to AOC

Air Officer Commanding

Air Officer Commanding is a title given in the air forces of Commonwealth nations to an air officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, an air vice marshal might be the AOC 38 Group...

 Singapore

Singapore in the Straits Settlements

Singapore in the Straits Settlements refers to a period in the history of Singapore from 1826 to 1942, during which Singapore was part of the Straits Settlements together with Penang and Malacca. From 1830 to 1867 the Straits Settlements was a residency, or subdivision, of the Presidency of Bengal,...

 in order to strengthen the colony's defences against the emerging Japanese threat. The offer was turned down and later reinforcements consisted of Hawker Hurricanes.

Operations elsewhere

Belgian Gladiators suffered heavy losses to the Germans in 1940, with all 15 operational aircraft lost, while only managing to damage two German aircraft.

The Irish Air Corps

Irish Air Corps

The Air Corps is the air component of the Defence Forces of Ireland providing support to the Army and Naval Service, together with non-military air services such as search and rescue and the Ministerial Air Transport Service...

 was supplied with four Gladiators on 9 March 1939. On 29 December 1940, two Irish Gladiators were scrambled from Baldonnel

Baldonnel, Ireland

Baldonnel , is a townland, and industrial/agricultural area near Clondalkin Tallaght, Lucan, Saggart and Naas, in west County Dublin. It is chiefly known as the location of the headquarters of the Irish Air Corps at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, which has been in operation for over 90 years in...

 to intercept a German Ju 88

Junkers Ju 88

The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...

 flying over Dublin on a photographic reconnaissance mission, but were unable to make contact. Although unable to intercept any intruding aircraft, the Irish Gladiators shot down several British barrage balloon

Barrage balloon

A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...

s that had broken from their moorings. For a short time in 1940, an order was given to Irish fighter pilots to use their aircraft to block the runways of airfields. They were then to use rifles and shoot at any invaders. Irish Gladiators also overflew the site of the sinking of the liner SS Athenia

SS Athenia

The S.S. Athenia was the first British ship to be sunk by Nazi Germany in World War II.-Description:Athenia was built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Ltd., and was launched at Govan, Scotland in 1923. She was built for Anchor-Donaldson Ltd.'s route between Britain and Canada...

 in 1939 and offered the help of the Irish military. The flight was fired upon by Royal Navy ships in attendance, consequently, the Irish Gladiators withdrew.

The Luftwaffe used captured Latvian Gladiators as glider tugs with Ergänzungsgruppe (S) 1 from Langendiebach near Hanau during 1942-3.

After becoming obsolete, RAF Gladiators carried out non-combat tasks such as meteorological work.

Epilogue

The Finnish Air Force

Finnish Air Force

The Finnish Air Force is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions...

 was the last to use the Gloster biplane in combat. So it was under Finnish insignia that the Gladiator achieved its last air victory. During the Continuation War

Continuation War

The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...

, against Soviets, Glosters supported the advance of the Karelian Army around Lake Ladoga

Lake Ladoga

Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 14th largest lake by area in the world.-Geography:...

. On 15 February 1943, 1st Lt Håkan Strömberg of LLv 16, during a recce mission along the Murmansk

Murmansk

Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...

 railway, between the White Sea and the Lake Onega

Lake Onega

Lake Onega is a lake in the north-west European part of Russia, located on the territory of Republic of Karelia, Leningrad Oblast and Vologda Oblast. It belongs to the basin of Baltic Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and is the second largest lake in Europe after Lake Ladoga...

, spotted, on Karkijarvi, a Soviet Polikarpov R-5

Polikarpov R-5

The Polikarpov R-5 was a Soviet reconnaissance bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was the standard light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft with the Soviet Air Force for much of the 1930s, while also being used heavily as a civilian light transport, in the order of 7,000 being built in...

 taking off. Stromberg dived on it and shot it down in the forest near its airfield with two burst.

Survivors

Gladiators have been preserved at the Shuttleworth Collection

Shuttleworth Collection

The Shuttleworth Collection is an aeronautical and automotive museum located at the Old Warden airfield in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of the most prestigious in the world due to the variety of old and well-preserved aircraft.- History :...

, Fighter Collection at Duxford, Gloucestershire Aviation Collection (in Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

, UK), the National War Museum

National War Museum (Malta)

The National War Museum is located in Fort St. Elmo, Valletta, Malta. Its collection on display mainly focuses on World War I and World War II....

, Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 and the RAF Museum

RAF Museum

The Royal Air Force Museum London, commonly known as the RAF Museum, is a museum located on the former Hendon Aerodrome, dedicated to the history of aviation and the British Royal Air Force. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and a registered charity...

 (in Hendon

Hendon

Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...

 and Cosford

Royal Air Force Museum Cosford

The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford is a museum dedicated to the history of aviation, and the Royal Air Force in particular. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and a registered charity...

, UK). One Swedish Gladiator Mk I is preserved in Winter War

Winter War

The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...

 markings at the Swedish Air Force Museum

Swedish Air Force Museum

The Swedish Air Force Museum is located at Malmen Airbase in Malmslätt, just outside of Linköping, Sweden. Malmen is where Baron Carl Cederström, nicknamed the "Flyer Baron" founded his flying school in 1912. Malmen Airbase is home to the Royal Swedish Airschool operating SAAB 105 jettrainers...

 in Malmen, just outside of Linköping

Linköping

Linköping is a city in southern middle Sweden, with 104 232 inhabitants in 2010. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality with 146 736 inhabitants and the capital of Östergötland County...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

.

Norway

The Norwegian Aviation Museum has in its collection Gladiator II, serial N5641, operated by No. 263 squadron and abandoned at Lake Lesjaskog during the squadron's retreat. The aircraft had been purchased by a local farmer who preserved it into the 1960s when it was brought to the museum for restoration.

Malta

The fuselage of the only surviving Gladiator from the Hal Far Fighter Flight (N5520), later called Faith, was presented to the people of Malta in 1943. The fuselage remains are displayed in the War Museum at Fort St Elmo, Valletta. Research on the airframe has indicated that it incorporates parts of at least one other Gladiator. Malta's Aviation Museum has been trying since at least 2005 to obtain possession of the Gladiator remains from the War Museum which, it claimed, was lacking sufficient security for valuable heritage exhibits. In its Air Battle of Malta Memorial Hangar at Ta' Qali, the Aviation Museum had demonstrated superior expertise in aircraft restoration and had managed to acquire "a set of wings and other parts for the Gladiator". This request was reinforced in November 2008 by a newspaper article which stated "the aircraft is in a very bad state and now approaching the point of no repair".

Quotations

Gladiator aces

The top scoring Gladiator aces flew it in North Africa and Greece, and scored most of their successes against Regia Aeronautica aircraft. Flight Lieutenant Marmaduke T. "Pat" St. Pattle, from No. 80 Squadron, while flying the Gloster fighter, achieved 15.5 confirmed air victories (out of his 50+ kills), plus four probably destroyed and six damaged. Second is Pilot Officer Bill "Cherry" W Vale, from No. 33 and 80 Squadrons, with 10 individual kills, shared and 1.5 damaged. Flight Lieutenant Joe P. Fraser, from No. 112 Sqdn, and Flight Sergeant Don S. Gregory, from Nos. 33 and 80 Sqdns, scored all of their kills (respectively, 9.5 and 8) flying the Gladiator. Sergeant C. E. "Cas" Casbolt, from No. 80 Sqdn, shot down 7.5 e/a (plus one probably destroyed and 1.5 damaged).

Variants

SS.37

Prototype.

Gladiator I

Version powered by a single 840 hp (627 kW) Bristol Mercury

Bristol Mercury

|-See also:-Bibliography:* Bridgman, L, Jane's fighting aircraft of World War II. Crescent. ISBN 0-517-67964-7* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...

 IX air-cooled radial piston engine. The aircraft was designated J 8 in Swedish Air Force service. Delivered 1937-38, 378 built.

Gladiator II

Version powered by a single Bristol Mercury VIIIA air-cooled radial piston engine. The aircraft was designated J 8A in Swedish Air Force service, 270 built.

Sea Gladiator Interim

Single-seat fighter biplane for the Royal Navy, 38 built. Fitted with arrestor hook

Tailhook

A tailhook, also arresting hook or arrester hook, is a device attached to the empennage of some military fixed wing aircraft...

s. Serial numbers: N2265 - N2302.

Sea Gladiator

Single-seat fighter biplane for the Royal Navy, 60 built. Fitted with arrestor hooks and provision for dinghy

Dinghy

A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...

 stowage. Serial numbers: N5500 - N5549 and N5565 - N5574.

Operators

(small numbers)

Specifications (Gloster Gladiator Mk I)

In at least some Sea Gladiators, provision existed for a pair of Brownings to be fitted under the upper wings as well, bringing the total to six. Official service release trials were not completed before the Sea Gladiators were replaced by later types - but some upper wing Brownings may have been fitted in the field, in particular in Malta.

See also

External links

• RAF Museum
• BoB net
• Warbirds Resource Group
• Fleet Air Arm Archive
• aeroflight
• maltaaviationmuseum
• Faith, Hope & Charity
• Gladiator Camouflage and Markings
• Håkans aviation page Biplane fighter aces
• Håkans aviation page Biplane Fighter Aces
• Håkans aviation page Biplane Fighter Aces
• Gloster Gladiator profile, technical details and photos