Gloster Gauntlet
The Gloster Gauntlet was the last open-cockpit fighter to serve with the RAF, a single-seat biplane that entered squadron service in 1935 and was, for its first two years, the fastest fighter in RAF Fighter Command. At its peak it equipped fourteen RAF squadrons, forming the backbone of Britain's air defence just before rearmament brought monoplane fighters into service. It was directly succeeded by the enclosed-cockpit Gloster Gladiator, itself the RAF's last biplane fighter, making the Gauntlet a bridge between the open-cockpit era and the more modern aircraft that would fight the Battle of Britain a few years later.
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Did you know?
The RAF's last open-cockpit fighter, a single-seat biplane whose enclosed-cockpit successor, the Gladiator, was Britain's final biplane fighter.
Specifications
| Length | 8 m (26 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 10 m (33 ft) |
| Height | 3.1 m (10 ft) |
| Persons on board | 1 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 1.8 t |
| Range | 395 NM (732 km) |
| Service ceiling | 34,000 ft (10,363 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 10,000 ft (3,048 m) |
| Rate of climb | 2,200 ft/min (11.2 m/s) |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Gloster Gauntlet starts as a Rare catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Gloster, the Gauntlet family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
Catch it yourself.CatchFlights shows the aircraft flying near you on a radar, so a type like this one is only a catch away when it passes overhead. Explore CatchFlights.
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