×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Small Arms Warships & Submarines Military Ranks Military Pay Scale (2024) Special Forces

Gloster F.9/37


Twin-Engine Heavy Fighter Prototype Aircraft


United Kingdom | 1939



"Two prototypes of the Gloster F.9-37 heavy fighter aircraft were built for Britain during World War 2 - the type was not adopted."

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Gloster F.9/37 Twin-Engine Heavy Fighter Prototype Aircraft.
2 x Bristol Taurus T-S(a) 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines developing 1,000 horsepower each and driving three-bladed propeller units.
Propulsion
360 mph
580 kph | 313 kts
Max Speed
30,020 ft
9,150 m | 6 miles
Service Ceiling
2,450 ft/min
747 m/min
Rate-of-Climb
Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Gloster F.9/37 Twin-Engine Heavy Fighter Prototype Aircraft.
2
(MANNED)
Crew
37.1 ft
11.30 m
O/A Length
50.0 ft
(15.25 m)
O/A Width
11.6 ft
(3.55 m)
O/A Height
8,852 lb
(4,015 kg)
Empty Weight
11,640 lb
(5,280 kg)
MTOW
Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Gloster F.9/37 Twin-Engine Heavy Fighter Prototype Aircraft .
PROPOSED:
2 x 20mm Hispano automatic cannons.
4 x 0.303 caliber (7.7mm) Browning machine guns.

Provision for limited bomb load.
Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Gloster F.9/37 family line.
F.9/37 - Base Project Designation; twin-engine heavy fighter.
F.18/40 - Modified F.9/37 for night fighter role, becoming the F.29/40.
F.29/40 "Gloster Reaper" - Proposed night fighter variant.
Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 11/13/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The Gloster F.9/37 was a British pre-World War 2 aircraft developed by the Gloster Aircraft Company to satisfy a 1935 Air Ministry Requirement for a twin-engine heavy fighter / "turret fighter" platform (whose design was also to progress into a dedicated night-fighter platform). The aircraft was evolved along this line under the care of various lead engineers and was able to record a first-flight in April of 1939. However, the Royal Air Force (RAF) realized that the aircraft would become obsolete before it could be produced in the numbers required for 1940 and the design was dropped after two flyable prototypes were made.

The aircraft existed in an initial form known as the F.34/35 and it was this aircraft that was drawn up with the dorsal turret in place as well as nose-mounted machine gun armament. The aircraft appeared conventional by late-1930s standards and featured the cockpit aft of the nosecone. The wing mainplanes were straight with rounded tips and set well ahead of midships. Each wing held an aerodynamically refined engine nacelle and each unit drove three-bladed propellers. The fuselage tapered towards the tail to which a double-finned tail unit was affixed. A tail-dragger undercarriage completed the look of this aircraft. The dorsal turret was given complete 360-degree rotation over the aircraft and held 4 x 7.7mm machine guns in paired side-by-side installations.

Though ordered in prototype form in 1936, this design was cancelled before any physical work could begin (the requirement being fulfilled by the Boulton Paul Defiant turret fighter). However, Gloster was allowed to evolve this aircraft into something more under Specification F.9/37 of 1937. This revised requirement sought a new heavy fighter with a minimum speed of 300 miles per hour with a minimum rate-of-climb of 2,725 feet-per-minute. Power would come from 2 x Bristol Taurus T-S(a) engines or 2 x Rolls-Royce Kestrel KV.26 engines and these would be fitted one per wing element. In terms of armament, the heavy fighter would carry 2 x 20mm cannons at the nose, these managed by the pilot, and the rear crewman would manage the powered dorsal turret armed with 4 x 7.7mm machine guns. Before the end of 1938, the second crewman and his position were dropped from the design to better streamline the fighter. In place of the dorsal turret was 3 x 20mm cannons arranged to fire over the cockpit and aircraft's nose, providing the fighter with a lethal forward "punch" against any target in the sky.

The first prototype was equipped with the Taurus engine and the second followed with the Rolls-Royce installations - though the latter was now changed to the Rolls-Royce "Peregrine" series. After early runs for the aircraft, which proved successful and eased development, a first-flight was recorded on April 3rd, 1939. At 360 miles per hour, the F.9/37 was a speedster compared to British fighters in service. Pilots admired the design and found her easy to fly and control.

Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.


However, a belly-landing of the first prototype on July 27th delayed development and the specimen was reinstated with Bristol Taurus T-S(a) III engines - but this served to reduce performance for the design. More test flights and weapons evaluation followed but these were lengthy and drawn out.

The second prototype appeared with its Peregrine engines but suffered from excess weight and being underpowered compared to the first - able to make just 330 mph in testing.

Other forms were considered including a dedicated night fighter - the two-seat F.18/40 - and this was to feature a 4 x 20mm cannons under the cockpit floor and reach speeds of 390 mph to take down enemy bombers under the cover of darkness with assistance from onboard (AI = Airborne Interception) radar. One of the existing F.9/37 prototypes was slated to be converted to the F.29/40 "Reaper" night fighter but the project was ended in May of 1941 with the war in full swing - the twin-engined de Havilland DH.98 "Mosquito" heavy fighter proved itself more than capable of conversion to a night fighter.

The F.9/37 program never achieved more than its flyable prototype forms despite its promising nature and was heavily delayed in development to the point that it made itself an unlikely candidate for a serial production contract.

Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.
Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Gloster F.9/37. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 2 Units

Contractor(s): Gloster Aircraft Company - UK
National flag of the United Kingdom

[ United Kingdom (cancelled) ]
1 / 1
Image of the Gloster F.9/37
Image from the Public Domain.

Going Further...
The Gloster F.9/37 Twin-Engine Heavy Fighter Prototype Aircraft appears in the following collections:
HOME
AVIATION INDEX
AIRCRAFT BY COUNTRY
AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS
COMPARE AIRCRAFT
AIRCRAFT BY CONFLICT
AIRCRAFT BY TYPE
AIRCRAFT BY DECADE
WWII AIRCRAFT
X-PLANE AIRCRAFT
Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Scale Military Ranks of the World U.S. Department of Defense Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols Breakdown U.S. 5-Star Generals List WWII Weapons by Country World War Next

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.


©2024 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2024 (21yrs)