Gloster F.
5/34
The Gloster F.5/34 was a British ghter of the 1930s. It
was a single-seat, single-engine monoplane of all-metal
cantilever construction; the undercarriage was of the
tailwheel type with retractable main units.
Produced in competition with other designs to meet a re-
quirement for a ghter aircraft that could operate in the
Far East, it was overtaken by more capable designs and
the requirement was abandoned with no aircraft being se-
lected.
1 Design and development
The F.5/34 was the rst monoplane ghter built by
Gloster and the last design penned by H.P. Folland for
the company.[1] It was developed in response to Air Min-
istry Specication F.5/34, for a ghter using an air-cooled
engine armed with eight machine guns suitable for hot
climate use.[2] Powered by an 840 hp Bristol Mercury
IX nine-cylinder radial engine, the F.5/34, unocially
dubbed the Unnamed Fighter, was the companys rst
monoplane landplane design and featured many of the
trademark Gloster design elements including the tail and
close-tting cowling that resembled the earlier Gauntlet
and Gladiator biplane ghters.[1] The low wing cantilever
mainplane was built in one piece with light-alloy spars
running through from tip to tip and ribs made from chan-
nelling with steel and light-alloy tube struts. Duralumin
stressed-skin was used on the mainplane and tail unit
with fabric-covered Frise ailerons. The fuselage was a
monocoque structure built up from light, fabricated oval-
section rings with duralumin skinning.
Development was delayed somewhat by the demands of
the Gladiator production programme so that ight trials
of the rst prototype did not commence until December
1937 while the second prototype was not completed until
May 1938.
2 Testing
In competition with the Gloster for the requirement
were the Bristol Type 146, Martin-Baker M.B.2 and the
Vickers Venom, which would be tested by the Aeroplane
and Armament Experimental Establishment. Flight Mag-
azine (July 1, 1937) shows the F.5/34 taking o from
Hucclecote airdrome and mentions its appearance at the
RAF Display of that year. By the time the F.5/34 began
1
its ight tests, the 8-gun Hawker Hurricane was in service
and the Supermarine Spitre in production so that further
development of the Gloster ghter was abandoned. How-
ever, compared to its contemporaries, test pilots found
the F.5/34 prototypes had a shorter takeo, better ini-
tial climb, were more responsive and manoeuvrable due
to ailerons that did not become excessively heavy at high
speed. Handling was considered very good and the all-
round cockpit visibility was far better than the other de-
signs. The Gloster F.5/34 debuted at the 1938 Hendon
Air Show, but soon after, both prototypes (K5604 and
K8089) were relegated to experimental ying and nally
as instructional airframes until May 1941.
A legend exists that the F.5/34 was the inspiration for
the Japanese Zero, probably stemming from a supercial
similarity between the two machines and Glosters past
links with the Japanese such as the Nakajima A1N, a li-
cence development of Gloster Gambet.[3]
3 Specications (F.5/34)
Data from The Complete Book of Fighters[4]
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 32 ft (9.76 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 2 in (11.63 m)
Height: 10 ft 2 in (3.09 m)
Wing area: 230 ft (21.4 m)
Empty weight: 4,190 lb (1,900 kg)
Loaded weight: 5,400 lb (2,449 kg)
Powerplant: 1 Bristol Mercury IX nine-cylinder
radial engine, 840 hp (627 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 275 knots (316 mph, 509 km/h
at) at 16,000 ft (4,875 m)
Service ceiling: 32,500 ft [5] (9,910 m)
Wing loading: 23.5 lb/ft (88.8 kg/m)
2 6 EXTERNAL LINKS

Power/mass: 0.156 hp/lb (0.256 kW/kg)

Time to 20,000 ft (6,100 m): 11 min

Armament

Guns: Eight 0.303-in (7.7-mm) Browning machine

guns

4 See also
Aircraft of comparable role, conguration and era

Vickers Venom
Bristol Type 146
PZL P.50 Jastrzb

5 References

5.1 Notes
[1] James 2000, p. 69.
[2] Bowyer 1984, p. 34.
[3] James 1987, p. 159
[4] Green and Swanborough 1994, p. 248.
[5] Mason 1992, p. 264.

5.2 Bibliography
Bowyer, Michael J.F. Interceptor Fighters for the
Royal Air Force, 1935-45. Wellingborough, UK:
Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1984. ISBN 0-85059-726-9.
Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The
Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark,
1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
James, Derek N. Gloster Aircraft Company (Images
of Aviation). Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: Tempus
Publishing Limited, 2000. ISBN 0-7524-0038-X.
James, Derek N. Gloster Aircraft since 1917. Lon-
don: Putnam and Company Ltd., 1987. ISBN 0-
85177-807-0.
Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter Since 1912.
Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992.
ISBN 1-55750-082-7.

6 External links
 3

7 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

7.1 Text
Gloster F.5/34 Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_F.5/34?oldid=733115400 Contributors: Blue387, Trevor MacInnis,
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Makecat-bot, WPGA2345 and Anonymous: 8

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