{Sources : William Green, Famous fighter of the second World War - Vol. 2 -1962 ; En Wikipedia, article éponyme; http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/gladiator_norway.htm}
How to design an outdated fighter before her maiden flight!
In October 1931, the F.7/30 British specification defined the need for a new fighter able to fly at 250 mph (402 km/h), with good climbing times and having a good visibility.
The armament will gather four 7.7 mm machine-guns.
In these requirements, this program looked very similar to the French one of 1930 which lead to the ordering of Dewoitine 500, Loire 46 and of Spad 510.
Amazingly, the prototypes from this British program were not technologically superiors to those designed in France 2 years earlier.
The Gloster Gladiator was the archetypal fighter designed as a modest progress compared to her forerunner, the Gloster Gauntlet, to restrict the manufacturing costs.
So, the technological momentum of the 30's, that gave birth to the best fighters of the WW II, was very scarcely touching this fighter.
At this historical moment, in all technologically advanced countries, most of the designers conceived low-wing monoplane fighters.
The conception of the last British biplane fighter began during the Spring of 1934, simultaneously with that of the Messerschmitt 109 (!).
If William Green ranked the Gladiator among his "so-called" Famous Fighters of WW II, he explained this honor was gained mostly to the extraordinary narrative (= fake news) created by the British propaganda to hide the high level of unpreparedness of UK for the war to be.
The last British biplane fighter
The Gloster Gladiator was 8.36 m long.
She weighted 1460 kg empty and 2086 kg for take off.
Her wingspan was 9.83 m and the wing area totaled 30 m².
The wing loading of c70 kg/m² ensured an excellent maneuverability. May be, such a huge wing area could have induced some laziness in roll.
The Bristol Mercury IX engine, of rather large diameter (~131 cm) delivered 825 hp at 2 650 t/m and 13,000 ft (3,952 m) and 840 hp at 2,750 t/m and 14,000 ft (4,256 m).
The maiden flight occurred the September 12, 1934.
The perfecting was quick, so an official mass production order occurred at mid-1937.
The top speeds vs altitude performances were as follows (official data of 1937, at Martlesham Heath):
0 m 325 kph
1,000 m 339 kph
2,000 m 357 kph
3,000 m 373 kph
4 000 m 389 kph
4,500 m 395 kph
5,000 m 392 kph
6,000 m 385 kph
8,000 m 361 kph
9,000 m 321 kph
You may found 407 kph (W. Green) which may be explained by the fitting of an enclosed and streamlined cockpit canopy.
The other value of 414 kph is not explicated. May be, this value was released as a counter-fire against possible criticisms arousing against the abnormal slowness of the Hurricane and Spitfire mass production.
Obviously, the Sea Gladiator (which see), heavier because of her enhanced armament and all the supplementary equipment used on aircraft-carrier, was a bit slower.
Very good performances... for 1932 !
The top speeds vs altitude performances were as follows (official data of 1937, at Martlesham Heath):
0 m 325 kph
1,000 m 339 kph
2,000 m 357 kph
3,000 m 373 kph
4 000 m 389 kph
4,500 m 395 kph
5,000 m 392 kph
6,000 m 385 kph
8,000 m 361 kph
9,000 m 321 kph
You may found 407 kph (W. Green) which may be explained by the fitting of an enclosed and streamlined cockpit canopy.
The other value of 414 kph is not explicated. May be, this value was released as a counter-fire against possible criticisms arousing against the abnormal slowness of the Hurricane and Spitfire mass production.
Obviously, the Sea Gladiator (which see), heavier because of her enhanced armament and all the supplementary equipment used on aircraft-carrier, was a bit slower.
The total range of the Gladiator was 715 km, allowing a tactical radius of, at least, 200 km.
The maximal cruising speed was 340 kph. But the true economical one was 300 kph.
The climbing times were:
1,000 m 1' 30"
2,000 m 3' 00"
3,000 m 4' 21'
4,000 m 5' 42"
4,500 m 6' 48" ==> (the time needed by the MS 406 for 4,000 m!)
5,000 m 7' 42"
6,000 m 10' 42"
8,000 m 16' 15"
9,000 m 23' 48"
Above 4,000 m, these climbing times were average: The supercharger of the Mercury engine was clearly insufficient.
Moreover, the dwindling of performances above 6,000 m confirms that 9,000 m was its service ceiling.
If one compare the Gladiator to the Avia B 534 of similar power, one can see a very similar horizontal top speed but a very faster climb ability of the B 534, the time to 5 000 m of the Czechoslovak fighter being 2 to 3 minutes better than the one of the British one, whose service ceiling was circa 1,000 m lower.
The Gladiator fighter won the British contest, even if the Bristol 133 contender, with her retractable landing gear, was 20 kph faster.
The use of a metallic Fairey-Reed fixed pitch air-screw allowed a smoother running of the engine, a slightly better top speed but a lower climbing speed.
The fighter was ordered in July 1935, and the production was sufficient to induce a commercial interest in 14 countries (at the end of the 30's, numerous countries were in need of fighters, even obsolete ones).
The first mass produced Gladiator rolls out in July 1936.
 |
| Gloster Gladiator I - |
The 72 squadron (18 fighter) was the first equipped in UK, in February 1937.
In September 1937, eight squadrons had been fully equipped.
They were the spearhead of the aerial protection of London (at this precise moment, the first series Hawker Hurricane, ordered at mid 1936, was delivered but not operational until February 1938).
Most of the British pilots enjoyed with the good maneuverability of the new fighter, however, those who were coming from Bristol Bulldog equipped squadrons - a fighter having a wing loading of only 55 kg/m² - feel their new fighter too brutal in quick evasive maneuvers and that she was subject to flat spins rather difficult to recover.
A lot of crashs induced a supplementary order of 28 examples (Source : En. Wikipedia, January 05, 2019).
The Septembre 3, 1939 - the date of the WW II beginning - among the 28 squadrons having already used the Gladiator - only 13 were still equipped with her, the 15 others used of Hurricane or of Spitfire.
Nevertheless, a good decision was the transformation of the Gladiator in an aircraft-carrier embarked fighter (with an enhanced armament of 6 MG): That was a very better solution than using the 30 kph slower and less agile Blackburn Skua in this role.
The HMS Courageous was the first equipped with Sea Gladiator, in May 1939.
In September 1937, eight squadrons had been fully equipped.
They were the spearhead of the aerial protection of London (at this precise moment, the first series Hawker Hurricane, ordered at mid 1936, was delivered but not operational until February 1938).
Most of the British pilots enjoyed with the good maneuverability of the new fighter, however, those who were coming from Bristol Bulldog equipped squadrons - a fighter having a wing loading of only 55 kg/m² - feel their new fighter too brutal in quick evasive maneuvers and that she was subject to flat spins rather difficult to recover.
A lot of crashs induced a supplementary order of 28 examples (Source : En. Wikipedia, January 05, 2019).
The Gladiator in action
The Septembre 3, 1939 - the date of the WW II beginning - among the 28 squadrons having already used the Gladiator - only 13 were still equipped with her, the 15 others used of Hurricane or of Spitfire.
Nevertheless, a good decision was the transformation of the Gladiator in an aircraft-carrier embarked fighter (with an enhanced armament of 6 MG): That was a very better solution than using the 30 kph slower and less agile Blackburn Skua in this role.
The HMS Courageous was the first equipped with Sea Gladiator, in May 1939.
Subject of large exportations at the end of the 30's, the Gladiator was quickly implied in various conflicts.
I chosen to give a brief, summary of her activities on secondary fronts.
In China, 36 Gladiator have been ordered in 1937 by the Chinese government to conter the Japanese invasion (which began in September 1931).
The first combat occurred at the end of February 1938.
W. Green wrote the Chinese pilots, whose aerial training was minimal and who experienced very odd take off conditions, experienced a lot of problems.
A new management and new methods of aerial training were used, allowing more balanced casualties between Chinese and Japanese pilots (who, actually, were using Mitsubishi A5M fighters).
However, in 1940, Japaneses pilots used of the deadly Zéro fighter...
The Winter War, between USSR and Finland, was triggered by the invading of Finnish territories by the armies of the dictator Joseph Staline, the November 30, 1939.
Twelve Swedish Gladiator came, in January 1940, to help the 30 similar fighters used by Finland.
During the 62 days preceding the armistice signed the March 13, 1940 between the 2 countries, the Finnish Gladiator pilots claimed 53 victories at the cost of 14 fighters.
I chosen to give a brief, summary of her activities on secondary fronts.
In China, 36 Gladiator have been ordered in 1937 by the Chinese government to conter the Japanese invasion (which began in September 1931).
The first combat occurred at the end of February 1938.
W. Green wrote the Chinese pilots, whose aerial training was minimal and who experienced very odd take off conditions, experienced a lot of problems.
A new management and new methods of aerial training were used, allowing more balanced casualties between Chinese and Japanese pilots (who, actually, were using Mitsubishi A5M fighters).
However, in 1940, Japaneses pilots used of the deadly Zéro fighter...
The Winter War, between USSR and Finland, was triggered by the invading of Finnish territories by the armies of the dictator Joseph Staline, the November 30, 1939.
Twelve Swedish Gladiator came, in January 1940, to help the 30 similar fighters used by Finland.
During the 62 days preceding the armistice signed the March 13, 1940 between the 2 countries, the Finnish Gladiator pilots claimed 53 victories at the cost of 14 fighters.
Undoubtedly, the Gladiator outclassed easily the Polikarpov I 15 or I 15 bis.
During the Continuation war, which begun side, by side with Hitler, the Juin 22, 1941, the Gladiator claimed a unique victory, demonstrating that the surviving aircrafts were only used for advanced training.
During the Continuation war, which begun side, by side with Hitler, the Juin 22, 1941, the Gladiator claimed a unique victory, demonstrating that the surviving aircrafts were only used for advanced training.
William Green (op. cit.) wrote: the British fighter was inefficient against the faster Soviet bombers and against the more recent Soviet fighters (Polikarpov I 153 and I 16), also faster.
At the end of the Fall of 1939, during the so-called Phoney War, several Gladiator were sent in France by the British government, to "cover" the British Expeditionary Force.
W. Green has written that they achieved several victories but, also "they were inefficient against the faster German bombers and also against the better armed German fighters".
These propositions are not logically compatible...
However, some Gladiator from some coastal regions claimed they had downed one Dornier 18 flying-boat before downing a Messerschmitt 110 fighter...
The Norwegian Campaign was the precise moment the Gladiator was confronted to the Luftwaffe, the worst enemy the Allied had to confront until 1945.
In West Scandinavia (Norway and Danemark), Hitler launched his Weserübung operation, the April 6, 1940, to secure the access of Germany to the Kiruna Swedish first quality iron ore supplies.
During the Winter, the North of Baltic Sea - Golf of Bothnia - being frozen, the iron ore needed to be transported by trains until the Norwegian harbor of Narvik, which stays always in free water.
Hitler knew the Military Norwegian Aviation was only symbolic, especially when one take into account the vastness of the Norwegian territory (from the North to the South, that extremely rugged country is circa 1,600 km long).
At the end of the Fall of 1939, during the so-called Phoney War, several Gladiator were sent in France by the British government, to "cover" the British Expeditionary Force.
W. Green has written that they achieved several victories but, also "they were inefficient against the faster German bombers and also against the better armed German fighters".
These propositions are not logically compatible...
However, some Gladiator from some coastal regions claimed they had downed one Dornier 18 flying-boat before downing a Messerschmitt 110 fighter...
The real war
The Norwegian Campaign was the precise moment the Gladiator was confronted to the Luftwaffe, the worst enemy the Allied had to confront until 1945.
In West Scandinavia (Norway and Danemark), Hitler launched his Weserübung operation, the April 6, 1940, to secure the access of Germany to the Kiruna Swedish first quality iron ore supplies.
During the Winter, the North of Baltic Sea - Golf of Bothnia - being frozen, the iron ore needed to be transported by trains until the Norwegian harbor of Narvik, which stays always in free water.
Hitler knew the Military Norwegian Aviation was only symbolic, especially when one take into account the vastness of the Norwegian territory (from the North to the South, that extremely rugged country is circa 1,600 km long).
This Air Force consisted in:
Norway being a especially rugged country (see the above map), it was not wise for the Germans to sent there their most performant airplanes but the tough Stukas (Ju 87).
They rarely used their Messerschmitt Bf 109 E preferring their longer ranging Bf 110 to protect the precious Heinkel 111 and Stuka Ju 87.
Naval operations
The German operation implied the Kriegsmarine to transfert thousands of soldiers able to capture the most important Norwegian harbors.
At this precise date, the German ships might hardly count on an aerial cover during the transit to Narvik (Northerly to the Polar Circle).
The good luck of these ships resided in the Allied incapacity to gather most of their aircraft-carriers for their own counter-attack operations.
At the dawn of the April 9, 1940, six German fleets proceeded to each key harbor:
Always, but at Oslo, the Norwegians were totally surprised. In all other places, they were also totally unarmed when the German soldiers appeared.
At Oslo, the alarm was activated in real time because all the local deciders were very experienced and very aware of their duty.
These men were responsible of the 280 mm cannon batteries and of the torpedo launchers which controlled the entry of the Oslo Fjord d'Oslo.
They identified instantly the threat and sunk quickly the Blücher, inducing a partial retreat of the remainder of the fleet and delayed the disembarkation of the soldiers and the capture of the Norwegian capital for at least 24 hours.
Aerial operations
All the Norwegian fighters were at Oslo.
Some crash being experienced during the training, only seven Gladiator were actually available.
These Gladiator were confronted to the Luftwaffe which had sent thirty Junkers 52 to drop or to disembark paratroopers on the strategic sites allowing the control of the Norwegian capital.
The German transport airplanes were protected by Messerschmitt 110 and a significant amount of Heinkel 111 were dedicated to support them.
Very quickly, the Gladiator downed 5 enemy aircrafts(1 Ju 52, 2 Bf 110 and 2 bombers), at the cost of one Norwegian fighter.
Such a balance was excellent, especially when one take into account the fact that all the downed aircrafts were multi-engined and 4 among them were a very faster than the biplane fighters: The Norwegian pilots need to destroy either the two engines or the enemy pilot to obtain a victory!
Other downed German aircrafts were claimed by AA fire servants.
In such an occasion, I must remember the words of a French fighter pilot: "An enemy aircraft damaged by the fighters is an easy prey for the AA fire".
A bit later, 2 Gladiator, not efficiently camouflaged, were destroyed by strafing during their refueling.
The four last remaining were sent to frozen lakes, but, without refueling and devoid of tactical informations, they stay there and were later destroyed by the enemies.
The total lack of secondary airfields demonstrate clearly the political Norwegians authorities had never imagined their country would become a war theater (!).
Astonishingly, the Allied operations in Norway, although long-time premeditated at London (since more than one year in the British Admiralty), did not start until April 10, 1940.
Such a slowness of British reaction was clearly correlated with the extremely weak character of the Premier Neville Chamberlain whose conceptions were totally belied by the real facts since March 1939!
The first British strikes occurred when 16 Blackburn Skua attacked the German ships at Bergen, after a rather long trip, with a one-way leg of nearly 500 km.
This mission was successfully completed with the sinking of the Koenigsberg light cruiser!
But the real purpose of the Allied, Narvik, was too far away for either the Fleet Air Arm or the actual RAF. Such an offensive action needed imperatively of aircraft-carriers.
Yes, the September 3, 1939, the UK entered war with 7 aircraft-carriers (exactly the same amount than the USA):
Unfortunately, a lot of mistakes had deprived the Royal Navy and the Fleet Air Arm of the Courageous, sunk by a German U-Boat.
You may object that, at this precise moment, France had actually two carriers, the Béarn and the Commandant Teste.
The very short sighted conceptions of the deciders in the French War Minister have embedded our aircraft-carrier in the stupide mission of terrestrial aircraft transporter (from USA to Casablanca).
Nevertheless, our Spad 510 were still efficient and, with minimal adaptations, they would have been very useful on board of the Béarn, giving an real air cover to the Allied operations.
The handful of existing LN 40 dive bombers would have been also very efficient against the German cruisers.
The Commandant Teste was an excellent sea-plane carrier (up to 25 aircrafts), with 5 cranes and 4 catapults.
She had a decent AA fire armament, especially twelve 100 mm canons of 45 calibers with a vertical range of 10,000 m.
Her total range was 8,500 nmi (De. Wikipedia) and she was able to destroy - or disable -
a significant amount of ennemis ships at several hundreds of kilometers.
The main criticism about her was a rather low top speed (22 kts during trials): The seamen deciders cannot, actually, imagine that such ships were already their real capital ships!
Her excellent Latécoère 298 torpedo-bombers flew at 300 km/h and were able to stop any fleet passage as far as 500 km or destroy U-Boats with bombs.
Among the British carriers, the Furious was available.
Protected by the Warspite battleship, she carried only 18 Swordfish torpedo-bombers, being devoid of fighters.
That was an amazing choice, knowing she may carry from 36 to 48 aircrafts!
The April 12, after the bombing of German captured ex-Norwegian ships for the loss of 2, the Furious needed to refuel at Tromsö.
During the trip, her Swordfish bombed a frozen lake were numerous Junkers 52 were landed: Two Ju 52 were destroyed, several other were damaged.
The April 18, the Furious, still devoid of fighters cover, was attacked, likely as a retaliation operation, by a unique Heinkel 111 which damaged her very seriously, limiting her top speed to 20 kts.
She went back to Tromsö but was forced to return to UK for more serious repairs.
These works lasted until the May 18, when she had to leave to Norway with a squadron of Gladiator which had to be based at Bardufoss (80 km North of Narvik), keeping on board 6 Sea Gladiator and 9 Swordfish for her own protection (at last!).
The April 24, another British aircraft carrier, the Glorious, returned from the Mediterranean theater, entered at last in the Arctic Ocean operations.
The carrier ferried the squadron 263 with 18 Gladiator which landed on the ice of the frozen Lesjaskog lake, in the South west part of Norway.
On Avril 25, 2 Gladiator downed a Heinkel He 115 torpedo-bomber.
The Germans, for the loss of 3 bombers, bombed the lake were the British fighters have landed.
Only 5 five fighters stayed available, many casualties occurred among the pilots. The squadron 263 needed to be evacuated to the United Kingdom.
Once the wounded pilots treated and the destroyed fighters replaced, the # 263 returned to Norway, landing at Bardufoss the May 25.
The same day, the Ark Royal aircraft-carrier, equipped with Blakburn Skua, shared also the aerial cover of the fleet.
The Allied operations continued despite the enhancement of the German forces.
The arrival of Hurricane, too late, was insufficient to change the game.
The 3th of May, France suffered the loss of the Bison destroyer, powerful but weakly defended against aerial attacks with only four 37 mm cannons and some 13.2 mm machine-guns (!).
However, after disembarking the French and Polish units, the Allied might, at last, use of modern Hotchkiss H 39 tanks which were useful to free Narvik, the May 28.
This victory occurred too late, the Battle of France was badly engaged and all Allied soldiers and materials returned in Great Britain.
{Fortunately for us, the 12 Hotchkiss H 39 then rescued played a historical role, because they were later assigned by General De Gaulle to the general-to-be Philippe Leclerc de Hautecloque who used them in the beginning of his fight against the troops of Mussolini in Libya (1940-1941).}
The Gladiator fighted gallantly in the Mediterranean theater, especially at Malta, against the Regia Aeronautica, later en Greece as also in Syria, the Vichy Air Force.
These fighting were not easy, nevertheless, e.g. the victories on the Fiat CR 42 have been obtained on aircrafts totally devoid of radio!
The Battle of Malta was the proof that Benito Mussolini, as also most of his high ranking officers, shared a very short strategic sight.
Malta was not only a British colony, but was also the hub of all the informations (by submarine cables) coming from Balkan, Middle East, North and East Africa and Asia.
Moreover, these islands constituted an incredibly safe anchorage for a battle fleet.
Who holds Malta holds the Mediterranean Sea!
Logically, the first duty of Mussolini, instead to attack the French Alpine "Ligne Maginot" on the June 10, 1940, would have been to send his better soldiers at 100 km of the South Sicilian coast to conquer the powerful Maltese lock.
In such a case, any British fleet which would tempt the crossing from Gibraltar to Suez would have experienced huge losses.
- One unique fighter squadron --> 12 Gladiator (!),
- A bout fifty recco-bombers Fokker CV-D, purchased at the end of the 20's, able to carry four 50 kg bombs each, at 215 kph,
- Half a dozen of Heinkel 115 torpedo-bombers.
- The distance from Hambourg (Germany) to Oslo (Norway) is circa 710 km,
- The distance from Aalborg (Danemark) to Oslo is circa 322 km!
 |
| Copy of Google Earth : Norwegian coasts of the Lofoten islands and of the fjord where is Narvik - Only very good pilots were able to land in such a landscape! -- |
Norway being a especially rugged country (see the above map), it was not wise for the Germans to sent there their most performant airplanes but the tough Stukas (Ju 87).
They rarely used their Messerschmitt Bf 109 E preferring their longer ranging Bf 110 to protect the precious Heinkel 111 and Stuka Ju 87.
Naval operations
The German operation implied the Kriegsmarine to transfert thousands of soldiers able to capture the most important Norwegian harbors.
At this precise date, the German ships might hardly count on an aerial cover during the transit to Narvik (Northerly to the Polar Circle).
The good luck of these ships resided in the Allied incapacity to gather most of their aircraft-carriers for their own counter-attack operations.
At the dawn of the April 9, 1940, six German fleets proceeded to each key harbor:
- Ten German destroyers had to disembark about 2,000 mountain troops by surprise at Narvik. This very important convoy had to conquer the strategic heart of this campaign, so, it was escorted by the up to date and very powerful battle cruisers Scharnorst and Gneisenau;
- The Admiral Hipper heavy cruiser and four destroyers disembarked their troops at Trondheim;
- The Köln and Königsberg cruisers as also some logistic ships went to Bergen;
- The Karlsruhe light cruiser and some smaller ships went to Kristiansand;
- The Blücher heavy cruiser and the "pocket battleship" Lützow (ex-Deutschland), the Emden light cruiser and some other light ships should proceed to Oslo; Other mountain troops and paratroopers were carried by the Luftwaffe.
- Four minesweepers proceeded to Egersund.
 |
| Position of the Weserübung key-harbors |
Always, but at Oslo, the Norwegians were totally surprised. In all other places, they were also totally unarmed when the German soldiers appeared.
At Oslo, the alarm was activated in real time because all the local deciders were very experienced and very aware of their duty.
These men were responsible of the 280 mm cannon batteries and of the torpedo launchers which controlled the entry of the Oslo Fjord d'Oslo.
They identified instantly the threat and sunk quickly the Blücher, inducing a partial retreat of the remainder of the fleet and delayed the disembarkation of the soldiers and the capture of the Norwegian capital for at least 24 hours.
Aerial operations
All the Norwegian fighters were at Oslo.
Some crash being experienced during the training, only seven Gladiator were actually available.
These Gladiator were confronted to the Luftwaffe which had sent thirty Junkers 52 to drop or to disembark paratroopers on the strategic sites allowing the control of the Norwegian capital.
The German transport airplanes were protected by Messerschmitt 110 and a significant amount of Heinkel 111 were dedicated to support them.
Very quickly, the Gladiator downed 5 enemy aircrafts(1 Ju 52, 2 Bf 110 and 2 bombers), at the cost of one Norwegian fighter.
Such a balance was excellent, especially when one take into account the fact that all the downed aircrafts were multi-engined and 4 among them were a very faster than the biplane fighters: The Norwegian pilots need to destroy either the two engines or the enemy pilot to obtain a victory!
Other downed German aircrafts were claimed by AA fire servants.
In such an occasion, I must remember the words of a French fighter pilot: "An enemy aircraft damaged by the fighters is an easy prey for the AA fire".
 |
| Two German bombers (He 111) downed in Norway |
A bit later, 2 Gladiator, not efficiently camouflaged, were destroyed by strafing during their refueling.
The four last remaining were sent to frozen lakes, but, without refueling and devoid of tactical informations, they stay there and were later destroyed by the enemies.
The total lack of secondary airfields demonstrate clearly the political Norwegians authorities had never imagined their country would become a war theater (!).
Astonishingly, the Allied operations in Norway, although long-time premeditated at London (since more than one year in the British Admiralty), did not start until April 10, 1940.
Such a slowness of British reaction was clearly correlated with the extremely weak character of the Premier Neville Chamberlain whose conceptions were totally belied by the real facts since March 1939!
The first British strikes occurred when 16 Blackburn Skua attacked the German ships at Bergen, after a rather long trip, with a one-way leg of nearly 500 km.
This mission was successfully completed with the sinking of the Koenigsberg light cruiser!
But the real purpose of the Allied, Narvik, was too far away for either the Fleet Air Arm or the actual RAF. Such an offensive action needed imperatively of aircraft-carriers.
Yes, the September 3, 1939, the UK entered war with 7 aircraft-carriers (exactly the same amount than the USA):
- Argus,
- Glorious,
- Courageous,
- Furious,
- Eagle,
- Hermes,
- Ark Royal.
Unfortunately, a lot of mistakes had deprived the Royal Navy and the Fleet Air Arm of the Courageous, sunk by a German U-Boat.
You may object that, at this precise moment, France had actually two carriers, the Béarn and the Commandant Teste.
The very short sighted conceptions of the deciders in the French War Minister have embedded our aircraft-carrier in the stupide mission of terrestrial aircraft transporter (from USA to Casablanca).
Nevertheless, our Spad 510 were still efficient and, with minimal adaptations, they would have been very useful on board of the Béarn, giving an real air cover to the Allied operations.
The handful of existing LN 40 dive bombers would have been also very efficient against the German cruisers.
The Commandant Teste was an excellent sea-plane carrier (up to 25 aircrafts), with 5 cranes and 4 catapults.
 |
| The Commandant Teste - |
She had a decent AA fire armament, especially twelve 100 mm canons of 45 calibers with a vertical range of 10,000 m.
Her total range was 8,500 nmi (De. Wikipedia) and she was able to destroy - or disable -
a significant amount of ennemis ships at several hundreds of kilometers.
The main criticism about her was a rather low top speed (22 kts during trials): The seamen deciders cannot, actually, imagine that such ships were already their real capital ships!
Her excellent Latécoère 298 torpedo-bombers flew at 300 km/h and were able to stop any fleet passage as far as 500 km or destroy U-Boats with bombs.
Among the British carriers, the Furious was available.
Protected by the Warspite battleship, she carried only 18 Swordfish torpedo-bombers, being devoid of fighters.
That was an amazing choice, knowing she may carry from 36 to 48 aircrafts!
The April 12, after the bombing of German captured ex-Norwegian ships for the loss of 2, the Furious needed to refuel at Tromsö.
During the trip, her Swordfish bombed a frozen lake were numerous Junkers 52 were landed: Two Ju 52 were destroyed, several other were damaged.
The April 18, the Furious, still devoid of fighters cover, was attacked, likely as a retaliation operation, by a unique Heinkel 111 which damaged her very seriously, limiting her top speed to 20 kts.
She went back to Tromsö but was forced to return to UK for more serious repairs.
These works lasted until the May 18, when she had to leave to Norway with a squadron of Gladiator which had to be based at Bardufoss (80 km North of Narvik), keeping on board 6 Sea Gladiator and 9 Swordfish for her own protection (at last!).
The April 24, another British aircraft carrier, the Glorious, returned from the Mediterranean theater, entered at last in the Arctic Ocean operations.
The carrier ferried the squadron 263 with 18 Gladiator which landed on the ice of the frozen Lesjaskog lake, in the South west part of Norway.
On Avril 25, 2 Gladiator downed a Heinkel He 115 torpedo-bomber.
The Germans, for the loss of 3 bombers, bombed the lake were the British fighters have landed.
Only 5 five fighters stayed available, many casualties occurred among the pilots. The squadron 263 needed to be evacuated to the United Kingdom.
Once the wounded pilots treated and the destroyed fighters replaced, the # 263 returned to Norway, landing at Bardufoss the May 25.
The same day, the Ark Royal aircraft-carrier, equipped with Blakburn Skua, shared also the aerial cover of the fleet.
The Allied operations continued despite the enhancement of the German forces.
The arrival of Hurricane, too late, was insufficient to change the game.
The 3th of May, France suffered the loss of the Bison destroyer, powerful but weakly defended against aerial attacks with only four 37 mm cannons and some 13.2 mm machine-guns (!).
However, after disembarking the French and Polish units, the Allied might, at last, use of modern Hotchkiss H 39 tanks which were useful to free Narvik, the May 28.
This victory occurred too late, the Battle of France was badly engaged and all Allied soldiers and materials returned in Great Britain.
{Fortunately for us, the 12 Hotchkiss H 39 then rescued played a historical role, because they were later assigned by General De Gaulle to the general-to-be Philippe Leclerc de Hautecloque who used them in the beginning of his fight against the troops of Mussolini in Libya (1940-1941).}
The worst defeat of the Royal Navy during the 1940 year occurred the June 8, 1940, in front of the Kriegsmarine: It was the total loss of the Glorious aircraft-carrier with her two very courageous escort destroyers and the death of 1,500 seamen. 10 Gladiator were inboard, as also 5 Sworfish. None of them was used!
The Gladiator fighted gallantly in the Mediterranean theater, especially at Malta, against the Regia Aeronautica, later en Greece as also in Syria, the Vichy Air Force.
These fighting were not easy, nevertheless, e.g. the victories on the Fiat CR 42 have been obtained on aircrafts totally devoid of radio!
The Battle of Malta was the proof that Benito Mussolini, as also most of his high ranking officers, shared a very short strategic sight.
Malta was not only a British colony, but was also the hub of all the informations (by submarine cables) coming from Balkan, Middle East, North and East Africa and Asia.
Moreover, these islands constituted an incredibly safe anchorage for a battle fleet.
Who holds Malta holds the Mediterranean Sea!
Logically, the first duty of Mussolini, instead to attack the French Alpine "Ligne Maginot" on the June 10, 1940, would have been to send his better soldiers at 100 km of the South Sicilian coast to conquer the powerful Maltese lock.
In such a case, any British fleet which would tempt the crossing from Gibraltar to Suez would have experienced huge losses.
Fortunately for us, this never occurred.
During the first month of the war against Italy, the Regia Aéronautica was not very active on Malta because it was very engaged over France near Toulon, in the Alpes - where the weather was very stormy, inducing heavy losses - and in North Tunisia.
Moreover, the Italian attacks against Malta were not sufficiently efficient for the British airmen who have been confronted to the Luftwaffe at Dunkirk.
A bit later, the arrival of Hurricanes was a bad news for the crews of the Italian bombers.
For me, it's amazing the Gladiator were never based in Australia, at the moment of the enhancement of a true will of conquest was very clear in Japan.
This biplane fighter would constitute an excellent learning tool to create an great Royal Australian Air Force (which was created mainly by the US).
During the first month of the war against Italy, the Regia Aéronautica was not very active on Malta because it was very engaged over France near Toulon, in the Alpes - where the weather was very stormy, inducing heavy losses - and in North Tunisia.
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| Tactical situation of Malta |
Moreover, the Italian attacks against Malta were not sufficiently efficient for the British airmen who have been confronted to the Luftwaffe at Dunkirk.
A bit later, the arrival of Hurricanes was a bad news for the crews of the Italian bombers.
For me, it's amazing the Gladiator were never based in Australia, at the moment of the enhancement of a true will of conquest was very clear in Japan.
This biplane fighter would constitute an excellent learning tool to create an great Royal Australian Air Force (which was created mainly by the US).
Marmaduke Pat Pattle was the most famous among the Gladiator pilots.
Flying the Gladiator since May 1937, he was already an experienced pilot before the outbreak of WW II.
In 1940, he went in Balkan to help the Royal Helenic Air Force against the Regia Aeronautica.
In 1940, he went in Balkan to help the Royal Helenic Air Force against the Regia Aeronautica.
Confronted from the beginning to the Italian pilots, he downed more of them than German ones, who entered war against Greece only some weeks before the operation Barbarossa (the invasion of USSR).
In less than one year, he obtained 15 victories with the Gladiator and 35 others with the Hurricane Mk I...
In less than one year, he obtained 15 victories with the Gladiator and 35 others with the Hurricane Mk I...
As Squadron Leader, he was very demanding with respect to his pilots, especially a high concentration on mission as also a great flight discipline.
His fighting time lasted only 7 months from the 4th of August 1940 to the 20th of April 1941, the day at which he was downed by a Bf 110 near Athens!
One may dream to his score if he as benefited from a Spitfire...
In Syria, les Gladiator appeared dangerous for the Vichy Dewoitine 520, damaging seriously the Dewoitine 520 of the great French ace Pierre Le Gloan, after he had downed one Gladiator.
His fighting time lasted only 7 months from the 4th of August 1940 to the 20th of April 1941, the day at which he was downed by a Bf 110 near Athens!
One may dream to his score if he as benefited from a Spitfire...
In Syria, les Gladiator appeared dangerous for the Vichy Dewoitine 520, damaging seriously the Dewoitine 520 of the great French ace Pierre Le Gloan, after he had downed one Gladiator.
Conclusion #1
The history of this completely obsolete fighter highlights two lessons:
The history of this completely obsolete fighter highlights two lessons:
- Better an obsolete fighter than no fighter at all. Obviously, the tactics used must take into account the better points of the fighter and a thorough training is of paramount importance.
- However, the definitive obsolescence must be detected. After that, the fighter cannot be used in her fighter role (but for training or for ground support).
Conclusion #2: One very big regret...
Some months after the maiden flight of the Gladiator, the engineer Folland created a brand new fighter using the same engine, the Gloster F- 5/34 which was christened "Noname Fighter" by the Gloster personals.
This fighter was 9.76 m long.
She was weighting 1,900 kg empty and 2,450 kg for take off.
The wingspan was 11.63 m and the total wing area was 21.26 m², so the wing loading was 115 kg /m².
This wing loading was intermediary between the one of the operational Hurricane Mk I and of the first operational Spitfire MK I.
{English Wikipedia published 88 kg/m² but this is not possible, considering the other data.}
Using the same 840 hp Mercury engine than the Gladiator, the top speed was 508 kph at 4,875 m.
The total range was 850 km.
Her climb speed to 6,000 m was 11 minutes, very near to that of the very lighter Gladiator, and her service ceiling was 10,000 m.
The maiden flight date appears to be very classified (!), but excellent pictures were published in the Flight release of the June 24, 1937, especially the one displaying a "Noname Fighter" breaking very near from the tail of a modern bomber.
That was the proof the pilot was absolutely confident to the aerodynamic reaction of his fighter in mock combat!
So, I'm doubting a lot when En. Wikipedia is publishing a maiden flight at the end of 1936 (you will also fund a maiden flight in December 1937! LOL).
Fitting a narrower but more powerful engine like the 1050 hp P & W 1830, the Gloster fighter would have a top speed of 547 kph, very near than the operational Spitfire Mk I.
Pressure were exerted on Folland to slow his work on the Noname, the Gladiator being so important!
En. Wikipedia (of May 8, 2019) wrote a narrative in which it is said the Noname Fighter was not ordered because the Hurricane was still in service when the Gloster flew for the first time.
Unfortunately, this is totally wrong, the first squadron was Hurricane equipped only in February 1938 (following the same source)!
This very promising fighter was nevertheless very praised by her test pilots:
- She was more maneuverable without the heaviness of the controls usually encountered at high speed;
- She took off after a shorter ground running and she had a better climb at low altitude than all the other British fighters;
- She displayed a very better all-round visibility than all others British designs!
.jpg/1024px-15_Gloster_F.5-34_Fighter_Bristol_Mercury_IX_(15812158196).jpg) |
| The Gloster F 5/34 Noname Fighter. The fore part may had some family aspect with that of the A6M2 fighter |
Knowing how exaggerated were the published speed performances of the Hawker Hurricane Mk I :
- Air Marshall Dowding giving 490 kph instead of the 525 kph claimed with the Rotol airscrew,
- The Gloster F5/34 Noname Fighter would have allowed a very better service during the Battle of France as also in BoB.
A French friend had recently published a good explanation: The Gloster company was the property of the Hawker trust from 1934.
This is enough, but this is the demonstration than Hawker did not really take into account the actual interest of the British fighter pilots...
One may imagine how more performant should be a Noname Fighter fitted with the significantly more compact and more powerful Pratt & Whitney 1830 engine !
