Gloster Gnatsnapper

National origin: United Kingdom
Manufacturer: Gloster Aircraft
First flight: February 1928
Status: Prototype only
Number built: 2

The Gloster SS.35 Gnatsnapper was a British naval biplane fighter design of the late 1920s.

Design and development

The Gnatsnapper was a submission to Air Ministry specification N.21/26 for a "deck landing" fighter.

Two Gnatsnappers were built by Gloster Aircraft. They were later converted to Mark II standard and then one was converted to the Gnatsnapper III. using Bristol Mercury, Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar and Rolls-Royce Kestrel engines in turn.

Specifications (Gnatsnapper II)

Data from Gloster Aircraft since 1917

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 24 ft 7 in (7.48 m)
Wingspan: 33 ft 6 in (10.20 m)
Height: 10 ft 11 in (3.32 m)
Wing area: 360 ft² (33.4 m²)
Empty weight: 3,095 lb (1,403 kg)
Loaded weight: 3,804 lb (1,725 kg)
Powerplant: 1x— Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar VIII 14-cylinder air-cooled radial, 540 hp (403 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 154 knots (177 mph, 285 km/h)
Stall speed: 46 knots (53 mph, 85 km/h)
Range: 426 NM (490 mi,789 km)
Service ceiling: 24,500 ft (7,470 m)
Wing loading: 10.6 lb/ft² (51.6 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.14 hp/lb (0.23 kW/kg)
Endurance: 5 hr
Climb to 20,000 ft (6,100 m): 19 min

Armament

Guns: 2 x 0.303 in Vickers machine guns

Comparable aircraft

Armstrong Whitworth Starling
Hawker Nimrod

Bibliography

James, Derek N. Gloster Aircraft since 1917. London: Putnam, 1971. ISBN 0 370 00084 6.
Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter Since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.

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Source: WikiPedia