Gloster E.1/44

Gloster Aircraft Company · United Kingdom · first flew 1948 · fighter

The Gloster E.1/44 was a British single-engined jet fighter design built on an experimental basis, powered by a Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet. It was a mid-wing monoplane with stainless-steel wing skin.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	1 × turbojet, fuselage-mounted
F — Fuselage	Single-engined jet with air intakes in the fuselage sides ahead of the wing roots
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Single-engined jet with air intakes in the fuselage sides ahead of the wing roots
Wide fuselage with a wide-track tricycle undercarriage
Tailplane mounted midway up the rear fuselage beneath a single fin and rudder

A broad-bodied single-engined jet fighter with intakes on the fuselage sides ahead of the wing roots and a tailplane partway up a single fin.

Specifications

The Gloster E.1/44 has a length of 11.6 m (38 ft).
It has a wingspan of 11 m (36 ft).
Its maximum speed is 998 km/h (620 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Work on a pair of prototypes began in late 1943 to Air Ministry specification E.1/44. The first prototype was destroyed in a road accident on its way to Boscombe Down, so the second flew first, on 9 March 1948, in the hands of Bill Waterton.

Variants

Only the prototypes were built. The design never received an official name, although Ace was proposed at one point and the pilot privately called it the Gormless.

Where you'll see it

It was produced on an experimental basis only, while Gloster concentrated on the twin-engined Meteor.

Related aircraft

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