Gloster G.39

Gloster Aircraft Company · United Kingdom · first flew 1939 · fighter

The Gloster G.39, also called the F.9/37, was a British twin-engined single-seat heavy fighter designed by George Carter to Air Ministry Specification F.9/37. It was rejected in favour of other designs.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	2 × piston, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	11.29 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Twin-engined single-seat fighter with two radial engines in wing nacelles
Rotol three-blade propellers on Bristol Taurus sleeve-valve radials (second prototype used Peregrine inlines)
Heavy cannon and machine-gun armament grouped in the nose

A twin-engined single-seater with the engines in wing nacelles and a nose armament of four machine guns and two 20 mm cannon. It is much larger than the single-engine fighters of its time.

Specifications

The Gloster G.39 has a length of 11.29 m (37 ft).
It has a wingspan of 15.25 m (50 ft).
Its maximum speed is 579 km/h (360 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

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

History

The first prototype, L7999, flew on 3 April 1939 with Bristol Taurus radials and reached 360 mph, the best speed recorded by a British fighter at the time. A second prototype, L8002, flew on 22 February 1940 with Rolls-Royce Peregrine inline engines. A night-fighter development, the Reaper, was dropped in 1941 so that Gloster could concentrate on jet work.

Variants

Two prototypes were built: L7999 with Taurus radials and L8002 with Peregrine inlines. The F.29/40 Reaper was a night-fighter conversion that was never completed.

Where you'll see it

Never entered service; the prototypes were used only for evaluation flying.

Related aircraft

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