Gloster III
Gloster Aircraft Company · United Kingdom · first flew 1925 · light aircraft
The Gloster III was a British racing floatplane of the 1920s built to compete for the Schneider Trophy.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 8.18 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Single-bay wooden racing biplane on floats
- Lamblin radiators on the leading edge of the lower wings
- Napier Lion VII engine and a wingspan of only 20 ft
With a 700 hp Napier Lion VII and a span of 20 ft, it was the smallest British aircraft built with that much power at the time.
Specifications
- The Gloster III has a length of 8.18 m (27 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 6.1 m (20 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 362 km/h (225 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Gloster built the Gloster II for the 1924 race, and the first aircraft was written off during trials. In February 1925 the Air Ministry ordered two Gloster IIIs for the 1925 race. The first, N194, was flown by Hubert Broad on 29 August 1925.
Variants
Two were built. The second, G-EBLJ or N195, was flown a few days after the first by Bert Hinkler.
Where you'll see it
N194 flew only four times and N195 once before leaving for America. N195 was damaged taxiing on race day, so Broad flew N194 and finished second at 199 mph (321 km/h), behind the Curtiss R3C of James Doolittle.
Related aircraft
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