The Gloster II was a British racing floatplane of the 1920s. A single-engined biplane, two were built to compete in the 1924

Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded annually (and later, biennially) to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flyin ...

air race. However the crash of the first prototype during testing meant that it could not be made ready for the race, which was postponed. The second aircraft was also lost in a crash.

Design and development

The 1923

race for

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

s had been won by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

with the Curtiss CR-3, a floatplane which outclassed Britain's entry, the Supermarine Sea Lion III flying boat.Mondey 1981, p. 40. In a change from previous years, where Britain's entries had been privately funded, the British

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

ordered two racing seaplanes from the

Gloster Aircraft Company The Gloster Aircraft Company was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1917 to 1963. Founded as the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company Limited during the First World War, with the aircraft construction activities of H H Martyn & Co Ltd of Chelte ...

to compete for the 1924 race.James 1971, p. 107. The resulting aircraft, designated the Gloster II, was a floatplane development of Gloster's earlier

Gloster I The Nieuport Nighthawk was a British fighter aircraft developed by the Nieuport & General Aircraft company for the Royal Air Force towards the end of the First World War. Although ordered into production before the aircraft first flew, it did n ...

racing aircraft, which had won the annual

Aerial Derby The Aerial Derby was an air race in the United Kingdom sponsored by the '' Daily Mail'' in which the competitors flew a circuit around London. It was first held in 1912, with subsequent races in 1913 and 1914. Suspended during the First World Wa ...

air race three years running between 1921 and 1923, and had attempted unsuccessfully to break the World airspeed record in 1922.James 1971, pp. 69–73. It was a small single-seat biplane of fabric covered wooden construction, powered by a closely faired

Napier Lion The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept it in prod ...

engine. It had short-span single bay wings and a twin float undercarriage, with radiators mounted on the struts supporting the floats. The first aircraft, with the serial number ''J7504'', was ready for flight testing in September 1924. However, when attempting to land after its first test flight, on 19 September 1924, the undercarriage collapsed and the aircraft sank, with pilot

Hubert Broad Captain Hubert Standford Broad, MBE, AFC (1897–1975) was a British First World War aviator and noted test pilot. Early life Born at Aston Lodge, Watford, Hertfordshire on 18 May 1897, the son of Thomas and Amelia Broad (''née'' Coles), hi ...

escaping unhurt.''Flight'' 25 September 1925, p. 630.Jackson 1973, p. 313. There was insufficient time to prepare the second aircraft for the race, scheduled for October, but as no other European nation had an entry ready to compete, the Americans postponed the race until 1925.Mondey 1981, pp. 40–41. The second aircraft was converted to a landplane and used for flight testing equipment to be used for the

Gloster III The Gloster III was a British racing floatplane of the 1920s intended to compete for the Schneider Trophy air race. A single-engined, single-seat biplane, two were built, with one finishing second in the 1925 race. Design and development In 19 ...

racer being designed for the 1925 competition. It was lost in a high-speed crash landing at

RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which tra ...

following

elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They a ...

flutter in June 1925, the pilot, Larry Carter, being seriously injured, fracturing his skull.James 1971, pp. 109–110.''Flight'' 18 June 1925, p. 374.

Specifications (Gloster II seaplane)

References

British Schneider Cup Seaplane Lost
''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'', 25 September 1924. p. 630.
The Accident to the Gloster II
. ''Flight'', 18 June 1925. p. 374. *Jackson, A.J. ''British Civil Aircraft since 1919: Volume 2''. London:Putnam, Second edition 1973. . *James, Derek J. ''Gloster Aircraft since 1917''. London:Putnam, 1971. . *Mondey, David. "Britain Captures Schneider Trophy". ''

Air Enthusiast ''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to ''Air International'' maga ...

'', Seventeen, December 1981 – March 1982. Bromley, Kent, UK:Pilot Press. pp. 36–50. {{Gloster aircraft 1920s British sport aircraft Schneider Trophy Floatplanes II Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1924

Design and development

Specifications (Gloster II seaplane)

See also

References