The Gloster III was a British racing

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

of the 1920s intended to compete for the

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 flying ...

air race. A single-engined, single-seat

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

, two were built, with one finishing second in the 1925 race.

Design and development

In 1924, 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 ...

designed and built the

Gloster II 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 air race. However the crash of the first prototype during testing meant that it could not be made re ...

, a development of the

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 to compete in that year's

air race. The first aircraft was written off during trials, however, and as there were no other competitors, the American Aero Club postponed the competition to 1925.James 1971, pp.107-109. In order to compete in the 1925 race, 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 ...

placed an order with Gloster for the design and build of two examples of a new racing seaplane in February 1925. The resulting design, the Gloster III, like the Gloster II, was a wooden

with single bay wings, powered by a 700 hp (522 kW)

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 produ ...

VII engine. The aircraft was fitted with Lamblin radiators on the leading edge of the lower wings.Donald 1997, p.454. With a 20 ft (6.1 m) wingspan, the Gloster was the smallest British aircraft ever built with that power at that time.James 1971, p.124. The first prototype, with the serial number ''N194'' was flown by

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 ...

on 29 August 1925, with the second aircraft (with the civil registration ''G-EBLJ'' and the military serial ''N195'') being flown a few days later by

Bert Hinkler Herbert John Louis Hinkler (8 December 1892 – 7 January 1933), better known as Bert Hinkler, was a pioneer Australian aviator (dubbed "Australian Lone Eagle") and inventor. He designed and built early aircraft before being the first person ...

.James 1971, p.125.

Operational history

The pilots had little time to practice flying the Gloster IIIs, with ''N194'' only flying four times and ''N195'' flying once before departing for America.James 1971, pp. 125, 127. When the Supermarine S.4 crashed during navigation trials on 23 October 1925, ''N195'', which was brought as a reserve was prepared to take part in the race instead of the Supermarine monoplane, to be flown by Hinkler.James 1971, p.127. On the morning of the race, however, ''N195'' was damaged during taxiing tests, leaving Broad in N194 to carry British hopes in the afternoon's race. When the race took place, the Gloster III was outclassed by the

Curtiss R3C The Curtiss R3C is an American racing aircraft built in landplane and floatplane form. It was a single-seat biplane built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. The R3C-1Also given the "paper" designation F3C as fighters in the US Navy desig ...

s of the United States, with the race being won by

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

James Doolittle, flying a Curtiss R3C at an average speed of 232.573 mph (374.443 km/h),Flight 29 October 1925, p.703. faster than Broad, who recorded a speed of 199.091 mph (320.537 km/h),Flight 12 November 1925, p.752. with De Briganti in the

Macchi M.33 The Macchi M.33 was an Italian racing flying boat which competed in the 1925 Schneider Trophy race. Design and development The Macchi M.33 was a single-seat, wooden, shoulder-wing monoplane flying boat of very clean aerodynamic design for its t ...

finishing third and the remaining two Curtiss R3Cs failing to finish. Following the race, the two Gloster IIIs were returned to the United Kingdom. After modification, they were used for training pilots of the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

s High Speed Flight in preparation for the 1927 race.

Variants

;Gloster III :Original variant, powered by 700 hp (522 kW) Napier Lion. Two built. ;Gloster IIIA :Modified tail to resolve stability problems encountered on first flight.James 1971, p.125. ;Gloster IIIB :Modification of N195 following return of aircraft from 1925 Schneider Trophy. Low drag surface radiators fitted to all four wings and modified cantilevered tail. Maximum speed increased to .James 1971, pp.128-129.

Operators

; *

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

High Speed Flight RAF The RAF High Speed Flight, sometimes known as '' 'The Flight' '', was a small flight of the Royal Air Force (RAF) formed for the purpose of competing in the Schneider Trophy contest for racing seaplanes during the 1920s. The flight was together ...

Specifications (Gloster IIIA)

References

Notes

*In addition, the Air Ministry also placed an order with

Supermarine Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that is most famous for producing the Supermarine Spitfire, Spitfire fighter plane during World War II as well as a range of seaplanes and flying boats, and a series of Jet engine, jet-powered figh ...

for the S.4 monoplane.Flight 24 September 1925, p.612.

Bibliography

The Schneider Cup Seaplane Race: British Representatives Leave on Saturday
. ''

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 ...

''. 24 September 1925. pp. 609–614. *
The 1925 Schneider Trophy Race
. ''

''. 29 October 1925. p. 703. *
The 1925 Schneider Trophy Race:Average Speed Raised from 45.75 m.p.h. in 1913 to 232.573 m.p.h. in 1925
. ''

''. 5 November 1925. pp. 726–732.
The 1925 Schneider Trophy Race:"Flight" Correspondent's Special Account
. ''

''. 12 November 1925. pp. 747–752.
"The Schneider Cup Race, 1925"
*Donald, David (editor). ''The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft''. Leicester, UK: Blitz, 1997. . *Jackson, A.J. ''British Civil Aircraft since 1919: Volume 2''. London:Putnam, Second edition 1973. Pages 454-455. . *James, Derek M. ''Gloster Aircraft since 1917''. London:Putnam, 1971. . {{Gloster aircraft 1920s British sport aircraft Schneider Trophy Floatplanes III Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1925