The Gloster VI was a racing seaplane developed as a contestant for the 1929

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 ...

by 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 ...

. The aircraft was known as the ''Golden Arrow'', partly in reference to its colour, the distinctive three-lobed cowling of the 'broad-arrow'

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 ...

engine, but also to another contemporary Lion-powered record-breaker,

Henry Segrave Sir Henry O'Neal de Hane Segrave (22 September 1896 – 13 June 1930) was an early British pioneer in land speed and water speed records. Segrave, who set three land and one water record, was the first person to hold both titles simultaneous ...

's ''Golden Arrow''

land speed record The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...

car.

Design and development

The Gloster VI was Gloster's final evolution of a series of racing floatplanes, designed specifically for the

. It progressed from 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 ...

, through the successful

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 ...

(placed 2nd in 1925), and

Gloster IV The Gloster IV was a British racing floatplane of the 1920s. A single-engined biplane, the Gloster IV was a development of the earlier Gloster III intended to compete in the 1927 Schneider Trophy race. One aircraft competed in the race, but re ...

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 ...

s. While

Henry Folland Henry Philip Folland OBE (22 January 1889 – 5 September 1954) was an English aviation engineer and aircraft designer. Early years Folland was born on 22 January 1889 to Frederick and Mary Folland at 2 King Street, Holy Trinity, Cambridge.1 ...

, Gloster's chief designer commenced work on a further revised biplane, the Gloster V, to enter the 1929 competition,

centre of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force may ...

problems led to the design being discarded and this meant a

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

configuration was chosen for the new design.James 1971, pp. 30–31. The Gloster VI was a low-winged braced monoplane. An obvious feature in photographs is the way that the wing roots tapered so as to ''reduce'' in thickness, designed to increase lateral control at low speeds. It retained the

engine that had powered the previous Gloster racers, but with power boosted to 1,320 hp (985 kW) by

supercharging In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...

. Engine cooling was via thin surface radiators on each wing.Mondey 1981, pp.46–48.

Operational history

Two aircraft, with

serial number A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it. Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...

s N249 & N250 were built, the first flying on 25 August 1929 and the second on 31 August.James 1981, p.187. The aircraft showed promise and high speed but had problems with fuel supply when banking, which led to engine cut-outs. For such a risky business as low-altitude air-racing, this was an unacceptable risk and the aircraft were withdrawn from competition in the 1929 Schneider Trophy, leaving the way clear for the

Supermarine S.6 The Supermarine S.6 is a 1920s British single-engined single-seat racing seaplane built by Supermarine. The S.6 continued the line of Supermarine seaplane racers that were designed for Schneider Trophy contests of the late 1920 and 1930s. Desi ...

to win. An alternative theory for the withdrawal is rumoured to have been an accident to the lorry delivering the engines from Napier and insufficient time to repair the damage until the day after. On 10 September 1929, the day after the

had won the Trophy, ''N249'' returned to flight.

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

George Stainforth Wing Commander George Hedley Stainforth, (22 March 1899 – 27 September 1942) was a Royal Air Force pilot and the first man to exceed 400 miles per hour. Early life George Hedley Stainforth was the son of George Staunton Stainforth, a solici ...

flew it over a measured mile course for a top speed of 351.3 mph and a ratified world absolute speed record, averaged over four runs of 336.3 mph. This record was held only briefly, as a later run by

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

Augustus Orlebar Air Vice Marshal Augustus Henry Orlebar, (17 February 1897 – 4 August 1943) was a British Army and Royal Air Force officer who served in both world wars. After being wounded during the Gallipoli campaign, Orlebar was seconded to the Royal ...

in the S.6 managed to raise it over 350 mph. During the final Schneider Trophy in 1931, the Gloster VI was still in service with the High Speed Flight as a trainer.

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

Specifications

References

* *

External links