You got it, RCKen; Google search or no. You are good at this Google use. And, you are up! There is a persistent legend the Gloster F.5/34 was the model for the Japanese Zero fighter. Look at the photos, compare the specs, and it's easy to understand why the legend exists. Thanks; Ernie P.
Question: What warbird do I describe?
Clues:
(1) There were only two prototypes constructed; but its influence was perhaps profound.
(2) It was a single seat, single engine, low wing monoplane of all metal construction.
(3) It was equipped with a tailwheel and retractible main landing gear.
(4) It was a promising design, but by the time it was ready for production, other perhaps more capable aircraft were already in production. So, this one was abandoned by the powers that be.
(5) To some it was an unneeded design. But others may well have seen it as a pattern.
(6) It was intended to meet a specific design for use in a certain area; but eventually it was decided to leave both the design and the use unfilled. This was perhaps due to more pressing concerns.
(7) The designs which ultimately obseleted this aircraft were based on other, newer engines with much more power and development potential.
(8) Development of the design was delayed by the necessity of maintaining the production of other existing aircraft.
(9) Reports from test flights indicated this design was superior in many ways to other contemporary designs. It was able to take off in less space, its initial climb was superior and it was more responsive. It was more maneuverable and lighter on the controls; and pilot visibility was superior.
(10) There is a persistent legend that this plane was the inspiration for a new foreign aircraft; one that ultimately became an enemy.
(11) The enemy aircraft was considered a seminal design; one destined to become far more successful and famous than the original, copied design.
(12) A close study of this aircraft and its supposed copycat would seem to support the copycat theory. The two designs were superficially very similar.
(13) The design specifications and details were very similar. Dimensions, weights and wing loading were very close; as was overall performance.
(14) The name of this fighter was… Well, actually, it didn’t have a name.
(15) It was known only by the design specification it was intended to satisfy.
Answer: The Gloster F.5/34
The Gloster F.5/34 was a
British fighter of the 1930s. It was a single-seat, single-engine
monoplane of all-metal cantilever construction; the
undercarriage was of the
tailwheel type with retractable main units.
Produced in competition with other designs to meet a requirement for a fighter aircraft that could operate in the far East, it was overtaken by more capable designs and the requirement was abandoned with no aircraft being selected.
The F.5/34 was the first monoplane fighter built by
Gloster and the last design penned by
H.P. Folland for the company. It was developed in response to
Air Ministry Specification F.5/34, for a fighter using an air-cooled engine armed with eight machine guns suitable for hot climate use. Powered by an 840 hp
Bristol Mercury IX nine-cylinder
radial engine, the F.5/34, unofficially dubbed the "Unnamed Fighter", was the company's first monoplane landplane design and featured many of the trademark Gloster design elements including the tail and close-fitting cowling that resembled the earlier
Gauntlet and
Gladiator biplane fighters. The low wing cantilever mainplane was built in one piece with light-alloy spars running through from tip to tip and ribs made from channelling with steel and light-alloy tube struts.
Duralumin stressed-skin was used on the mainplane and tail unit with fabric-covered
Frise ailerons. The fuselage was a monocoque structure built up from light, fabricated oval-section rings with duralumin skinning.
Development was delayed somewhat by the demands of the Gladiator production programme so that flight trials of the first prototype did not commence until December 1937 while the second prototype was not completed until May 1938.
In competition with the Gloster for the requirement were the
Bristol Type 146,
Martin-Baker M.B.2 and the
Vickers Venom, which would be tested by the
Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment. Flight Magazine (July 1 1937) shows the F.5/34 taking off from Hucclecote airdrome and mentions its appearance at the RAF Display of that year. By the time the F.5/34 began its flight tests, the 8-gun
Hawker Hurricane was in service and the
Supermarine Spitfire in production so that further development of the Gloster fighter was abandoned. However, compared to its contemporaries, test pilots found the F.5/34 prototypes had a shorter takeoff, better initial climb, were more responsive and manoeuvrable due to ailerons that did not become excessively heavy at high speed. Handling was considered very good and the all-round cockpit visibility was far better than the other designs. The Gloster F.5/34 debuted at the 1938
Hendon Air Show, but soon after, both prototypes (K5604 and K8089) were relegated to experimental flying and finally as instructional airframes until May 1941.
A legend exists that the F.5/34 was the inspiration for the Japanese
Zero, probably stemming from a superficial similarity between the two machines and Gloster's past links with the Japanese such as the
Nakajima A2N.
F.5/34
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 32 ft (9.76 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 2 in (11.63 m)
Height: 10 ft 2 in (3.09 m)
Wing area: 230 ft² (21.4 m²)
Empty weight: 4,190 lb (1,900 kg)
Loaded weight: 5,400 lb (2,449 kg)
Powerplant: 1 ×
Bristol Mercury IX nine-cylinder radial engine, 840 hp (627 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 275 knots (316 mph, 509 km/h at) at 16,000 ft (4,875 m)
Service ceiling: 32,500 ft
[4] (9,910 m)
Wing loading: 23.5 lb/ft² (88.8 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.156 hp/lb (0.256 kW/kg)
Time to 20,000 ft (6,100 m): 11 min
Armament
Guns: Eight
0.303-in (7.7-mm) Browning machine guns
Zero
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 9.06 m (29 ft 9 in)
Wingspan: 12.0 m (39 ft 4 in)
Height: 3.05 m (10 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 22.44 m² (241.5 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,680 kg (3,704 lb)
Loaded weight: 2,410 kg (5,313 lb)
Powerplant: 1 ×
Nakajima Sakae 12
radial engine, 709 kW (950 hp)
Aspect ratio: 6.4
Performance
Never exceed speed: 660 km/h (356 kn, 410 mph)
Maximum speed: 533 km/h (287 kn, 331 mph) at 4,550 m (14,930 ft)
Range: 3,105 km (1,675 nmi, 1,929 mi)
Service ceiling: 10,000 m (33,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 15.7 m/s (3,100 ft/min)
Wing loading: 107.4 kg/m² (22.0 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 294 W/kg (0.18 hp/lb)
Armament
Guns:
Divergence of trajectories between 7.7 mm and 20mm ammunition
2×
7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 97 aircraft machine guns in the engine cowling, with 500 rounds per gun.
2×
20 mm Type 99-1 cannon in the wings, with 60 rounds per gun.