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Gloster Grouse (1926-1929) |
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| The design of
the Gloster Grouse was an experiment to combine the advantages of the
monoplane with those of a biplane. It was designed by H.P. Folland, the
father of the famous S.E.5 and other excellent aircraft. The top wing had
a large area with a great lift, while the bottom wing was smaller, thinner
and with only a slight angle of attack. The fuselage was rather short. The idea was that the top wing would give a good lift at start and landing. At higher speeds, the small bottom wing would contribute to give flying performances similar to those of a monoplane, without the span being increased. The aircraft showed really some advantages during its service. It was compact and had very good manoeuvrability. Still it was no commercial success for Gloster. The Gloster Grouse was never in service at the RAF. The Swedish Army Aviation Company ordered a two-seat Gloster Grouse II as an advanced trainer. The aircraft was delivered just a short time before the Swedish Air Force was founded in the summer of 1926. The aircraft was registered as G-EAYN at the delivery. Now it got the Swedish Air Force number 62 and the aircraft type got the designation Ö 3. It was based at Wing F 3 at Malmen until 1929, when it was written off due to wear. During its time in Sweden, it only flew 109 hours. The pilots were impressed of the good performance of the aircraft, but no more Gloster Grouses were provided to the Air Force. The single Ö 3 was written off in 1929. The Ö 3 never carried any arms. It was powered by a 7-cylinder Armstrong Siddeley Lynx radial engine of 125 hp.
Photos from the late engineer Erik Svensson,
Ljungskile, who made his military service in the Swedish Air Force in the
late 1920's. |
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| The single-seated fighter Gloster Gamecock, undoubtedly reminding of the Grouse. It seems that this photo is taken in Sweden. | ||
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| © Lars Henriksson |
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Updated 2009-05-13 |
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