The Gloster Gladiator – A Detailed Guide to the RAF’s Last Biplane Fighter, Airframe Album 12, by Richard A. Franks (Valiant Wings)
The Gloster Gladiator, as all biplane military aircraft of its era, was completely outdated by the outbreak of WW2, though several major air forces still had such obsolescent aircraft in service. These included the RAF and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA, with the Sea Gladiator 
variant). It was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s and it was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft. With hindsight the Gladiator, a direct development of the Gloster Gauntlet, and with much more promising types like Hurricane and Spitfire on the drawing boards, should not have entered service! – but that it did so was the epitome of british conservative thinking!
Though often pitted against more formidable monoplane foes during the early days of the War, it acquitted itself reasonably well in combat – a testament to its superb flying qualities. The Gladiator saw action in almost all theatres during the Second World War, with a large number of air forces, some of them on the Axis side. The RAF used it in France, Norway, Greece, Malta, Middle East, and the brief Anglo-Iraqi War. Other countries deploying the Gladiator included China against Japan, beginning in 1938, Finland (along with Swedish volunteers) against the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War, Sweden as a neutral non-combatant, Norway, Belgium, and Greece resisting a double Axis invasion, first from Italy and then Germany. The South African pilot Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle was the top Gladiator ace with 15 victories - some of them achieved over Northern Epirus, Greece, against superior italian Fiats.
The book…
The twelfth title in the Airframe Album series of books is an essential companion for anyone tackling Gladiator kits in all scales and complexity from the old Pyro/Inpact 1/48th and Frog, Matchbox or Heller 1/72nd scale kits to newer offerings from the likes of Silver Wings (1/32nd), Roden (1/48th) or the new tool Airfix example (1/72nd).
Contents include all the elements listed plus:
• A wealth of historical photographs and full colour walkaround - detail images of preserved and restored examples
• Period detail images during production and service use
• Isometric views by Chris Sandham-Bailey of all prototype and production airframes
• Colour profiles by Richard J. Caruana
• 128 pages in total
• Lists of all Gladiator kits, accessories and decals produced in all scales
• Specially commissioned kit build of the new Silver Wings Gladiator in 1/32nd scale by Steve A. Evans
The twelfth title in the Airframe Album series of books is the newest and most detailed publication devoted to this important and distinguished biplane fighter – the ultimate manifestation of its type and of a bygone era.
Richard Franks begins with a narrative history (38 pages long) of the development and operational use of both Gladiator and Sea Gladiator by RAF, FAA and many other nations (including Greece).
Technical description is next, with a 38 page long, detailed coverage of construction and equipment: Fuselage, cockpit, engine, propeller, tail, undercarriage, wings, ailerons, flaps, control linkage, armament, fuel, oil, air, electrics, camera, arresting hook and all those small hidden details, with many color photographs and diagrams. This section will help you understand the physical nature of the aircraft. Many close-ups focus on areas of interest to the modeler, like the engine compartment, canopy details, wooden dorsal decking, spar and struts attachments, accessing the guns, loading the ammunition and so on.
The Evolution section includes 30 (thirty) 3D-isometrics, illustrating differences between variants, from the prototype to ski equipped types. Explanatory captions with arrows help us understand the details of each version.
The Camouflage and Markings section is one of the most interesting, with more than 60 color profiles by Richard Caruana and a supportive text trying to document all available information, not only in the RAF service but also the FAA and all the other nations that also operated the type. There is enough material to inspire you to build much more Gladiator models than you ever thought possible! We particularly liked the inclusion of a Gladiator profile with Greek colors (Delta 187 of Elliniki Vasiliki Aeroporia) with explanatory text about Gladiator action over Greece and Crete! Other nations’ Gladiators sport also very intriguing colors and there are many options for the modeler, provided by a wealth of already available decal sheets.
The model section is an impressive build of Silver Wings 1/32nd scale resin kit by Steve Evans (5 pages with many WIP photos).
The final section - appendix (6 pages) includes a comprehensive list of all static scale kits of the Gladiator, accessories, decal sheets, paint masks and all related publications (books and magazines).
In conclusion...
All in all, the best reference book about the Gloster Gladiator so far. The fact that the publishers make apologies for not including model builds in 1/72 or 1/48 scale is the best proof of how they were strapped for space – to the advantage of including more reference stuff in form of detailed photos, profiles and pictures. Highly recommended. If you are going to have only one reference source to build your next Gladiator kit, then you definitely have to buy this book - before it gets out of print. It is also very well printed in glossy paper and well bound to withstand hard use over your workbench and repeated reading.
Airframe Album No 12 - The Gloster Gladiator-A Detailed Guide To The RAF’s Last Biplane Fighter
by Richard A. Franks, £17.95 per copy + postage and packing.
The book is available from all good hobby stores and specialist bookshops. ISBN: 978-0-9957773-1-6
Orders can be made via the Valiant Wings website, www.valiant-wings.co.uk, by ‘phone on 01234 273434 (+44 1234 273434 if calling from outside the UK) or by writing to:
Valiant Wings Publishing
8 West Grove
Bedford
MK40 4BT, United Kingdom
For on line order click here.
