Sea Gladiator Mk I

This page is about the British naval fighter Sea Gladiator Mk I. For other versions, see Gladiator (Family).

Sea Gladiator Mk I

Nimrod Mk II

Sea Gladiator Mk I

Nimrod Mk II

Britain

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

Fighter

Naval aircraft

Research:4 000

Purchase:2 100

Show in game

Description

The Gloster Sea Gladiator was a naval modification of the Gladiator biplane fighter in use by the Royal Air Force (RAF). 98 Sea Gladiators were completed: 38 "interim" airframes were modified from the existing Gladiator Mk II. Differences from the Gladiator Mk IIs in service with the RAF included the planes being fitted with catapult attachment points and a tail hook, the airframe being strengthened to withstand carrier landings, and a dinghy lifeboat being made mountable to the underbelly of the plane. It was powered by a nine-cylinder Bristol Mercury VIIA radial engine rated at 840 hp and mated to a three-blade Fairey metal fixed pitch propeller, while retaining the same armament as the Gladiator Mk.II.

It was introduced in Update 1.49 "Weapons of Victory". The Sea Gladiator Mk I is the last of the Fleet Air Arm biplane naval fighters, and is a naval modification of the regular Gladiator seen in the RAF tech tree. As a result, its handling characteristics are very similar. This means it has good speed and acceleration for a biplane, and like most other biplanes is far better at turning than the monoplanes it faces. The Gladiator sits between the light biplanes design and the more advanced monoplanes, which means that it lacks the top speed and agility of either, but instead combines them to have a more balanced airframe.

General info

Flight performance

Arrestor gear

Accelerates braking by grabbing the brake cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier

Max speed

at 4 420 m414 km/h

Turn time15 s

Max altitude10 211 m

EngineBristol Mercury VIIIA/AS

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight2 t

The Sea Gladiator Mk I has very similar performance to the Gladiator Mk II; they are effectively the same aircraft, only the Sea Gladiator has a tail hook, so is slightly heavier and slightly less aerodynamic. This means it has good speed an acceleration for a biplane, and like most other biplanes is far better at turning than the monoplanes it faces; it is also one of a limited number of biplanes with flaps, which are hard to break off and can be used to further improve turning performance.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 4,420 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	400	384	10211	16.8	17.9	13.1	13.1	232
Upgraded	430	414		15.2	16.0	18.6	15.7

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	✓	✓	X	✓

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
560	560	N/A	469	320	~11	~5

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 240	< 180	< 330	> 190

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural560 km/h

Gear560 km/h

There is no armour protection on this aircraft, and all modules are focused at the front of the plane.

• No armour protection
• Self-sealing fuel tanks

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB156 → 195

RB300 → 375

SB207 → 258

Total cost of modifications4 450

2 700

Talisman cost300

Crew training600

Experts2 100

Aces45

Research Aces110 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

10 / 40 / 130 %

100 / 100 / 100 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 300 Cost: 180 45 Radiator Research: 300 Cost: 180 45 Compressor Research: 330 Cost: 200 50 Wings repair Research: 560 Cost: 340 85 Engine Research: 560 Cost: 340 85 Engine injection Research: 720 Cost: 440 110	Airframe Research: 330 Cost: 200 50 Cover Research: 720 Cost: 440 110	bmg303_belt_pack Research: 300 Cost: 180 45 bmg303_new_gun Research: 330 Cost: 200 50

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 14 x 7.7 mm Browning machine gun

Ammunition2 000 rounds

Fire rate1 000 shots/min

The Sea Gladiator Mk I is armed with:

• 2 x 7.7 mm Browning machine guns, fuselage-mounted (600 rpg = 1,200 total)
• 2 x 7.7 mm Browning machine guns, wing-mounted (400 rpg = 800 total)

Usage in battles

At rank I with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB), this plane will typically be one of the first fighters a new player will research. However, the Sea Gladiator, like its land-based cousin, may be difficult to seek success in, especially in Realistic Battles mode. Within RB, when up-tiering comes into play, it will have to deal with not only biplane adversaries such as the CR.42, F3F and the very manoeuvrable Ki-10, but also more advanced fighters such as the P-40E, Bf 109s, I-16s, and Ki-43s. All these plane types have several varying advantages against the Sea Gladiator, which can make early grinding a bit unbearable for some players.

The Sea Gladiator in-flight (default camouflage)

There are a couple of issues with the Gladiator, all of which can make it an easy target at times:

• Its power plant configuration, which includes a three-blade fixed-pitch propeller, can make the Gladiator a slug in acceleration and climb. In flight testing the Gladiator can usually only sustain at most around 3,000 ft/min (roughly 15 m/s) in a climb at around 180-200 km/h (111-124 mph) indicated airspeed, and its top speed isn't great either (at sea level it can only manage around 335 km/h, and testing has yielded 396 km/h at 4,000 m altitude).

• The Sea Gladiator manoeuvres well. However, it bleeds a lot of speed in sharp turns, and while its turn radius is good enough to shake off reserve planes, the loss of speed can make the plane a slower and henceforth more vulnerable target to any other enemy planes in the area. Using flaps does help a bit with decreasing the amount of speed lost in a turn, but it is not beneficial enough to allow for minimal loss of speed. And like most early British fighters, it hates high speeds in dives.

However, the Sea Gladiator has four 7.7 mm (.303) Browning machine guns with a total of 2,000 rounds on hand. The Gladiator's four Browning armament can come in handy at times - when equipped with tracer belts, the plane is capable of taking down even the fiercest of opponents if you play your cards right. A good approach to combat is to attempt to side climb as much as you can on any given map, then use your altitude advantage and turn advantage wisely.

The Sea Gladiator is outclassed by most of the fighters it comes across. It is inferior in manoeuvrability to the F3F, I-16 and Ki-43, in speed to the 109s, P-40 and CR.42, and in armament to the Bf 109E-3 and P-40E.

Simulator:

The Gladiator is a lovely plane to learn with in Sim. It can be used in turnfighting and bomber interception. Like in AB and RB, it is excellent in turning tightly and continuously, and it has lovely low-speed handling and low stall speeds, making it a great starter plane for Sim. Also it has a decent reflector sight for an early biplane, unlike other early planes with those awful telescope-like sight, which is an advantage in all engagements. However it does have its drawbacks: the rather big nose blocks the visibility a lot, offering very poor over-the-nose visibility which is a disadvantage in a turn fight, because when leading a shot the enemy will always get obstructed by the engine, making the player guess the shot. Also its upper wings and various frames and strings between the wings will get in the way when you look aside.

Note: it is recommended to set the convergence within 300 m, with vertical convergence on, because the majority of turnfights happen at that range or closer.

Before engaging a fight, it is better to have an altitude advantage first. When approaching the fight try to figure out which is your teammate and which is the enemy, to avoid going for a second pass, as the energy retention of the Gladiator is rather slow. Also pick your target carefully. For easier aiming, you want to go for those unmanoeuvrable twin engine aircraft like Ju 88 or Ki-45, or bombers if there are any. Given the bad forward and sideways visibility of the Gladiator, these are the best options as they are quite slow and sluggish, and are a bigger target to hit. However getting hits on them doesn't mean good damage, so you must be patient. When dealing with fighters, it is way harder to aim. The elevator control of the Gladiator is quite sensitive, giving it good manoeuvrability, but at the same time, bad handling. The Gladiator will respond in a very fast turn upon moving your stick/mouse by a little bit, which makes tracking nimble planes quite hard. But once you get used to it, try to lure every enemy into a turnfight, as that is where the Gladiator shines. Quite a bit of bullets are required to effectively damage the enemy so you must be patient. If you find an enemy at your six, utilise your great turning ability and simply do tight turns, most monoplanes won't be able to cut inside your turn and they might disengage. However with biplanes you will need some defensive manoeuvres like barrel rolls.

If you are not very experienced in Sim, you can also go for even bigger targets (bombers) for easier aiming. However you want to be more careful when hunting bombers, since with the Sim control (whether it be mouse joystick or a real stick) the plane will manoeuvre much more gently, making itself a great target for the bomber's gunners. DO NOT follow behind a bomber's six unless you are sure that its tail gunners are unconscious. Chasing behind a bomber makes yourself stationary for the tail gunners, and you will be showered with bullets. Your big radial engine will usually get damaged. Instead, before attacking, get an altitude advantage over the bomber by flying around 2 km above it. The bomber should only fill up about 1/6 of your gunsight. The best position for an attack is at the bomber's high six so you can adjust the lead much easier. Dive at the bomber, but not directly at it, try to predict where you two will crash by imagining yourself as a missile, that's where you should aim at (deflection shooting). To maximise the damage it is better to aim for their wings and engines, as the fuselage usually soaks up quite some bullets. Only fire when the bomber passes in front of your guns. This short window might seem inadequate to do anything, but with a accurate burst on the engine the 4 MG can at least damage it. With an engine damaged most bombers cannot go far.

Enemies worth noting:

Ki-27, N1K1, He 51, I-15, etc. - Those commonly seen planes are equally good at turnfights and will be a hard target to down since they are very small and agile. To deal with them you need to practice leading and deflection shots, plus manoeuvres like barrel rolls and scissors. They still need plenty of bullets to get damaged, so these kind of targets are the hardest to kill and requires great skills from the player. Specific notes to the I-15: do not try to out-turn it. Use the Gladiator's speed advantage over it.

Do 17 Z-2 - This early twin engine plane always shows up as an AI controlled recon aircraft that you have to down, which is a good news as AI won't manoeuvre aggressively. However this plane is extremely durable for the Gladiator's weak MGs. When it shows up as an AI, deflection shots are not recommended as the small shooting windows really does nothing. Instead, try disabling its 2 gunners first, then just sit behind it and burst on its wings and engines. When attacking the gunners try to not get your engine damaged by pulling evasive manoeuvres as soon as the bullets come close, since the Do 17 might outrun the Gladiator in a level flight if your engine is damaged.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Not controllable 1 gear	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Armament is equal to or better than other fighters in its BR class
• Good manoeuvrability in a turn
• Tracer belts, like all other planes fitted with Browning machine guns, can be deadly
• Has flaps, unlike most other biplane fighters

Cons:

• Sluggish in acceleration and top speed (fixed-pitch propeller can emphasise this problem)
• Performance deficiencies can make it an easy target for experienced or more difficult adversaries
• Not the best climber
• Bleeds speed in turns, even when using flaps

The Sea Gladiator taking off from a carrier

History

The Gloster Sea Gladiator was, as the name suggests, a naval modification of the Gladiator biplane fighter in use by the Royal Air Force (RAF). Ninety-eight Sea Gladiators were completed: 38 "interim" airframes modified from the existing Gladiator Mk II production line (serial numbers N2265 – N2302), and 60 purpose-built airframes (serial numbers N5500 – N5549 and N5565 – N5574); differences from the Gladiator Mk IIs in service with the RAF included the planes being fitted with catapult attachment points and a tail hook, the airframe being strengthened to withstand carrier landings, and a dinghy lifeboat being made mountable to the underbelly of the plane. As with the Gladiator Mk II it was based off, the Sea Gladiator was powered by a nine-cylinder Bristol Mercury VIIA radial engine rated at 840 hp and mated to a three-blade Fairey metal fixed pitch propeller, and armed with four 7.7 mm (.303) Browning machine guns. 54 Sea Gladiators were still in service with the Fleet Air Arm by the time Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939.

Sea Gladiators saw service in the Atlantic aboard Royal Navy carriers, and in the Mediterranean theatre during the Siege of Malta.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Sea Gladiator Mk I from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Sea Gladiator Mk I - Great Britain - TERROR on the High Seas! - Jengar

The Shooting Range #40 - Pages of History section at 05:13 discusses the Gladiator.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance (Russian Forum)
• [Wikipedia] Gloster Gladiator