Gladiator Mk II

Gladiator Mk II

Spitfire Mk Ia

Gladiator Mk II

Spitfire Mk Ia

Britain

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.7	1.3	1.3

Class:

Fighter

Research:2 900

Purchase:700

Show in game

This page is about the aircraft Gladiator Mk II. For other uses, see Gladiator (Disambiguation)

Description

The Gladiator Mk II is a Rank I British fighter with a battle rating of 1.7 (AB) and 1.3 (RB/SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.29.

The Gladiator Mk. II is one of the first British tech tree fighters a War Thunder player may research (the other two being the Hurricane Mk I/L and the Sea Gladiator), and once researched leads into the famous Spitfire fighter line.

At Rank I and a BR of 1.3, this plane will typically be one of the first fighters a new player will research. However, the Gladiator, like its sea-based cousin, may be difficult to seek success in, especially in realistic battles mode. Within realistic battle, 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 Gladiator, which can make early grinding a bit unbearable for some players.

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 engine with no WEP capability and 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 fpm (roughly 15 m/s) in a climb at around 180-200 kph (111-124 mph) indicated airspeed, and its top speed isn't great either (at sea level it can only manage around 335 kph, and testing has yielded 396 kph at 4,000 m altitude).

• The 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 a 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. Like most early British fighters, it does not fare well in high-speed dives.

The Gladiator has four 7.7 mm (.303) Browning machine guns with a total of 2000 rounds on hand. As with most other 7.7 mm guns the default rounds for the Browning's can be a bit weak in stopping power, but when equipped with tracer belts the four guns on this plane can be a deadly force to be reckoned with, as they can trigger fires and do a considerable amount of damage as a result.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 4,420 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
395	388	10,211	17.0	17.3	12.5	12.5	232
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 4,420 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
435	414	10,211	15.0	16.0	22.3	15.7	232

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
560?	450	520	~12	~6

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 300	< 380	< 380	> 190

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power
4,160 m	840 hp

Survivability and armour

• No armour plating
• No armour glazing
• Critical components located at front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
• More fuel tanks located in wings near fuselage

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Gladiator Mk II is armed with:

• 2 x 7.7 mm Browning .303 machine gun, fuselage-mounted (600 rpg = 1,200 total)
• 2 x 7.7 mm Browning .303 machine gun, fuselage-mounted (400 rpg = 800 total)

Usage in the battles

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Separate	Not ontrollable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 7 mm MGs
III	Wings Repair	Engine
IV			Cover

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Armament is equal to or better than other fighters in its battle rating 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 and lack of WEP can exacerbate 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

History

One of the greatest claims to fame of the Gloster Gladiator was the Siege of Malta, which was, at the time, controlled by Great Britain. Because of the high value of Malta (it is only about 400 miles south of Italy, and on the map it is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean), the IAF (Italian Air Force), using mainly SM.79 Sparviero bombers, began bombing Malta into submission starting June 11, 1940. Due to the remote location of Malta and the fact that the British forces had to cover the Suez Canal, there were very few fighters available to defend against the IAF - so few that, as legend has it, there were only 3 Gloster Gladiators available: Faith, Hope, and Charity. In reality, there were at least 6 Gladiators, and after the first few weeks of the Siege, 4 Hurricanes en route to North Africa were pressed into service. Amazingly, against 40-50 bombers in the initial raids, the resistance was fierce enough to force the Italians to send a fighter escort of MC.200 Saetta fighters. By the end of 1940, Malta was nowhere near defeated, and quite on the contrary, the RAF claimed an impressive 45 kills. However, the antiquated Gladiators were retired, being replaced by more effective Hurricane IIAs and Spitfires.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read 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.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• page on aircraft encyclopedia;
• other literature.