Gloster Grebe

The Gloster Grebe was a single-seat biplane fighter developed by Gloster from the experimental Grouse, and was the first fighter of the Royal Air Force after the First World War, entering service in 1923. Designer Henry Folland combined a thick, high-lift upper wing with a thinner lower wing to give strong lift for take-off and low drag in flight. Production Grebes carried a 400 horsepower Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IV radial engine and two Vickers machine guns. The Grebe was fast and agile and popular with pilots, though the heavy Jaguar was unreliable and wing flutter forced extra bracing. A total of 133 were built, including 21 two-seat trainers, and two served in New Zealand.