The Gloster Nightjar was a British single-seat shipboard fighter of the early 1920s, built to replace the Sopwith Camels flown from Royal Navy aircraft carriers. It was a simple conversion of surplus Nieuport Nighthawk airframes, which Gloster had taken over when Nieuport and General closed in 1920, fitted with a Bentley BR2 rotary engine in place of the unreliable ABC Dragonfly, a wide-track undercarriage and jaws on the axle to catch the arrester cables then used at sea. Twenty-two Nighthawks were converted in 1922. The type served with 203 Squadron, deployed aboard HMS Argus during the Chanak Crisis, and was replaced by the Fairey Flycatcher in 1924.
Facts
Engine Class Top Speed (km/h) Comparison
Body StyleAircraft (no road body style) 1 Connections
Exemplifies
Source Gloster Nightjar (Wikipedia)
Of Make
Source Gloster Nightjar (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Gloster Nightjar (Wikipedia)
Operational history, service entry
The Nightjar entered service with 203 Squadron at RAF Leuchars in June 1922.
Lead, aircraft
carrier-based fighter aircraft
Specifications, powerplant
Powerplant: 1 × Bentley BR2 9-cylinder air-cooled rotary piston engine, 230 hp (170 kW)
Operational history, replacement
The Nightjar continued to serve with fighter flights aboard Royal Navy aircraft carriers until replaced by the Fairey Flycatcher in 1924.
Specifications, maximum speed
Maximum speed: 120 mph (190 km/h, 100 kn) at sea level
Specifications, empty weight
Empty weight: 1,765 lb (801 kg)
Lead and development, maker
produced by Gloster after the Nieuport & General company, which designed the Nighthawk, closed down
Lead, British aircraft
The Nightjar was a British carrier-based fighter aircraft of the early 1920s.
In Group: Propeller-Driven Fighters, Lead, aircraft role
The Nightjar was a British carrier-based fighter aircraft of the early 1920s.
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