Gloster F.9/37

The Gloster F.9/37, also known as the Gloster G.39, was a British twin-engined, cannon-armed heavy fighter designed by Gloster under George Carter for Air Ministry specification F.9/37. It was planned before the Second World War as a single-seat fighter carrying four Browning machine guns and two 20 mm Hispano cannon in the nose. The first prototype flew on 3 April 1939 with Bristol Taurus radial engines and reached 360 mph, the best speed recorded by a British fighter at the time, and was described as a delight to fly. A second prototype flew with Rolls-Royce Peregrine engines in February 1940. The design was rejected in favour of others, and its night fighter development, the Reaper, was dropped in May 1941.