Jet Age aircraft museum is home to a number of aircraft which were designed and manufactured by the Gloster Aircraft Company covering the years 1920.s through to 1960’s.
Exhibits include the Gloster Meteor, this being the first fighter powered by a development of Sir Frank Whittle’s jet engine. We also are home to a number of accessible cockpits including Biggles aimed at our younger visitors.
The Gloster Gamecock (1925 – 1940), developed by Gloster Aircraft Company, was one of the first aircraft to house internally mounted machine guns necessary for aerial combat – known as “dogfights”.
A key challenge was to synchronize the machine gun firing with the propeller in order that the pilot did not shoot his own propeller off!
The Gamecock was an early interwar fighter procured by the Royal Air Force (RAF).
“Note that our exhibit is a reproduction of the original airframe”.
The Gloster Gladiator was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (as the Sea Gladiator). It was the RAF’s last biplane (twin wings) fighter aircraft, and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane (single) wing designs.
Though often pitted against more advanced fighters during the early days of the Second World War, it performed a useful and effective role.
1935 – Gloster merges with Hawker Aircraft
The Hawker Hurricane played a major role in the Battle of Britain. The Hurricane was built by Gloster Aircraft Company who produced 5 per day at the peak of operations in WWII.
Whilst it was overshadowed in the public imagination by the Supermarine Spitfire during the Battle of Britain in 1940, the Hurricane inflicted 60% of the losses sustained by the Luftwaffe in the campaign and fought in all the major theatres of the Second World War.
“Note that our exhibit is a reproduction of the original airframe”
Virtually all Hawker Typhoon aircraft (over 3,000) were built, flight tested and delivered from Gloster Aircraft’s Brockworth factory during WW2. The Typhoon was designed as a fast fighter aircraft which achieved fame for ground attack missions after D-Day using guns, bombs and unguided missiles. At the height of the war the factory employed some 14,000 employees in WW2 covering all aircraft manufacturing skills. Today’s Eurofighter Typhoon is a direct descendent of this aircraft.
The Gloster E28/39 Pioneer aircraft, developed locally by the Gloster Aircraft Company, recorded the first flight of Frank Whittle’s Jet engine in 1941.
The successor to the E28/39, the Gloster Meteor, was the first British jet fighter and the only allied jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War.
The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations with No. 616 Squadron RAF. The Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in its aerodynamics, but proved to be a successful combat fighter due to its jet engine. Thousands of Meteors were built to fly with the RAF and other air forces and remained in use for several decades.
“Note that our exhibit is a reproduction of the original airframe”
1943 – Gloster Meteor First Flight
In the late 40’s GAC embarked on a redesign programme to produce a new version of the Meteor with better performance. Designated Meteor F.8, this upgraded variant was a potent fighter aircraft, forming the bulk of RAF Fighter Command between 1950 and 1955. The Meteor continued to be operated in a military capacity by several nations into the 1960s.
1954 – English Electric Lighting First Flight. A British aircraft. (Undercarriage made by Dowty. Local connection)
The Gloster Javelin was the first jet fighter with a delta (triangular) wing. This shape was developed in Germany during WW2 for aircraft flying at high speed. It was used for the contemporary Vulcan bomber in the UK and for various fighter aircraft in the US and other nations.
Our Gloster Javelin example, XH903, was the 65th of 85 Javelin FAW7s built by the Gloster Aircraft Company. It was completed in early 1959 and allocated to 23 Squadron at RAF Coltishall. XH903 returned to Gloster’s Moreton Valence factory on 1 June 1960 for changes to systems and equipment and the replacement of the Sapphire Sa7 engines with the reheated Sa7R. Now completed as an FAW9, XH903 was delivered to 33 Squadron at RAF Middleton St George on 14 February 1961. Ten days later it went to RAF Leuchars on loan to 29 Squadron, returning on 3 March. In October 1962 it was assigned to 5 Squadron, who took on charge most of the aircraft from 33 Squadron.
1969 – First flight of Concorde 002 from RAF Fairford
The ‘Spirit of Innovation’ is officially the world’s fastest all-electric aircraft, having set two new world records.
The Gloucestershire firm of Electroflight was key to the project by building and modifying a racing NXT aircraft and incorporating their own energy storage system (6000 Lithium Ion batteries).
The ‘Spirit of Innovation’ is a direct descendent of the Electroflight P1e, the engineering model displayed at JAM, aircraft museum.
Opening Hours: Standard hours are Saturday – Sunday 10am – 4pm. View additional days.
Admission: There is no charge for admission to the Museum site, to the building or any exhibits, but donations to help meet our running costs and to fund our expansion plans are most definitely welcome! Click here to donate.
Find us: Meteor Business Park, Cheltenham Road East, Gloucester, GL2 9QL
