Gloster Gladiator Mk I/Mk II
The first 2 Gloster Gladiator Mk I airplanes that came to Greece were a donation to the Ministry of Air Force by the expatriate S. Sarpakis from Egypt. They were used in advanced training in dogfight tactics. After the loss of one of them by accident, the other enlisted to active duty, in patrol missions during the war.
From December of 1940 till April 1941, a number of Gloster Gladiator Mk I/ Mk II are delivered by RAF as aid to the Air Force. All of them were scond-hand used and a part of them flew in directly from Sindi Hanish Air Base in Egypt. The Gloster Gladiator Mk I/ Mk II used by the 21st Interceptor Squadron, which re-assigned the few P.24 that originally had, to the 22nd êáé 23rd Interceptor Squadrons
It is worth to be noted that the Gladiator was initially chosen as the main interceptor airplane of the Air Force from the qualifying commitee in 1936. Finally, the Polish P.24 was chosen because the payment could be guaranteed through "clearing", a usual transaction policy with foreigh goverments in the 30's for Greece.
Technical Specifications:
| Crew | 1 |
| Engines | Bristol Mercury VIIIA/VIIAS of 830 hp |
| Weight | |
| Take Off | 4864 lb |
| Empty | 3847 lb |
| Dimensions | |
| Wingspan | 32 ft 3 in |
| Length | 27 ft 5 in |
| Height | 10 ft 7 in |
| Wing Area | 323 sqft |
| Performance | |
| Max Velocity | 249 mph at 10000 ft |
| Range | 444 mi |
| Weaponry | 4 0,303 in BSA (Colt) Browning machine guns |
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