1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Gloster Grebe RAF: San Diego Air & Space Museum· Public domain
what is it?
The Gloster Grebe was developed by the Gloster Aircraft Company from the Gloster Grouse (an experimental aircraft later developed as a trainer), and was the Royal Air Force's first post-First World War fighter aircraft, entering service in 1923.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 8.9 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 103 years ago, in 1923.
- Top speed is 1.9× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1923
- introduced
- 1923
- retired
- 1931
- status
- retired
- number built
- 133
- role
- fighter
- engines
- 1× Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IV
- crew
- 1
- length
- 6.2 m
- wingspan
- 8.9 m
- height
- 2.8 m
- max take-off weight
- 1,186 kg
- top speed
- 245 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 7,010 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q2249536, Wikipedia: Gloster Grebe (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.