Gloster Goring - Development

Development

Early in 1926 the Air Ministry issued two specifications, 23/25 for a two-seat day bomber, torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, followed by 24/25 for a high altitude bomber. These two specifications brought out prototypes from several makers: the Blackburn Beagle, Handley Page Hare, Hawker Harrier, Vickers Vildebeest and Westland Witch. The Goring was Gloster's submission, aimed, like most of the other machines at both specifications.

The Goring was a single bay biplane with staggered wings of unequal span and slight sweep. They were based on spruce spars with internal wire bracing. The lower wing was angled downwards briefly as it left the fuselage, enabling a shorter than usual undercarriage. Short struts ran from the wing joint of this centre section to mid-fuselage. The fuselage was also a wooden structure of rectangular cross section formed by ash longerons. Wings and fuselage were fabric covered. The pilot sat below the upper wing trailing edge with a cut-out for visibility. The gunner sat behind in a second open cockpit fitted with a Scarff ring for a Vickers machine gun. The rear cockpit also allowed the gunner to get into a prone position for bombing. The tailplane was strut braced and the fin was low with broad chord. Both rudder and elevators had horn balances which projected beyond the fixed surfaces. The standard undercarriage was a simple single axle arrangement, but it could be swapped for a split axle unit to allow the carrying and dropping of torpedoes. In addition the Goring could operate as a seaplane. The floats were accompanied by a rudder enlarged by an extension below the fuselage.

The Goring originally flew in March 1927 with an uncowled direct drive 425 hp (315 kW) Bristol Jupiter VI. Later in the year this engine was replaced by a geared 460 hp (345 kW) Bristol Jupiter VIII and flew in both land- and sea- plane configurations.