Gloster Grebe The Gloster Grebe was developed 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 . Design . In 1923 Gloster modified a Gloster Sparrowhawk fighter trainer with new wings to test a layout proposed by chief designer Henry Folland , combining a thick , high lift section upper wing and a thinner , medium lift lower wing , with the intention of combining high lift for take - off with low drag . After the Grouse demonstrated that the new layout was a success , the British Air Ministry placed an order for three prototype fighters based on the Grouse ( and therefore derived ultimately from Folland ' s Nieuport Nighthawk fighter of 1919 ) , but powered by a Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar III radial engine , as the " Nighthawk ( thick - winged ) " . The first of the prototypes ( Gloster built a fourth machine as a company owned demonstrator ) , by now known as the Grebe I , flew during May 1923 . The performance of these prototypes during testing at RAF Martlesham Heath was good , and the Air Ministry decided to order the type into production as the Grebe II , this having a Jaguar IV engine . Like the Sopwith Snipe it replaced , the Grebe was a single - seat , single - engined biplane of fabric - covered wood construction . The fuselage had ash longerons and spruce stringers joined to plywood former s , while the single - bay wings ( which had a considerable overhang outboard of the struts ) , had fabric covered spruce spars and ribs . Two synchronised . 303 in ( 7 . 7 mm ) Vickers machine gun s were mounted on the fuselage top decking . Service history . Grebes entered service with the RAF during October 1923 when a single flight of 111 Squadron re - equipped with the new fighter . The Grebe was popular in RAF service , being much faster than the Snipe that it replaced , and was also very agile . One problem with the Grebe was that it suffered from wing flutter , owing to the large overhang outside the interplane struts , which led to all RAF aircraft being modified with additional Vee - struts supporting the outer upper wing . Another problem was the Jaguar engine , which was heavy and unreliable , being prone to in - flight fires . A total of 133 Grebes were produced , including the four prototypes , 108 Grouse II single - seat fighters and 21 two - seat dual - control trainers . Grebes were retired from the RAF in 1929 , replaced in part by the Gloster Gamecock , which was in essence a developed Grebe , ( Gloster fighter design , from Nighthawk to Gloster Gladiator was essentially evolutionary ) . Two Grebes were modified for suspension beneath the R33 airship on a ' trapeze ' for " parasite " trials . The Grebe was developed into the Gloster Gamecock fighter , which also entered production for the RAF . A single Grebe was gifted to New Zealand by Sir Henry Wigram , and subsequently another two Grebes were acquired by the New Zealand Permanent Air Force , fore - runner of the Royal New Zealand Air Force , entering service in March 1928 and serving more than 10 years until the mid - 1938 . The two survivors were used as instructional airframes until destroyed in 1943 – 44 .