Gloster Gladiator Mk. I/II, REAF/RAF No. 1411 Meteorological Flight, c.1944. This Gloster Gladiator, serial number L8025, is a Mk. I machine brought up to Mk. II standard. It was amongst the first to be delivered to the REAF and after long service in one of the REAF’s fighter squadrons – probably No. 2 – it was transferred to No. 1411 Meteorological Flight. This was theoretically an RAF unit, though entirely operated by Egyptian REAF personnel. However, Gladiator L8025 suffered minor damage during a night landing on 20 June 1945. The now worn and battered camouflage scheme is the same Temperate European paintwork worn when these Gladiators were originally supplied to the REAF, though the underneath is now entirely pale blue. Though it is part of No. 1411 Meteorological Flight, this machine does not yet have the visible meteorological equipment mounted on later Meteorological Flight types. All the armament has been removed and the radio aerials are of the old (pre-VHF) type mounted on top of the rudder and on top of the right wing. The dark rectangle on the tailfin is unexplained but might be a repeat of the Flight identity colour red, as also seen on the wheel-discs and spinner. (Artwork by Peter Penev)