Gloster (Armstrong Whitworth) Meteor

History

The Gloster Meteor becomes Britain's first operational jet fighter. It reached operational status in the final years of World War II and had limited action in the conflict, although it never faced any of the touted German jet programs in service at the same time.

The Meteor proved to be an invaluable addition to the RAF and served with distinction in the early Cold War.

The design of the Gloster Meteor fell to George Carter. Work began as early as 1940, when turbojet technology was still in its infancy.

In fact, Britain and Germany are at the forefront of developing the technology, although other countries are also looking into the possibility of jet fighters by the end of the century. Gloucester Aircraft Corporation's Gloucester E28/39 jet enterprise has had some success and is about to secure an order from the Air Force through the F9/40 specification (requires a single-seat jet interceptor), securing the Meteor development.

Meteors have also been expanded into the role of night fighters, more as a stopgap rather than a true dedicated system. These meteors are identified by their "NF" naming system, and the recognizable "proboscis" design incorporates NF. Mk 11 model with airborne interceptor radar, NF. The Mk 12 is equipped with a US-made radar and an extended nose section, the "tropical" NF.

Mk 13 for use in hot climates and NF overseas. Mk 14, essentially NF. The Mk 11 has a new two-part transparent roof.

Information table was added to FR. Mk 9 and PR. Mk 10. FR. The Mk 9 is an armed reconnaissance platform developed from the F. Mk 8 fighter model. The same goes for PR. Used as a high-altitude photo reconnaissance platform, the Mk 10 was also developed from the stellar F. Mk 8 fighter model. Delivery to RAF units was completed in 1955.

In October of the same year, Flight Refueling, Ltd began converting Meteor F. Mk 8 fighter jets into target tugs (U. Mk 15, U. Mk 16) and later U. Mk 21) and tow targets (TT. Mk 20). Between 1956 and 1969, at least 233 such aircraft were modified for this purpose.

Notable operators on the Meteor route include Argentina (100 aircraft), Australia (104 aircraft), Belgium (347 aircraft - fighters, trainers and night fighters) and Brazil (62 aircraft). The US received a prototype as a test aircraft, which was later returned to the UK after the tests were completed.

Australia became one of the most prominent Meteor operators, using British-built jet fighters and its Royal Australian Air Force in the Korean War. As mentioned, swept-wing aircraft like the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 "Fagot" quickly became the norm, leaving Meteor at the mercy of these newer and faster systems. These meteors (serving with RAAF 77th Squadron) were relegated to a ground attack role, and given their origins in artillery and missile attacks in WWII, they performed modestly. In total, Aussie Meteors flew about 4,800 sorties and lost 30 aircraft.

As dog fighters, they are still completely superior to the new generation of fighters. Both Israel and Egypt were recipients of the Meteor F. Mk 8, which also used the aircraft in the 1956 Arab-Israeli War.

Despite the passing of the years, Meteors continued to function well in the 1980s and had a military element in Ecuador. 3,900 planes were eventually delivered while "earning" an astonishing loss rate - no doubt due to a combination of baby technology, inexperienced pilots and a lack of safety precautions in the early Meteors. Overall, Meteor played a pivotal role in the final years of World War II and the early decade of the Cold War.

In the former, they excelled in defending the British mainland, while in the latter, the Meteor served as a viable Soviet bomber deterrent. There is no doubt that the aircraft proved to be a solid airframe and excellent overall design when deployed.

There is no doubt that it will forever be an important part of British aviation history.

Some Meteors are still used as test aircraft for the Martin-Baker Ejection Seat company. One pair for high-speed aerial ejection testing. The two meteors in question are s/n WA638 and WL419.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes