During the summer of 1940, aircraft of the Royal Air Force and the German Luftwaffe were locked in
combat above the skies of southern England during the Battle of Britain. But engineers back home
here in Britain and in Germany were locked into another struggle. The struggle for the power that
would bring forth the next generation of fighter aircraft. Here in Britain, the Whittle Jet,
the E28.39, first took to the skies in 1941, heralding in a new era of aircraft power.
In both Britain and Germany, it was determined that these early jet engines were not powerful
enough by themselves to power a combat aircraft. Both were determined to have
twin engines to provide the required power. In 1942, the Germans first operational jet fighter,
the Messerschmitt 262, took to the air in just a few months later,
on the 5th of March 1943. The British followed suit with the Gloster Meteor, interestingly,
flying exactly seven years to the day after another famous British aircraft, the Spitfire.
Armed with something keener and swifter and more deadly
to its foes than anything the last war ever saw. The parallels between the Gloster Meteor and the
Messerschmitt 262 are quite similar. The biggest difference really, being that the Meteor was of
a more conventional design with a far straighter wing compared to the Messerschmitt 262, which had
its wings angled back in sweepback for better fighter performance. In comparison to modern
day jet engines, the aircraft themselves were relatively underpowered. With this new technology,
the Meteor requiring the two engines also required some time to spool the engines up
and gain flying speed or a fighting speed. And this was quite similar in the Messerschmitt 262,
as well. Both of them burnt fuel at a really high rate. So their performance and their endurance
were restricted because of that. The speed difference was around 150 miles an hour with the
Me 262 coming out on top and the Meteor attaining speeds of around about 450 miles an hour.
So they were exciting days. We thought obviously we were the bee's knees. The aircraft was secret.
No one had seen anything like it before. In fact, no one was allowed near the dispersal.
So it was quite different, obviously, from the Spitfire. They were twin engine,
no nose in front of them, no noise or vibration within the cockpit. Very underpowered, I think
about 1600 pounds of thrust, but very high revs, something like 17,000. So they were very slow to
accelerate. But on the other hand, they were very slow to decelerate. And so you had to anticipate
your slowing down coming back into the circuit. When the Meteor first flew in Britain,
it would have looked a lot different to a number of other aircraft that would have
been flying in British skies at the time. One immediate noticeable difference, though,
is with the engines. The engines, nice and long in the wing, don't have a propeller on the front.
That meant that the ground clearance didn't need to be as great. It could be closer to the ground.
One other noticeable thing with the jet engine would have been the sound and it would have made
the public look up every time it flown over. And while not exclusively new with the Meteor,
it had been seen in some piston engined aircraft, t would become a trait of the jet aircraft to have
a tricycle undercarriage. That lack of need for height meant that the aircraft could be level
on the ground, and it gave the pilot much better visibility when taxiing around the airfield. The
original design for the Meteor looked at the possibility of having it armed with six 20mm
cannons. For much the same reason that two engines were needed because of their general lack of
power, the idea was also that six cannon would be too much. The first versions of the Meteor to fly
had a very different cockpit to what we see on the flight here. It would have had far more framework
and actually would have been hinged, so it folded to the side. By the time we get to the Meteor F8,
the cockpit is a blown canopy and can roll back on its runners. By the time of the Meteor f8 as well,
we start seeing the use of ejection seats as standard. Those very early Meteors didn't have
ejection seats and being able to get out of one of these in an emergency came down to
the same techniques as you would have needed on a Spitfire or Hurricane. The cockpit by
this point also gained a level of pressurization which gave better comfort for the pilots flying
with the increased need for greater range. And as the engines themselves became thirstier,
extra fuel was needed in the Meteor. It was helped in part by the addition of under wing tanks. As we
see here, the early versions were powered by the Welland engine, but by the time we get through the
Mach three and eventually the Mark 8 versions, we start seeing them being equipped with the
Rolls Royce, Derwent 8, providing the F8 with the necessary power as the performance of the Meteor
increased, so aircraft handling could become slightly more complicated for the pilot trying to
keep it flying in a straight line. The need came about for tail design to be adapted. In this case,
on the F eight, we see an enlarged rudder which helps the pilot maintain his course.
It was in July 1944 that the RAF accepted their first operational meters into squadron service
with number 616 Squadron. The technology was so guarded at the time that the aircraft and their
pilots were not allowed to fly over enemy lines for risk of the technology falling into enemy
hands. As such, they were retained for home defense and their first actions were against
V-1 flying bombs, flying towards London. In fact, the Meteor’s very first kill was against the V1.
And interestingly, it wasn't through the use of its armament on the nose as the guns were
jammed. The aircraft flew up alongside this particular V-1 and tipped the wing toppling
the gyro. This was in August 1944, just over a month after entered service due to the Meteor
secrets being so closely guarded, the aircraft never really made its way to the front lines.
Britain was not under direct aerial attack from conventional aircraft at the time,
so it never actually saw combat in a conventional dogfight. It never also
met the Messerschmitt 262 as they were heavily occupied in the defense of their homeland. It
can only ever be speculated which would have come out on top if they had ever met in a dogfight.
By the end of the Second World War, the operational examples of the Meteor were
themselves actually beginning to feel somewhat tied and by the end of the Second World War.
Examples like the F3 and the F4 were in need of replacement, as the Meteor was developed from its
earlier versions capable of just over 400 miles an hour, speed was pushed upwards closer to 600.
And in fact, it was a Gloster Meteor that achieved the world air speed record in 1946, flying at just
over 606 miles an hour. Technology was moving fast, as were the aircraft. It was a modified
example of the Meteor, which looking particularly crazy with an elongated nose, explored the idea of
having the aircraft flown by a pilot in a prone or lying down position. In the early versions
of that, the pilot would actually start taking the aircraft off in the conventional position,
but then would move into his position lying down in the front of the nose. Aircraft development,
including cockpit pressurization, has led to that being an unnecessary use.
Despite the Meteor not playing a hugely significant role in air combat during the
Second World War, immediately after the war, it finds great sales in the export market. Six years
after the end of the Second World War, it would be tried and tested in combat again, this time
in 1951, during the Korean War and in the hands of the Royal Australian Air Force. They actually
acquired their Meteors as a bit of a stopgap. Their interest was with the North American Saber,
but unfortunately the availability was such that they had to purchase the Meteor. The Royal
Australian Air Force’s first involvement during the Korean War was flying Second World War vintage
P-51 Mustangs, but they would be replaced as the war progressed through into 1951 by the Meteor F8.
And they were very well suited to ground attack carrying up to eight rocket under the wings.
Lower down, the Meteor's performance was still able to keep up with other aircraft that they may
have encountered, but as they climbed higher, they became slower and less maneuverable compared to
the Russian jets that they would have been facing in the hands of the North Koreans. The aircraft
that the Meteor would have been meeting was the Russian Mig 15, an aircraft in appearance, very
similar to the Saber that the Royal Australian Air Force would have liked to have acquired. But
with the sweep back on the Mig’s wings, they were able to be far more maneuverable in air
combat than the Gloster Meteor. 77 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force would meet the MiG 15
in combat on a number of occasions, most notably during the Battle of Sunchon in December 1951.
Following heavy combat losses at the hands of the North Korean Air Force,
the Royal Australian Air Force Meteors were relegated to ground attack roles.
We then reported to the Australian Air Force headquarters
for conversion costs into firing rockets, because this is the role of 77 Squadron.
We then were put on operations and carried out a number of air strikes on North Korea
with high explosive rockets or napalm rockets, which essentially vilified petroleum in about
five gallon canisters. We used to fly 16 aircraft, attack one target. Targets,
generally speaking, were described as troop concentrations via the American intelligence.
And we would completely destroy a village with 16 aeroplanes firing these napalm rockets.
With the end of the Korean War in 1953, the Meteor F8 would be the last of the day-fighter
single seat variants to be developed, although Gloster themselves would go on to make a number
of other versions, including a two-seat trainer, the T7 and a number of variants of night fighter
aircraft, which involved a larger cockpit and an elongated nose to hold radar and other equipment.
Despite the Meteor no longer being in operational service with any air force around the world, it
still does have a useful role to play in the hands of Martin Baker as a test aircraft. Martin Baker
have adapted a number of Meteors over the years for their own purposes, taking the best of two
versions the fighter from the rear section and the front section of T7 incorporating two cockpits.
The Imperial War Museum's Meteor WK991 was finished in 1953. It didn't see any frontline
service, mostly moving around the number of RAF communications flights before finally its service
life came to an end as a target aircraft. The aircraft was then handed over just ten
years after its first flight and became part of the Imperial War Museum's collection in 1963.
The Meteor remains on display here at Imperial War Museum Duxford and currently wears the
markings of an aircraft of 56 Squadron. Interestingly, 56 Squadron flying Meteor
F3s was one of the first squadrons to arrive at Duxford, bringing Duxford into the jet age.