Second World War No. 616 Squadron RAF was the first to receive operational Meteors: a total of 14 aircraft were initially delivered. The squadron was based at
RAF Culmhead,
Somerset and had been equipped with the
Spitfire VII. The conversion to the Meteor was initially a matter of great secrecy. Following a conversion course at
Farnborough attended by the squadron's six leading pilots, the first aircraft was delivered to Culmhead on 12 July 1944. By war's end, Meteors had accounted for 14 flying bombs. After the end of the V-1 threat, and the introduction of the ballistic
V-2 rocket, the RAF was forbidden to fly the Meteor on combat missions over German-held territory for fear of an aircraft being shot down and salvaged by the Germans. No. 616 Squadron briefly moved to
RAF Debden to allow
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) bomber crews to gain experience and create tactics in facing jet-engined foes before moving to
Colerne,
Wiltshire. For a week from 10 October 1944 a series of exercises were carried out in which a flight of Meteors made mock attacks on a formation of 100 B-24s and B-17s escorted by 40 Mustangs and Thunderbolts. These suggested that, if the jet fighter attacked the formation from above, it could take advantage of its superior speed in the dive to attack the bombers and then escape by diving through the formation before the escorts could react. The best tactic to counter this was to place a fighter screen above the bombers and attempt to intercept the jets early in the dive. The exercise was also useful from No. 616 Squadron's perspective, giving valuable practical experience in Meteor operations. No. 616 Squadron exchanged its F.1s for the first
Meteor F.3s on 18 December 1944. These first 15 F.3s differed from the F.1 in having a sliding canopy in place of the sideways hinging canopy, increased fuel capacity and some airframe refinements. They were still powered by Welland I engines. Later F.3s were equipped with the Derwent I engines. This was a substantial improvement over the earlier mark, although the basic design still had not reached its potential.
Wind tunnel and flight tests demonstrated that the original short
nacelles, which did not extend far fore and aft of the wing, contributed heavily to compressibility buffeting at high speed. New, longer nacelles not only cured some of the compressibility problems but added at altitude, even without upgraded powerplants. The last batch of Meteor F.3s featured the longer nacelles; other F.3s were retrofitted in the field with the new nacelles. The F.3 also had the new Rolls-Royce Derwent engines, increased fuel capacity and a new larger, more strongly raked
bubble canopy. In March, the entire squadron was moved to
Gilze-Rijen Air Base and then in April, to
Nijmegen. The Meteors flew armed
reconnaissance and ground attack operations without encountering any German jet fighters. By late April, the squadron was based at
Faßberg, Germany and suffered its first losses when two aircraft collided in poor visibility. The war ended with the Meteors having destroyed 46 German aircraft through ground attack.
Friendly fire through misidentification as Messerschmitt Me 262s by Allied anti-aircraft gunners was more of a threat than the already-diminished forces of the Luftwaffe; to counter this, continental-based Meteors were given an all-white finish as a recognition aid.
Post-war The next-generation
Meteor F.4 prototype first flew on 17 May 1945, and went into production in 1946 when 16 RAF squadrons were already operating Meteors. The F.4 wingspan was 86.4 cm shorter than the F.3 and with blunter wing tips, derived from the world speed record prototypes. Improvements included a strengthened airframe,
fully pressurised cockpit, lighter
ailerons to improve manoeuvrability, and
rudder trim adjustments to reduce
snaking. The F.4 could be fitted with a drop tank under each wing, and experiments were carried out with carriage of
underwing stores and also in lengthened
fuselage models. Because of increased demand, F.4 production was divided between Gloster and Armstrong Whitworth. The majority of early F.4s did not go to the RAF: 100 were exported to Argentina, seeing action on both sides in the
1955 revolution; in 1947, only RAF Nos. 74 and 222 squadrons were fully equipped with the F.4. Nine further RAF squadrons converted from 1948 onwards. From 1948, 38 F.4s were exported to the Dutch, equipping four squadrons (322, 323, 326 and 327) split between bases in
Soesterberg and
Leeuwarden until the mid-1950s. In 1949, only two RAF squadrons were converted to the F.4, Belgium was sold 48 aircraft in the same year (going to 349 and 350 squadrons at
Beauvechain) and Denmark received 20 over 1949–1950. In 1950, three more RAF squadrons were upgraded, including No. 616 and, in 1951, six more. A modified two-seater F.4 for jet-conversion and advanced training was tested in 1949 as the
T.7. It was accepted by the RAF and the Fleet Air Arm and became a common addition to the various export packages (for example 43 to Belgium between 1948 and 1957, a similar number to the Netherlands over the same period, two to Syria in 1952, six to Israel in 1953, etc.). Despite its limitations – unpressurised cockpit, no armament, limited instructor instrumentation – more than 650 T.7s were manufactured. The T.7 remained in RAF service into the 1970s. As improved jet fighters emerged, Gloster decided to modernise the F.4 while retaining as much of the manufacturing tooling as possible. The result was the definitive production model, the
Meteor F.8 (G-41-K), serving as a major RAF fighter until the introduction of the
Hawker Hunter and the
Supermarine Swift. The first prototype F.8 was a modified F.4, followed by a true prototype,
VT150, that flew on 12 October 1948 at Moreton Valence. Flight testing of the F.8 prototype led to the discovery of an aerodynamic problem: after ammunition was expended, the aircraft became tail-heavy and unstable around the pitch axis due to the weight of fuel in fuselage tanks no longer being balanced by the ammunition. Gloster solved the problem by substituting the
tail of the abortive G 42 single-engined jet fighter. The F.8 and other production variants successfully used the new tail design, giving the later Meteors a distinctive appearance, with taller straighter edges compared with the rounded tail of the F.4s and earlier marks. The F.8 also featured a fuselage stretch of , intended to shift the aircraft's
centre of gravity and also eliminate the use of
ballast formerly necessary in earlier marks due to the subsequent elimination from the design of two of the originally designed six installed cannon. The F.8 incorporated uprated engines, Derwent 8s, with thrust each combined with structural strengthening, a
Martin Baker ejection seat and a "blown" teardrop cockpit canopy that provided improved pilot visibility. Between 1950 and 1955, the Meteor F.8 was the mainstay of
RAF Fighter Command, and served with distinction in
combat in Korea with the RAAF as well as operating with many air forces worldwide, although it was clear that the original design was obsolete compared with contemporary swept-wing fighters such as the
North American F-86 Sabre and the Soviet
MiG-15. The last Meteor F.8 left RAF frontline squadrons in 1957. Several F.8 were used for target towing or as
aggressor until 1970. Initial deliveries of the F.8 to the RAF were in August 1949, with the first squadron receiving its fighters in late 1950. Like the F.4, there were strong export sales of the F.8. Belgium ordered 240 aircraft, the majority assembled in The Netherlands by Fokker. The Netherlands had 160 F.8s, equipping seven squadrons until 1955. Denmark had 20, ordered in 1951, the last F.8s in front-line service in Europe. The RAAF ordered 94 F.8s, which served in the Korean War. Despite arms embargoes, both Syria and Egypt received F.8s from 1952, as did Israel, each using their Meteors during the
Suez Crisis. Brazil ordered 60 new Meteor F.8s and 10 T.7 trainers in October 1952, paying with 15,000 tons of raw cotton. In the 1950s, Meteors were developed into effective photo-reconnaissance,
training and night fighter versions. The fighter reconnaissance (FR) versions were the first to be built, replacing the ageing Spitfires and Mosquitos then in use. Two
FR.5s were built on the F.4 body; one was used for nose section camera tests, the other broke up in midair while in testing over Moreton Valence. On 23 March 1950, the first
FR.9 flew. Based on the F.8, it was 20 cm longer with a new nose incorporating a remote control camera and window and was also fitted with additional external ventral and wing fuel tanks. Production of the FR.9 began in July. No. 208 Squadron, then based at Fayid, Egypt was the first to be upgraded followed by the 2nd Tactical Air Force in
West Germany,
No. 2 Squadron RAF at
Bückeburg and
No. 79 Squadron RAF at
RAF Gutersloh flew the FR.9 from 1951 until 1956. In
Aden,
No. 8 Squadron RAF was given FR.9s in November 1958 and used them until 1961. Ecuador (12), Israel (7) and Syria (2) were foreign customers for the FR.9. at the
IAF Museum in 2007 In 1951,
29,
141, 85 and
264 squadrons each received a number of NF.11 aircraft, the first of the Meteor night fighters. It was rolled out across the RAF until the final deliveries in 1954. A "tropicalised" version of the NF.11 for the Middle East was developed; first flying on 23 December 1952 as the
NF.13. The aircraft equipped
No. 219 Squadron RAF at
Kabrit and No. 39 Squadron at Fayid, both in Egypt. The aircraft served during the Suez crisis and remained with No. 39 Squadron after they were withdrawn to Malta until 1958. Several problems were encountered: the heavily framed T.7 canopy made landings tricky due to limited visibility, the under-wing external fuel tanks tended to break up when the wing cannons were fired, and gun harmonisation, normally set to about 400 yards, was poor due to the wings flexing in flight. Belgium (24), Denmark (20) and France (41) were foreign customers for the NF.11. Ex-RAF NF.13s were sold to France (two), Syria (six), Egypt (six) and Israel (six). In addition to the armed, low altitude operation, tactical FR.9 variant, Gloster also developed the
PR.10 for high altitude missions. The first prototype flew on 29 March 1950 and was actually converted into the first production aircraft. Based on the F.4, it had the F.4-style tail and the longer wings of the earlier variant. All the cannons were removed and a single camera placed in the nose with two more in the rear fuselage; the canopy was also changed. The PR.10 was delivered to the RAF in December 1950 and were given to No. 2 and No. 541 squadrons in Germany and
No. 13 Squadron RAF in Cyprus. The PR.10 was rapidly phased out from 1956; rapid improvements in
surface-to-air missile technology and the introduction of newer aircraft capable of flying at greater altitudes and speeds had rendered the aircraft obsolete.
Argentina , 2012 , 2010 Argentina became the first overseas operator of the Meteor, placing an order for 100 F Mk.4s in May 1947., while another meteor strafed rebel-held
Ezeiza airport. The rebels seized
Morón Airport and Air Base, base of the Meteors, and used several captured aircraft to perform multiple attacks against loyalist forces and the Casa Rosada before the rebellion was defeated by day's end. A second revolt, the
Revolución Libertadora, broke out on 16 September 1955, with, again, both sides operating the Meteor. The rebels seized three Meteors. Government Meteors flew strafing attacks against the rebel-held destroyers
Rioja and
Cervantes, and several landing ships near
Rio Santiago on 16 September and attacking
Pajas Blancas airport near the city of
Córdoba, damaging several
Avro Lincoln bombers. The rebel-flown Meteors were used to attack loyalist forces attacking Córdoba, losing one of their number on 19 September to an engine failure caused by use of
automobile petrol instead of
jet fuel. The acquisition of F-86 Sabres in 1960 allowed the remaining Meteors to be transferred to the ground attack role. In this role, the aircraft were refitted with bomb pylons and rocket rails; the bare metal colour scheme was also discarded for a camouflage scheme. The type was ultimately withdrawn from service in 1970. The first RAAF Meteor was an F.3 delivered for evaluation in June 1946. Australia's F.8s saw extensive service during the Korean War with
No. 77 Squadron RAAF, part of
British Commonwealth Forces Korea. The squadron had personnel from the RAF and other Commonwealth air forces attached to it. It had arrived in Korea equipped with piston-engined
Mustangs. To match the threat posed by MiG-15 jet fighters, it was decided to reequip the squadron with Meteors. Jet conversion training was conducted at Iwakuni, Japan, after which the squadron returned to the Korean theatre in April 1951 with about 30 Meteor F.8s and T.7s. The squadron moved to
Kimpo Air Base in June, and was declared combat ready the following month. More advanced designs, such as the F-86 Sabre and
Hawker P.1081, were considered but would not be available within a realistic time frame; the Meteor proved to be considerably inferior in combat against the MiG-15 in several respects, including speed and manoeuvrability at high altitude. On 29 July 1951, 77 Squadron began operating their Meteors on combat missions. The squadron had mainly been trained for
ground attack and had difficulty when assigned to bomber escort duty at sub-optimum altitudes. On 29 August 1951, eight Meteors were on escort duty in "
MiG Alley" when they were engaged by six MiG-15s; one Meteor was lost and two were damaged. On 27 October, the squadron achieved its first probable followed by two probables six days later. On 1 December the
Battle of Sunchon took place between 14 Meteors and at least 20 MiG-15s – in North Korean markings but operated secretly by the elite Soviet 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (176 GIAP). The Australians lost three Meteors, with one pilot killed and two captured, (K-14) during the Korean War. At the end of 1951, due to the superiority of the MiGs in air combat – as well as the Meteor's favourable low-level performance and sturdy construction, RAAF commanders had 77 Squadron returned to ground-attack. In February 1952, more than a thousand ground-attack sorties were flown and these continued until May 1952, when 77 Squadron switched to fighter sweeps. The last encounter between the Meteor and the MiG-15 was in March 1953, during which a Meteor piloted by Sergeant John Hale recorded a victory. By the end of the conflict, the squadron had flown 4,836 missions, destroying six MiG-15s, over 3,500 structures and some 1,500 vehicles. About 30 Meteors were lost to enemy action in Korea, the vast majority shot down by anti-aircraft fire on ground-attack operations.
Egypt Although Egypt's first order for the Meteor was placed in 1948, the rising tension in the region led to the imposition of a series of arms embargoes. Twelve F Mk.4s were eventually delivered between October 1949 and May 1950, along with three T Mk.7s. Twenty-four F Mk.8s were ordered in 1949, but this order was stopped by an embargo. A further order for 12 ex-RAF F.8s was placed in December 1952, of which four were delivered before the order was cancelled, with the final eight being delivered in 1955, along with three more T Mk.7s. Britain had allowed the Meteor sales as part of an effort to foster and support good relations; tensions over the
Suez Canal led to arms sales being suspended once again. Egyptian Meteors participated in the fighting during the Suez Crisis of 1956, typically being used in ground attack missions against Israeli forces. In one incident, an Egyptian Meteor NF Mk.13 claimed to have damaged an RAF
Vickers Valiant bomber. An aerial bombing campaign of Egyptian airfields by Anglo-French forces resulted in several aircraft being destroyed on the ground; the Egyptian Air Force subsequently withdrew from combat within the
Sinai region. Although the British were willing to supply aircraft, they did not supply combat training or radar. As Syria became more aligned with
Gamal Abdel Nasser and Egypt, British support for Meteor operations was withdrawn and Syrian pilots began training with their Egyptian counterparts. During the Suez Crisis, the RAF performed high altitude reconnaissance flights over Syria by
English Electric Canberra aircraft from bases in Cyprus. Lacking radar to track the aircraft, the Syrian Air Force developed a ground spotter network that reported information by telephone to intercept the flights. On 6 November 1956, a Syrian Meteor shot down a Canberra of
No. 13 Squadron RAF, which crashed in Lebanon. In 1957, Syria began to replace its Meteors with new
MiG-17s from the Soviet Union.
France The
French Air Force was keen to acquire jet aircraft as part of its re-equipment program following the Second World War. In 1953, 25 new-build aircraft were diverted from RAF orders to fulfil a French order; a further 16 ex-RAF NF.11s were purchased in 1954 and delivered between September 1954 and April 1955, these being supplemented by about 14 T Mk.7s. The NF Mk.11s replaced the Mosquito night fighter with the Escadre de Chasse (EC) 30, serving with that Wing until replaced by the
Sud Aviation Vautour in 1957. Several Meteors were then transferred to ECN 1/7 in Algeria, which saw combat in the
Algerian War, operating from
Bône, while others were used for training Vautour night fighter crews. The Vautour was retired from French Air Force service in 1964. Five Meteor NF.11s were transferred to the Centre d’Essais en Vol (Flight Test Centre) in 1958, where they were used as equipment testbeds and chase planes,
Israel Meteor in 1954 Due to tensions between the newly formed nation of Israel and its neighbours, both sides had commenced an arms race which led to jet aircraft being vigorously purchased by various countries in the region. In 1953 Israel ordered four
T Mk.7s and 11
F Mk.8s, with delivery continuing until early 1954. The
F Mk.8s were modified to carry American HVAR rockets but were otherwise identical to RAF aircraft. A second batch of seven refurbished
FR Mk.9s and two more
T Mk.7s was delivered in 1955. In 1956, Israel purchased six NF Mk.13s, with three delivered that year, and the remaining three, delayed by an arms embargo, in 1958. Five more T Mk.7s were later purchased, these were converted from ex-Belgian
F Mk.4s and were fitted with the Mk.8 tail. On 1 September 1955, an Israeli Meteor shot down an Egyptian
de Havilland Vampire, the first jet aircraft to be shot down in the theatre. The Meteor played a key role during the Suez Crisis; on 28 October 1956, an Israeli NF.13 took part in
Operation Tarnegol, in which it successfully located and shot down an Egyptian
Ilyushin Il-14 that had been carrying several high-ranking Egyptian military officers on the eve of the crisis. The operation had intended to shoot down the Il-14 that was supposed to be carrying the supreme commander of the Egyptian armed forces,
Abdel Hakim Amer, however a different aircraft had been inadvertently attacked and destroyed instead. After deploying paratroopers east of the Suez Canal, the
Israeli Air Force continued to support them on the ground predominantly using its jet aircraft, fearing its propeller-driven aircraft would be vulnerable against Egypt's jet fighters.
Record setting , 1951 Late in 1945, two F.3 Meteors were modified for an attempt on the world
air speed record. On 7 November 1945 at
Herne Bay in Kent, UK, Group Captain Hugh "Willie" Wilson set the first official air speed record by a jet aircraft of
TAS. In 1946, Group Captain
Edward "Teddy" Donaldson broke this record with a speed of TAS, in
EE549, a Meteor F.4. On 4–5 April 1950, Sqn Ldr
Janusz Żurakowski set an international speed record London-Copenhagen-London in a production standard F.8 (
VZ468). Suitably impressed, the Danes later purchased the type. Another "claim to fame" was the Meteor's ability to perform the "
Zurabatic Cartwheel", an aerobatics manoeuvre named after Gloster's acting Chief Test Pilot, it was first demonstrated by Meteor
G-7-1 G-AMCJ prototype at the 1951 Farnborough Air Show; the Meteor, due to its widely set engines, could have individual engines throttled back and forward to achieve a seemingly stationary vertical cartwheel. Many Meteor pilots went on to "prove their mettle" by attempting the same feat. On 7 August 1949, the Meteor III,
EE397, on loan from the RAF and flown by
Flight Refuelling Ltd (FRL)
test pilot Patrick Hornidge, took off from
Tarrant Rushton and, refuelled 10 times by the Lancaster tanker, remained airborne for 12 hours and 3 minutes, receiving of fuel from the tanker in ten tanker contacts and flying an overall distance of , achieving a new jet endurance record. Meteor F.8
WA820 was adapted during 1948 to take two
Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojets, and from Moreton Valence, on 31 August 1951, established a time-to-height climb record. The pilot was
Flt Lt Tom Prickett, of
Armstrong Siddeley. A height of 9,843 ft was reached in 1 min 16 sec, 19,685 ft in 1 min 50 sec, 29,500 ft in 2 min 29 sec, and 39,370 ft in 3 min 7 sec.
Air Service Training Ltd were responsible for the conversion. ==Variants==