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Subject: Gloster Meteor
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only
operational jet aircraft during the Second World War. The Meteor's development
was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Sir
Frank Whittle and his company, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the aircraft began
in 1940, although work on the engines had been under way since 1936. The Meteor
first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with No. 616
Squadron RAF. Nicknamed the "Meatbox", the Meteor was not a sophisticated
aircraft in its aerodynamics, but proved to be a successful combat fighter.
Gloster's 1946 civil Meteor F.4 demonstrator G-AIDC was the first
civilian-registered jet aircraft in the world.
The Meteor was also used for research and development purposes and to break
several aviation records. On 7 November 1945, the first official air speed
record by a jet aircraft was set by a Meteor F.3 of 606 miles per hour (975
km/h). In 1946, this record was broken when a Meteor F.4 reached a speed of 616
mph (991 km/h). Other performance-related records were broken in categories
including flight time endurance, rate of climb, and speed. On 20 September 1945,
a heavily modified Meteor I, powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent turbine engines
driving propellers, became the first turboprop aircraft to fly. On 10 February
1954, a specially adapted Meteor F.8, the "Meteor Prone Pilot", which placed the
pilot into a prone position to counteract inertial forces, took its first
flight.
In the 1950s, the Meteor became increasingly obsolete as more nations introduced
jet fighters, many of these newcomers having adopted a swept wing instead of the
Meteor's conventional straight wing; in RAF service, the Meteor was replaced by
newer types such as the Hawker Hunter and Gloster Javelin. As of 2013, two
Meteors, WL419 and WA638, remain in active service with the Martin-Baker company
as ejection seat testbeds. Two further aircraft in the UK remain airworthy, as
does another in Australia.
Role
Fighter
Manufacturer
Gloster Aircraft Company
First flight
5 March 1943
Introduction
27 July 1944
Retired
1980s (RAF target tugs)
Primary users
Royal Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
Belgian Air Force
Argentine Air Force
Produced
Number built
3,947
The first operational version of the Meteor, designated as the Meteor F.1, apart
from the minor airframe refinements, was a straightforward 'militarisation' of
the earlier F9/40 prototypes. The dimensions of the standard Meteor F.1 were 41
ft 3 in (12.58 m) long with a span of 43 ft 0 in (13.11 m), with an empty weight
of 8,140 lb (3,823 kg) and a maximum takeoff weight of 13,795 lb (6,270 kg).
Despite the revolutionary turbojet propulsion used, the design of the Meteor was
relatively orthodox and did not take advantage of many aerodynamic features
utilised on other jet fighters, such as swept wings; the Meteor shared a broadly
similar basic configuration to its German equivalent, the Messerschmitt Me 262.
It was an all-metal aircraft with a tricycle undercarriage and conventional low,
straight wings with mid-mounted turbojet engines and a high-mounted tailplane
clear of the jet exhaust. The Meteor F.1 exhibited some problematic flying
characteristics typical of early jet aircraft; it suffered from stability
problems at high transonic speeds, large trim changes, high stick forces and
self-sustained yaw instability (snaking) caused by airflow separation over the
thick tail surfaces. The longer fuselage of the Meteor T.7, a two-seater
trainer, significantly reduced the aerodynamic instability that the early
Meteors were known for.
Later Meteor variants would see a large variety of changes from the initial
Meteor F.1 introduced to service in 1944. Much attention was given to raising
the aircraft's top speed, often by improving the airframe's aerodynamic
qualities, incorporating the latest engine developments, and increasing the
strength of the airframe. The Meteor F.8, which emerged in the late 1940s, was
considered to have substantially improved performance over prior variants; the
F.8 was reportedly the most powerful single-seat aircraft flying in 1947,
capable of ascending to 40,000 feet within five minutes.
In May 1951, it was reported that the Meteor 4's tail unit lost half its
strength when the skin tore. The skin tearing was found to originate at rivet
holes, access panels or discontinuous stringers (stress risers) due to metal
fatigue.
A total of 890 Meteors were lost in RAF service (145 of these crashes occurring
in 1953 alone), resulting in the deaths of 450 pilots. Contributory factors in
the number of crashes were the poor brakes, failure of the landing gear, the
high fuel consumption and consequent short flight endurance (less than one
hour), causing pilots to run out of fuel, and difficult handling with one engine
out due to the widely set engines. The casualty rate was exacerbated by the lack
of ejection seats in early series Meteors; the ground-breaking high speed that
the aircraft was capable of meant that, during the bailing out process, pilots
were typically subject to high g forces hindering movement and the effect of
slipstream winds; there was also a greater likelihood of the pilot striking the
horizontal tailplane. Ejection seats would be fitted in the later F.8, FR.9,
PR.10 and some experimental Meteors. The difficulty of bailing out of the Meteor
has been noted by pilots during development, reporting several contributing
design factors such as the limited size and relative position of the cockpit to
the rest of the aircraft, and difficulty in using the two-lever jettisonable
hood mechanism.
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 previously 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. The squadron and its seven
Meteors moved on 21 July 1944 to RAF Manston on the east Kent coast and, within
a week, 32 pilots had been converted to the type.
The Meteor was initially used to counter the V-1 flying bomb threat. 616
Squadron Meteors saw action for the first time on 27 July 1944, when three
aircraft were active over Kent. These were the first operational jet combat
missions for the Meteor and for the Royal Air Force. After some problems,
especially with jamming guns, the first two V1 "kills" were made on 4 August. 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.
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
1951 until 1956. In Aden, No. 8 Squadron RAF was given the FR.9 in November 1958
and used them until 1961. Ecuador (12), Israel (7) and Syria (2) were foreign
customers for the FR.9.
Specifications (Meteor F.8)
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 44 ft 7 in (13.59 m)
Wingspan: 37 ft 2 in (11.32 m)
Height: 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m)
Empty weight: 10,684 lb (4,846 kg)
Loaded weight: 15,700 lb (7,121 kg)
Performance
Maximum speed: 600 mph (522 knots, 965 km/h, Mach 0.82) at 10,000 ft (3,050 m)
Range: 600 mi (522 nmi, 965 km)
Service ceiling: 43,000 ft (13,100 m)
Rate of climb: 7,000 ft/min (35.6 m/s)
Thrust/weight: 0.45
Time to altitude: 5.0 min to 30,000 ft (9,145 m)
Armament
Rockets: Provision for up to sixteen "60lb" 3 in rockets or eight 5 inch HVAR
rockets. under outer wings
Bombs: two 1000 lb (454 kg) bombs
*
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