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Gloster Meteor N.F.11 G-LOSM
| Location: Coventry | In Service: |
| Manufacturer: Armstrong Whitworth Ltd. | Purpose: Two seat Night Fighter |
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Power Plant: Two Rolls-Royce Derwent RD8 engines |
Length: 48 ft. 6 in. |
| Construction: All-metal | Maximum speed: 579mph Range: 920 miles Service ceiling 43,000 ft Rate of climb: 5,797 ft./min Wing loading: 44.9 lb/ft² (149 kg/m²) Thrust/weight: |
Armament: Four 20-mm. British Hispano Mk. 5 cannon mounted in wing outer sections.
History: Coventry-born Sir Frank Whittle began work on the first British jet-powered aircraft - the Gloster E28/39 - as early as 1940. Its potential was clear when it made its maiden flight in 1941, and the Air Ministry contracted for a twin-engined derivative, under the proposed name of Thunderbolt. The DG206 prototype first flew in March 1943. Development was troublesome, with delays in type-approval of engines and a series of crashes, and it wasn't until 1944 that DG208/G demonstrated that a viable prototype had been achieved. By now the name Meteor had been adopted to avoid confusion with the American P-47 fighter. The Meteor entered service with the RAF on June 1 1944. It was detailed to destroy V-1 flying bombs, being one of the few types with sufficient performance to keep up with the unmanned German jet missiles. Later it was used for ground attack and armed reconnaissance. Despite the lack of opportunities for air-to-air combat, by the end of the war the Meteor's four cannon had claimed 46 enemy aircraft. Like most early jets, the Meteor suffered from buffeting and control problems at transonic speeds. The behaviour of airflow near the speed of sound was barely understood, and it was largely by trial and error that the improvements that appeared on the Meteor F3 were conceived. As development continued the engine nacelles grew longer, while the wings grew shorter. By the end of its development it was achieving speeds close to 600mph, by which time its piston-engine-derived wing design was unsuitable for higher performance.
