The Gloster Meteor was an important fighter aircraft of the Royal Air Force. It was the first British jet fighter and the only Allied jet aircraft in operational missions in the Second World War. However, the Gloster Meteor it was not at the level of the Messerschmitt Me 262 in terms of speed and armament (see article "Luftwaffe fighter planes: the Messerschmitt Me 262")
The main users of the vehicle were - in addition to the Royal Air Force - the Royal Australian Air Force, the Belgian Air Force and the Argentine Air Force. The latter used the aircraft until 1970. The aircraft was produced from 1943 to 1955 and a total of 3947 examples were built.
The vehicle, during its period in operation, was used as a fighter, night fighter, fighter-bomber, training aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft. The DG206 prototype, on March 5, 1943, was the first Meteor to take flight and the aircraft was piloted by Michael Daunt.
The Gloster Meteor it entered active service in July 1944, and the first aircraft were assigned to 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force. However, the twin-jet engine didn't have much of a chance to stand out during World War II. Only, in the final phase of the conflict (April 1945), the Glosters Meteor More developed F.3s went into action from the Nijmegen base (Netherlands) to support the final offensive against Germany1.
The British, around the 1950s, replaced the Gloster Meteor - now considered outdated - with the Hawker Hunter and the Gloster Javelins.
It is worth remembering that the Australians used the Glosters in the Korean War (1950-1953). Meteor F.8. Nonetheless, the F.8s proved to be significantly inferior to the Soviet-produced Mig 15s.
Furthermore, in the 1950s, the aircraft was also used by the French, Egyptians, Syrians and Israelis in various conflicts. The French Air Force - for example - used i Meteor in the Algerian War.
The Egyptian Air Force, however, during the Suez crisis (29 October-7 November 1956) used the Glosters Meteor as ground attack aircraft against the Israeli army.
The Gloster Meteor (F.8) had a wingspan of 11,33 m, height 3,96 m, length 13,59 m.
The empty weight was 4846 kg, while fully loaded 7121 kg.
Engine: 2 Rolls-Royce RB turbojet engines. 37 Derwent. The maximum speed was 970 km/h at 3000 m. The ceiling altitude was 13000 m.
The armament consisted of 20 mm Hispano MkV cannons, RP-3 or HVAR rockets. Furthermore, the aircraft was capable of carrying two 450 kg bombs.
1 See G. Bonacina, in Storia Illustrata n°226, 1976, p.124
