Meteor (F.9/40)
Manufacturer: Gloster
Country of Origin: Great Britain
Role: Fighter, night fighter, reconnaissance, pilot-training
A Meteor in Flight
Videos available:
A Gloster Meteor with a De Havilland Vampire
A Gloster Meteor
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Engine: Mk.I Two Rolls-Royce Welland turbojets; Derwents were installed in later versions.
Wing Span: 13.11 m (43 ft)
Length: 12.57 m (41 ft 3 in)
Height: 3.96 m (13 ft)
Weight: Gross 5,332 kg ( 11,755 lb)
Maximum Speed: 676 km/h (420 mph) at 9,145 m (30,000 ft)
Endurance: 1 hr 15 mins
Accommodation: Pilot 1, Crew 0
Armament: Mk. I: Four 20mm hispano cannons in nose
History:
First flight 5 March 1943. The Meteor was designed to Air Ministry Specification F.9/40, the first official British requirement to be issued for a single-seat interceptor powered by a gas-turbine engine. After completing 8 prototypes Gloster built 20 examples of the Mk. I, 16 of which were delivered to the RAF. Their first operational success came on 4 August 1944, when Meteors from No. 616 Squadron destroyed two V-1 flying bombs over southern England. These were the first of many V1's to be brought down by the new fighters. The major wartime version was the Meteor Mk. III (280 built) which employed the Rolls-Royce Derwent engine giving a higher maximum speed of 793 km/h (493 mph) at 9,145 m (30,000 ft). Other versions included the Mk. II (with D.H. Goblin engines) and the Mk. IV (with two Rolls Royce Derwent 5 engines). [7]
Bruce(empire2)
