X-Nico

5 unusual facts about Gloster Meteor


736 Naval Air Squadron

The squadron moved to RNAS Culdrose in 1950 where in August 1952, it was eventually disbanded as piston-engined squadron and reformed as the Advanced Jet Flying School; operating Supermarine Attacker and Meteor T.7 jet aircraft.

Bell P-59 Airacomet

Royal Air Force received one aircraft, becoming RG362/G, in exchange for a Gloster Meteor I EE210/G.

One of these aircraft, the third YP-59A (S/n: 42-22611) was supplied to the Royal Air Force (receiving British serial RG362/G), in exchange for the first production Gloster Meteor I, EE210/G.

Bryce Poe II

Poe was assigned to Allied Forces Northern Europe, Oslo, Norway, in August 1952 as a fighter operations officer flying de Havilland Vampires, Gloster Meteors, F-84 Thunderjets and F-86 Sabres with the Royal Norwegian and Royal Danish air forces.

St Andrew's Church, Tangmere

An RAF World War II Ace, he was the holder of the Flight airspeed record, set in a Gloster Meteor in 1946 which took off and landed from RAF Tangmere.


Brockworth, Gloucestershire

The company produced the Gloster Gladiator; Hawker Hurricane; Hawker Typhoon; Gloster Meteor and Gloster Javelin and its runway became famous for the first flight of Sir Frank Whittle's turbo-jet aircraft.

During World War II its Gloster Aircraft Company produced the famous Hawker Hurricane fighter, and following the war it gained renewed fame for producing several notable aircraft, including Britain's first jet aircraft, which was test flown here.

Derek Piggott

Back in the UK he was posted as a Staff Instructor at RAF's Central Flying School at Little Rissington where he trained instructors and flew Harvards, Balliols, Athenas, Meteors, Spitfires, Mosquitos and Lancasters.

Fireflash

Many of the 300 missiles were expended in testing by 6 JSTU at RAF Valley and Woomera, South Australia from 1955–1957 using Meteor NF11 trials aircraft and subsequently by the Supermarine Swift fighters of No. 1 Guided Weapons Development Squadron at RAF Valley.

No. 5 Squadron RAF

The squadron was part of the defence cuts of 1957 but was restored in 1959 as a night fighter squadron at RAF Laarbruch, Germany, first flying the Gloster Meteor NF.11 before re-equipping with the delta winged Gloster Javelin.

No. 541 Squadron RAF

The squadron reformed at RAF Benson on 1 November 1947 and in December 1950 its Spitfires were replaced with Meteors which it operated from RAF Bückeburg, RAF Laarbruch and RAF Gütersloh before it disbanded again on 7 September 1957.

RAF Coningsby

On 17 August 1953 52 year old Air Vice-Marshal William Brook, the AOC of 3 Group, took off from the base in a Gloster Meteor, and crashed into a Dutch barn at Bradley, Staffordshire.

RAF Tangmere

In September 1946, a world air speed record of 616 mph (991 km/h) was set by Group Captain Edward "Teddy" Mortlock Donaldson in a Gloster Meteor; after his death in 1992, he was buried in St Andrews Church.

Rolls-Royce Welland

The engine was renamed the Welland after the English river, and entered production in 1943 for use on the Gloster Meteor.


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