Gloster Meteor jet fighter – September 1979

A Gloster Meteor jet fighter photographed at an airshow, or more likely an aircraft museum in September 1979.

About the Gloster Meteor jet fighter

The Meteor was the first British fighter aircraft to be powered by a jet engine, and also one of the first jet aircraft to enter service during the Second World War.

The aircraft was designed by George Carter in the early 1940s and used an engine developed by Frank Whittle who was the pioneer of jet engine design. The first prototype aircraft flew in early 1943 and then became part of the RAF’s operational aircraft in July 1944. One of it’s early uses was to track and shoot down the V-1 flying bombs, which it could do because of it’s speed which was up to 600 MPH.

After the second world war, the Meteor saw service in the Korean war and remained in use in some airforces around the world until the 1960s.