IN FOCUS RECCE METEORS
Malcolm V Lowe tells the story of Gloster’s reconnaissance Meteors, and their important RAF service
The Gloster Meteor was a highly significant and successful product of Britain’s aviation industry. It was the first production jetpowered warplane of British manufacture, and was an important early gas-turbinepowered fighter, which placed the nation at the forefront of this embryonic technology field. The initial Meteor flew in March 1943, and early production examples entered RAF service with 616 Squadron of the Auxiliary Air Force during the summer of 1944. The type duly proved to be successful and have considerable growth potential. This resulted in several important developments of the basic airframe being made to fulfil a variety of specific and specialised roles. One of these dedicated taskings was for photographic reconnaissance (PR), in which the Meteor was to find a particularly successful niche.
New versions
Initially, continuing development by the type’s creator (Gloster Aircraft Company), resulted in a series of post-war day fighter versions for the RAF, which were important within Britain’s post- 1945 capability. The first of these was the single-seat F.4, which was si…
