Britain’s first operational jet fighter, entering Royal Air Force service in 1944 and continuing into the early Cold War.
Development
Gloster Meteor was developed by Gloster Aircraft Company in United Kingdom as a fighter. The family first flew in 1943 and entered service in 1944. Its recorded airframe configuration is fixed wing, with the family classified in the archive as core combat-aircraft scope.
Operational History
Operationally, Gloster Meteor is represented primarily in the fighter role. The sourced variant records include service with Royal Air Force. Its documented combat-history coverage includes World War II. Role tags attached to the family include air superiority.
Variants and Lineage
Major variants represented in the structured record include Meteor F.1, Meteor F.3, and Meteor F.8.
Variants
| Designation | Type | Role | Recorded operators |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meteor F.1 | Production | Fighter | Royal Air Force |
| Meteor F.3 | Production | Fighter | Royal Air Force |
| Meteor F.8 | Production | Fighter | Royal Air Force |
Representative specifications
Configuration-specific profiles are shown separately so values from different variants are not blended into one false “standard” aircraft.
Meteor F.3 — C012 baseline technical profile
- Crew
- 1
Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Derwent I
Armament: Four 20 mm Hispano cannon.
Meteor F.8 — C013 transition technical profile
- Crew
- 1
Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Derwent 8 turbojets
Armament: Four 20 mm Hispano cannon.
Sources and further reading
Structured references supporting this aircraft family, variants, specifications, and narrative sections.
- Gloster Meteor F8 — Royal Air Force Museum · Tier 2
- Aircraft of the Royal Air Force since 1918 — Putnam · Tier 3