Gloster Meteor - the RAF fighter aircraft without propellers
Welcome to this latest edition of our Workbench blog and all the news, updates and modelling exclusives from the fascinating world of Airfix.
After taking a break last week to cover our latest 1/72nd scale Fairey Swordfish kit release and this week’s 80th Anniversary commemorations of Operations Cerberus/Fuller (The Channel Dash), we will be returning to the subject of new model tooling projects in this latest edition, featuring our usual selection of exclusive images for your delectation. This time, the new model project enjoying some time under the Workbench spotlight is our new 1/72nd scale Gloster Meteor tooling, a kit representation of one of the most significant British aircraft types to have ever seen Royal Air Force service, not to mention its international appeal. We will be seeing why this project turned out to be quite different from most other new tooling projects, in addition to discussing why this new kit stands as an important addition to the Airfix kit range. We might even discover how the aircraft inherited its unusual nickname.
Our latest new tooling kit project overview takes its inspiration from the early days of jet powered aviation and the only Allied jet fighter to see combat service during the Second World War, the sleek and propeller-less Gloster Meteor.
Britain’s pre-war jet power project
As our new Gloster Meteor F.8 tooling project takes centre stage this week, we are including a series of development images produced during the design phase of this exciting new project.
With the world’s first jet powered aircraft only making its combat introduction during the summer of 1944, jet technology is often thought of as being a relatively recent aviation development and certainly advancement which was fanned by the flames of war. The war certainly did have an impact on the pace of jet propulsion, however, it can be rather surprising to learn that pioneering engineers in both Britain and Germany were exploring the concept of turbojet propulsion way back in the 1930’s and indeed how the first flight of a turbojet powered aircraft actually took place days before the outbreak of the Second World War.
The pioneer of jet propulsion in Britain was Frank Whittle, a pilot officer in the Royal Air Force, who was convinced of the technological limitations of piston engines and propellers and their long-term use in future aircraft development. As the world’s military aircraft would be required to fly ever faster and at higher altitudes in future, this existing technology was already approaching its zenith would ultimately prove inefficient in supporting this development. As you may imagine, with the ominous sign of gathering war clouds, this proved to be a his rather radical theory. A brilliant designer and engineer, Whittle presented his ideas to the Air Ministry, but for some reason, the prospect of having access to incredibly powerful new engines didn’t appeal to them at that time and they appeared not to be particularly impressed. Undaunted, he simply patented the idea himself and continued development work on his project.
Whittle was soon at a stage where he had managed to test a working jet engine, however, he had the significant hurdle of now having to get his engine into the air. Working in collaboration with the Gloster Aircraft Company, this progress soon rekindled interest from the Air Ministry, who were now keen to finance the production of a concept aircraft, to see if the project had operational merit. This aircraft would be the single engined Gloster E28/39 Pioneer (W4041/G), an aircraft which made its first flight from RAF Cranwell on 15th May 1941, a day which would witness the first flight of a British jet powered aircraft - the Whittle/Gloster collaboration had a significant British aviation first to their names.
The Meteor F.8 has a very different profile from the first British jets to enter Royal Air Force service.
With the concept now proven, the race was now on to design, test and introduce Britain’s first jet powered fighter aircraft during wartime condition and under the very highest levels of security. Of course, nobody involved with this project could ever speak of their work and for an undertaking of such magnitude, a codename was most definitely required, a name which turned out to be ‘Rampage’. Testing of the new aircraft was taking place at a stage in the war when British forces were engaged in attempting to take Tripoli and the first all American air raid from bases in the UK was unleased against a German target. Under such circumstances, you might think that reports of an extremely fast aircraft flying in British skies might have caught the imagination of the general public, especially if that aircraft was reported as having no propellers, however, the development team were really effective in keeping inquisitive eyes away from the project. In addition to this, employees were fearful of being implicated with any information leaks, so the nation would have no idea that the RAF were close to entering the jet age.
Throughout the development of the new British jet, it was intended that the new aircraft would be called ‘Thunderbolt’, however, the introduction of the USAAF Republic P-47 fighter of the same name towards the end of 1942 necessitated a quick change of plan, with the name ‘Meteor’ being selected as an alternative. With the project now showing great potential, Whittle and the Gloster Aircraft Company were put under immense pressure to deliver their new jet fighter at the earliest possible opportunity, with War Production Minister, Lord Beaverbrook, instructing that the project be given ‘unique importance’ status and to take priority over all other projects. Unfortunately, the advanced nature of this technology and problems with the mass production of jet engines would result in significant delays and whilst engine run and aircraft taxiing trials would take place during 1942, the first Gloster Meteor would not take to the skies until the following year.
The RAF has its jet powered Spitfire
What, no propellers? Testing Britain’s new jet technology during wartime conditions was a real problem for the development team, particularly as this was all being done under the tightest possible levels of security.
There can be absolutely no denying that the Supermarine Spitfire was the most important British fighter of the Second World War and arguably the most famous aircraft of all time, but can you imagine how history would have judged the Gloster Meteor if the jet had entered squadron service a full year before it did, beating the Messerschmitt Me 262 into service and providing the Allies with a fast and extremely capable jet fighter into the bargain? As it turned out, persistent engine production problems continued to plague the development of the new aircraft, with the subcontracting of Power Jets W2 engine production to Rover being the main issue. Finding it difficult to come to grips with these new technologies, alternative engines would have to be procured to allow the test fight programme to get underway and soon after, the entire engine production responsibility would pass from Rover to Rolls Royce. Finally, on 5th March 1943, Meteor DG206/G, powered by two de Havilland Halford H.1 turbojets, took to the air at RAF Cranwell and Britain had officially entered the jet age.
The Gloster Meteor F.1 entered Royal Air Force service towards the end of July 1944 and the unit taking the honour of being the first to operate Britain’s first jet fighter was No.616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron, which was based at Culmhead, in Somerset. The unit had previously been operating the Spitfire Mk. VII on armed reconnaissance missions over Northern France in support of D-Day and its pilots were expecting to convert to the latest mark of Spitfire imminently. An official request for the unit’s CO and five of his best pilots to attend Farnborough for a short conversion course did not initially arouse suspicions, however, news soon began to circulate amongst the squadron that they would be arriving back at Culmhead not with new Spitfires, but with new Meteor jet fighters. Having the notable distinction of being the RAF’s first jet squadron, the arrival of the squadron’s first Meteor fighters saw a move to RAF Manston and the responsibility of taking their jets to war.
With the Messerschmitt Me 262 already in service and causing havoc amongst US bomber streams over Germany, the scene was set for the world’s first jet versus jet fighter combat and a fascinating glimpse towards future of aerial warfare, however, RAF officials were in no hurry to pit their new jet against the latest Luftwaffe fighter. Instead, the speedy Meteors would be used to combat a new threat from 13th June 1944 onwards - Doodlebugs! The first V-1 flying bomb interceptions by RAF Meteor fighters took place on 27th July 1944 in the skies above the Kent countryside. Three jets were sent against attacking Doodlebugs on that day, with just one aircraft, flown by the unit’s Squadron Leader, managing to take up a position behind a flying bomb. Sqn. Ldr. Watts had the V-1 squarely in his gun-sights, but when he pressed his gun trigger there was nothing – all four guns had jammed! The V-1 flew on and began its dive of destruction once its fuel reserves had been exhausted.
On to the design phase of this new 1/72nd scale project, the Meteor turned out to be the ideal lockdown project, as the design team had access to robust research files, including scan data used on the previously produced 1/48th scale model kit of the same aircraft.
The new Meteor starts to take shape. Using existing design data, downscaling a new tooling project is effectively a totally new design challenge, just with the reassurance that the more challenging aspects of the design have already been worked and can therefore provide them with a few more design pointers. In addition to this, the designer of the larger kit will be on hand to provide support and guidance.
During the lengthy design phase, the designer has the ability to compare his files with the scan data, overlaying his skeleton model to check he had replicated the iconic shape of the aircraft correctly.
Following this incident, V-1 Meteor interceptors hunted in pairs, as it was felt unlikely that the guns of both aircraft would fail completely at the same time. The first Meteor success against the V-1 occurred on 4th August 1944, when Pilot Officer Dean, flying Meteor EE216, spotted a Doodlebug below him, heading towards Kent. Placing his aircraft in a shallow dive, he took position astern of the flying bomb and after a short burst from the four nose mounted 20mm Hispano cannons, his guns also jammed. Desperate to bring the weapon down, he flew his Meteor alongside the V-1, as close as he possibly could, before vigorously flicking his aircraft into a bank, away from the V-1. The airflow disruption this manoeuvre created caused the gyroscopic autopilot in the Doodlebug to become unbalanced, resulting in the V-1 crashing harmlessly in the countryside below.
As is often the case with new aircraft, these first RAF Meteors were quickly superseded by a slightly improved variant of the jet fighter, with the F.3 entering service with No.616 Squadron in December 1944. By the middle of the following month, the unit had moved to RAF Colerne, where all their F.1 Meteors were exchanged for this latest variant of the fighter and just days later, four Meteors were finally sent to operate from bases in Europe and the aircraft’s possible introduction to the Luftwaffe. Initially, these aircraft operated from stations well behind the front lines and pilots were forbidden from flying into enemy territory, for fear a Meteor might fall into enemy hands. Whilst operating in Europe, RAF Meteors were initially given a rather crude coat of white paint, in an attempt to prevent Allied anti-aircraft units from firing on these strange new aircraft, an unforeseen peril facing the Allies first jet airmen.
The design files produced during this lengthy stage are also used to produce the appealing computer rendered 3D images which are used to support the announcement of new tooling projects, as box artwork, scheme details and a fully decorated sample model can be quite a way off at this stage.
Although a potential combat situation were British and German jet fighters met in the skies above Europe never materialised during WWII, RAF Meteors did encounter Luftwaffe aircraft on at least a couple of occasions before war’s end. By mid-April 1945, Meteors were finally allowed to enter enemy airspace and on one occasion, a British jet encountered a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch reconnaissance/communications aircraft. Despite the significant speed difference between the two aircraft, the Meteor pilot managed to force the enemy aircraft to land, destroying it on the ground as its crew ran for cover.
On another occasion, Meteor pilots spotted a formation of several Focke Wulf Fw 190 fighters in the distance, but as they prepared to engage, they were joined by a large number of Spitfires and Hurricanes. The Meteor pilots broke off the engagement not because their comrades had come between them and the enemy, but because they had actually started firing at them - they had mistaken the white jets for Luftwaffe Me 262s and were hoping to claim an elusive jet victory for themselves.
Underlining the rugged construction of the Meteor, during its early deployment in Europe, some of the airfields it was required to operate from were still grass fields and on one documented occasion, an aircraft was forced to land in a ploughed field after running low on fuel, before taking off again once it had filled it’s tanks. Further adding to the public aura of the new fighter, when newspaper reports announced the introduction of the Meteor, they also included the description of how its ground-breaking new engines ‘Whistled like a giant kettle’, quite an apt description really, but one which only served to increase public fascination in the new aircraft.
Meteor F.8 - the ‘mature’ Meteor
The most heavily produced variant of the Gloster Meteor, the F.8 provided the RAF with their main air defence fighter during the 1950s and could even be described as the nation’s jet powered Spitfire.
It would be accurate to say that Britain’s first jet fighter was still quite a primitive design when it originally entered service and the reason for its appearance and why it proceeded as a twin engined fighter was purely down to the fact that early jet engines were not particularly powerful at the time and were rather slow to respond to the power input requests. In contrast to this, once the aircraft was up to speed, it was a delight to fly. With no propeller to obscure the pilots view and the aircraft being equipped with a tricycle undercarriage, the view from the cockpit was exceptional both in the air and on the ground and when designers overcame the fighter’s gun jamming problems, it would prove to be an exceptionally stable gun platform.
Undergoing almost constant development, the early marks of Meteor were all based around the first aircraft to enter service, however, the service arrival of the F.8 variant in 1950 saw the Meteor maturing into a truly exceptional early jet, one which would not only see service with the RAF, but also with several other air arms across the world. Looking to keep pace with the latest breed of new jet fighters entering service with the major world powers, the Gloster Aircraft Company wanted to equip the Meteor with greater power and operational effectiveness, whilst at the same time keeping costs to a minimum by utilising as many of the existing F.4 tooling jigs as possible.
The F.8 featured a lengthened fuselage which gave this variant a sleeker, more cultured appearance over its predecessors, with other identifying features being redesigned horizontal and vertical stabilisers and an impressive new ‘blown’ cockpit canopy. From the perspective of power, the F.8 featured the new Rolls Royce Derwent 8 engines, with each one possessing 3,600Ibf of thrust and endowing the aircraft with more power and greater responsiveness. Increased structural strengthening allowed the F.8 variant to be equipped with ejection seats, something many pilots flying the earlier variants probably wished they had access to, as these early aircraft had a poor safety record and claimed the lives of many unfortunate airmen. Offensively, this latest variant was also capable of carrying two 1000Ib bombs or sixteen unguided rocket projectiles, providing the Meteor with a welcome ground attack capability.
More fascinating images from the design of the new Meteor. This image shows the wing sub-assembly and some of the impressive detail the designer has managed to incorporate into this 1/72nd scale version of Gloster’s famous jet fighter.
A computer rendered image showing how the engine detail has been replicated in design and what we can look forward to seeing on the final production model.
Arguably the most effective version of Britain’s first jet fighter, for five years following its squadron introduction, the Meteor F.8 would form the backbone of the RAF’s fighter defence force, a jet powered equivalent of the Spitfire’s which patrolled Britain’s skies during the Battle of Britain only ten years earlier. With 1,183 aircraft built, the F.8 was both the final single seater fighter variant of the Meteor and the most heavily produced, arguably making this one of the most important British aircraft of the post war era.
For all the aircraft’s many positives, it has to be acknowledged that the Meteor’s introduction was not without its challenges and it would endure something of a troubled service record. With the adoption of new technologies and pilots sometimes struggling to make the transition from piston to jet powered flight, the Meteor had a poor safety record, with many pilots paying for misjudgements or inexperience with their lives. During its RAF service, almost 900 Meteors would be lost in accidents, with pilots and ground crews giving the aircraft the unflattering nickname of the ‘Meatbox’ as a result.
As one of the world’s most successful early jet fighters, the Meteor would also prove appealing to several overseas air arms who were looking for a rugged, capable jet fighter which didn’t cost the earth. Some received former RAF machines, whilst others placed orders for new built aircraft, although it does have to be said that following the introduction of such aircraft as the North American Sabre and MiG-15, the Meteor was undoubtedly beginning to show its age.
Smart new Meteor for the Airfix range
The designer faced some significant challenges when downscaling the Meteor, as he wanted to include as much cockpit detail into his model, whilst at the same time needing to work around the manufacturing limitations of designing a kit in this smaller scale.
Announced with the launch of the latest 2022 model range and as part of a significant year for new tooling investment, our new Gloster Meteor F.8 tooling was this year’s only addition to the aviation kit range in 1/72nd scale, albeit an important one. The Airfix range has been able to boast a Gloster Meteor kit in this scale since 1970 and for an aircraft possessing this much aviation pedigree, it has always been a popular subject with modellers. Perhaps of even greater significance, this original Meteor kit was last released back in 2009, so it could be argued that this important aircraft was definitely due to land on the desk of one of our product designers before too long. Thankfully, that happened last year, allowing the Meteor to take its place in the current range launch, a development which many might view as being somewhat overdue.
As a new tooling project, the Meteor has proved to be quite unique amongst the latest crop of new models added to the range over recent years. For a number of reasons, this project has benefitted from the input of several of our designers, with each one of them forming an attachment to an aircraft type which holds a special place in British aviation history. The kit was also designed entirely during Covid lockdown and national social restrictions, with designers working remotely for long periods of the models development. This model actually tells quite an interesting Airfix story, one which describes how the design show must go on in all circumstances, but during times we all hope we will never have to endure again.
With the Airfix team unable to make visits to museums and airfields to gather research for future new tooling projects, the national restrictions had a significant impact on development thinking and the ability to maintain an active schedule of new design projects destined for future ranges. If we were unable to obtain the new research information we needed, a bit of creative thinking had to be employed to see us through these unprecedented times and we had to consider projects which could be started ‘in house’. With our research files featuring scan data and full Gloster Meteor design information created during the development of our 1/48th scale model kit released in 2015, it made good sense to use this information as the basis for a new Meteor project in the smaller 1/72nd scale - it could be said that the Meteor proved to be the ideal lockdown project.
This image montage shows how the designer took one section of the cockpit assembly and gradually built up the part to include all the detail he wanted to include. These images represent many hours of design work sat at the computer.
Another development image, this time showing the undercarriage bay detail the new Meteor kit will feature.
There is nothing like a computer rendered 3D image to illustrate just what we all have to look forward to! The Meteor F.8 is an attractive looking aeroplane and one which occupies such a significant position in the history of British aviation, it is sure to be a popular addition to the range.
Since the 1/48th scale Gloster Meteor project debuted in just the third edition of our Workbench blog, we have seen many times how our designers approach the subject of up or downscaling model design files from existing projects, so we will not be covering this same ground here. What we will say is that for a great many reasons, other than the existence of scan data and a design skeleton model for reference, designing a new model of the same subject in a different scale is in essence a completely new project, as every facet of the existing design files will have to be re-worked and any overall time savings from having existing data to refer to will be minimal. Having said that, if the project’s lead designer is unsure about any aspect of the Meteor’s design, the files he inherited will include the references he is looking for somewhere.
So, as it turns out, Britain’s historic first jet fighter proved to be an ideal lockdown new tooling project for the Airfix team and will ultimately present the modeller with a fantastic new kit of the Meteor in this smaller, traditional modelling scale. Most of the images we have included here have been kindly supplied by our Design Manager and are being shown for the very first time. We have a selection of CAD screenshots from various stages of the project, in addition to several computer rendered images taken from the same design files, but all showing the unmistakable, cultured lines of this mature F.8 variant of the Gloster Meteor.
We will be keeping a close eye on this project over the coming months and will endeavour to bring you all the latest Gloster Meteor details as the new kit progresses towards eventual release. From a Workbench perspective, that’s the early development of yet another of our 2022 new tooling project announcements crossed off the list, however, you will be pleased to hear that we have much more of this kind of content to bring you over the coming weeks.
Modeller Steve Wright makes impressive Meteor tribute
Workbench reader Steve Wright was attracted by the stunning good looks of the Meteor FR.9 and completed this impressive scale representation of this later, slightly more mature variant of Britain’s first jet fighter.
We end this latest edition of Workbench with another contribution from one of our talented modelling readers and a recent model build we spotted on a modelling social media site. The model which attracted our attention was this beautifully finished example of the third kit release from our 1/48th scale Gloster Meteor kit, one which features the fighter reconnaissance variant of this famous aircraft. Making contact with modeller Steve Wright, he kindly allowed us to include details of his Meteor build in this latest edition of our blog, sending us a selection of images to allow fellow readers to see just what attracted us in the first place.
The FR.9 version of the Meteor featured a modified nose section which housed three remotely controlled Williamson F.24 cameras, with each one taking pictures through one of three window positions, allowing the pilot to obtain the best possible images of his assigned target. Significantly, the aircraft also retained the cannon armament of the F.8 variant of the Meteor, so was able to switch from reconnaissance to attack mode if and when required and was also more than capable of defending itself from enemy attack should that need arise. Seeing extensive service operating from RAF bases overseas, the Meteor FR.9 was also equipped with additional fuel carrying capacity in the form of external underwing and ventral fuel tanks, greatly increasing the range and loiter capabilities of these aircraft.
A09188 - Gloster Meteor FR.9, WX978, RAF No.2 Squadron, Royal Air Force Germany, Gutersloh, Germany, May 1953.
Steve decided to complete his model with several panels open, revealing lots beautiful engine detailing.
With its ability to undertake high speed armed reconnaissance operations, the Gloster Meteor FR.9 would see much of its service operating with squadrons stationed away from the UK. As well as the Far and Middle East, the 2nd Tactical Air Force in Germany would make full use of the capabilities of the aircraft, receiving its first examples in December 1950. Flying in the colours of No.2 Squadron (and later No.79 Squadron), these aircraft would be regularly employed patrolling the West German border, photographing areas of particular interest and attempting to deter any Soviet incursion which may lead to potential conflict.
Once again adopting an attractive, if rather unusual colour scheme, Meteor WX978 would go on to end its flying career in Aden, where so many RAF photo reconnaissance Meteors would eventually ply their specialist trade. It was written off following an incident in January 1959, where it ran off the runway at RAF Khormaksar at speed – during its take-off run, the aircraft suffered a port main wheel tyre burst, which caused the Meteor to veer off the runway and bury itself into sand at the side of the runway. As was the case with the previous aircraft, the resourceful RAF engineers at the base would have ensured anything that could be used on another aircraft would have been removed from the wreckage prior to the Meteor either being scrapped or left to rot on a remote area of the airfield.
A final look at Steve’s stunning Meteor and thanks to his images, confirmation that the Gloster Meteor looks good in whatever scale you decide to model it.
Steve has managed to beautifully capture the unusual appearance of this Fighter/Reconnaissance version of the Meteor, with its attractive paint scheme only serving to further enhance the appeal of this stunning build. We would like to thank Steve for allowing us to feature his build in this latest, Gloster Meteor dominated edition of Workbench.
That’s all we have for you in this latest edition of Workbench, but we will be back as usual next Friday with more modelling news, updates and exclusive imagery from the fascinating world of Airfix. If you have any comments in connection with the blog, or would like to suggest a subject to be covered in a future edition, please do drop us a quick line using our workbench@airfix.com e-mail address. The Workbench team would be only too pleased to hear from you.
If you would like to continue the Airfix modelling discussions between editions of the blog, the Airfix Workbench Forum is the place to be, however, if you simply wish to keep up to date with all the latest Airfix modelling news, you can access our official social media sites, or simply head for the Airfix website, where you will find all the details you need.
If you have yet to add our sites to your favourites, you can find links to our Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram sites at the bottom of our website homepage.
Thank you for continuing to support our Airfix Workbench blog.
