Armstrong Whitworth Meteor F.8 "Prone Pilot" & other experiments

Now, this is the last post about the Armstrong Whitworth Meteor and, therefore we are covering the prototypes of it, spanning from the 1950s up to the 1980s.

About the prone pilot, it dates back to an idea that was very attractive back in the 1950s for two reasons. First because it would reduce the frontal area and therefore it would've reduced the drag and secondly because the crew can hold greater inertial forces.

As the RAF Institute of aviation medicine required an aircraft that could fly in prone position, Armstrong Whitworth took the last Meteor F.8 they had manufactured and joined that institue in autumn 1954. They carried out all the modifications which consisted on a second cockpit added to the front, with a custom-built couch, an offset tiny control column and suspended rear pedals. The tail was also replaced with one from the NF.12. The prone test pilot had a very complicated emergency escape as he had to jettison the rudder pedals, crawl backwards towards an escape hatch and retract the nose wheel. Fortunately it was never used.

After 55 hours of testing in 99 flights, the results were inconclusive. even if the prone position was feasible, the development of the G-suits offered a much simpler solution to the G-forces and the prone position wasn't needed no more.

The other one is a Meteor that was modified in the 1970s in order to install on it a BAS TSR.2 nose cone under Royal Radar Establishment command, to perform some radar trials. It was active until the 1980s.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor_F8_"Prone_Pilot"
2. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 22 - Gloster Meteor
3. http://q-zon-fighterplanes.com/fighter-jets-in-action/fighters-uk/uk-ii/

Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.14 - British users, part two

This is the final post about the "regular" Meteor NF.

The Meteor NF.14 was the final development of the Meteor NF series. It made it's maiden flight on 23rd October 1953 and was based on the Meteor NF.12. It was even longer than the NF.12 in order to fit new equipment and the framed canopy from the T.7 version was replaced by a bubbled one.

Only 100 of them were built and entered in service in February 1954 and started to be replaced in 1956 by the Gloster Javelin. Overseas they were in active service for more time serving with the No.60 squadron based at RAF Tengah, in Singapore until 1961.
As it was being replaced some of them were converted to the training role, denominated NF(T).14 and transferred to the No.2 Air Navigation School on RAF Thorney Island and then were transferred to the No.1 Air Navigation School on RAF Stradishall where they served until 1965.

It was powered by two Rolls-Royce Derwent 9 delivering 16.9Kn of thrust each of them and was armed with four 20mm ADEN Cannons located in the wings.

The squadrons covered in this post are:

• No.85 Squadron RAF: After the war the squadron was reformed as a night-fighter unit and this squadron received Meteors NF.14 together with some NF.12. They were replaced by the Gloster Javelin. 
• No.264 Squadron RAF: When based at RAF Linton-on-ouse, this squadron received the Meteor NF.14 in October 1954 to replace the Meteor NF.11 that had been in active service with this squadron. They were written-off when this squadron was disbanded.

Also, the Meteor NF.14 served with these squadrons:

• No.25 Squadron RAF: This squadron had the Meteor NF.14 in active service together with the NF.12, replacing the Vampires in March 1954. The squadron was disbanded on  23rd June 1958 and, on 1st July 1958 the No.153 Squadron was renamed No.25 Squadron, was equipped with Meteors which were replaced by the Gloster Javelin.
• No.64 Squadron RAF: In September 1956 the Meteor F.8 of this squadron were replaced by the Meteor NF.12 and NF.14 when based at RAF Duxford. They were replaced again by the Gloster Javelin in September 1958.
• No.152 Squadron RAF: This squadron was reformed at RAF Wattisham on 1st June 1954 as a night fighter unit and was equipped with the Meteor NF.12 and NF.14. They were in active service until it was disbanded at RAF Stradishall on 11th July 1958. 
• No.153 Squadron RAF: This squadron was equipped with Meteors NF.12 and 14 in 1958 when it was renamed No.25 Squadron.
• No. 228 OCU, No.238 AWOCU and CFE: These units had also Meteor NF.14 in service, however we couldn't find any info whatsoever.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor

2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 22 - Gloster Meteor

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._85_Squadron_RAF

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._264_Squadron_RAF

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._25_Squadron_RAF

7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._64_Squadron_RAF

8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._152_Squadron_RAF

9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._153_Squadron_RAF

Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.14 - British Users, part one

The squadrons covered in this post are:

• No. 33 Squadron: The Meteors NF.14 replaced the De Havilland Venom NF.2 in October 1957 and was rebased from RAF Driffield, in East Riding of Yorkshire, to RAF Leeming, in North Yorkshire. The Meteors served until April 1958 when they were replaced by the Gloster Javelin and moved on to RAF Middleton St. George, located in County Durham.
• No. 60 Squadron: This unit received their new Meteors NF.14 in October 1959 when based at RAF Tengah, in Singapore in the context of Malayan Emergency. They were replaced in July 1961 when the newly Gloster Javelin arrived.
• No.46 Squadron: This squadron received the NF.14 at RAF Odiham on 15 August 1954 together with some NF.12 but due to training, it wasn't until October of that same year that this squadron was available at full strength. Their replacement started in January 1956 when the first Gloster Javelin arrived.
• No.72 Squadron: This squadron received the NF.14 and NF.12 in February 1956 when those models replaced the Meteors F.8 of this squadron. They were replaced in 1959 by the Gloster Javelin.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor

2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint Series 22 - Gloster Meteor

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._33_Squadron_RAF

5.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._60_Squadron_RAF

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._46_Squadron_RAF

7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._72_Squadron_RAF

Armstrong Whitworth NF.14 - Foreign Users

It's time for the foreign users of the last variant of the Meteor Night Fighter.

• Biafra: In the context of the Nigerian civil war, the Biafran government was able of setting-up a tiny air force composed by second-hand airplanes like the Douglas A-26 Invader, piloted by mercenaries. As they lacked fighters, they managed to stage a fake film-producer company named Enterprise Films, that bought two Meteors NF.14, that by then, they were completely outdated in the United Kingdom with the subterfuge of being used in a war film. When sent to Biafra, one of them crashed during the ferry flight between Madeira island and Cape Verde (both of them under Portuguese rule back then) and the second had to land in the city of Bissau, also under Portuguese rule, due to some technological failure. It was abandoned there and was never handed over to the Biafran authorities in 1967.
•  France: Apparently the French Centre d'Essais en Vol (CEV) bought even another variant of the Meteor to use it in the CEV. It was probably used to perform some experiments that would help to develop another airplanes.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor

2. Salamander Books- The Complete Book of Fighters

3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint series 22 - Gloster Meteor

4. https://defenceoftherealm.wordpress.com/2015/07/26/the-biafran-meteor-caper/

Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.13 - British Users

As the history of the Meteor NF.13 seems to be linked to the Suez crisis... now it's the turn of the British users of this aircraft.

The Meteor NF.13 was a tropicalised version of the Meteor NF.11. Physically it only differed from the regular NF.11 in that the air-intake holes of the engines were broader to allow more air to get in.

It flew for the first time on 23rd December 1952 and, wasn't free of problems. The heavily framed canopy offered poor visibility specially when landing, under-wing external fuel tanks tended to break-up when the wing cannons were fired and gun harmonisation was poor due to wings flexing in flight.

The NF.13 served with the next British squadrons:

• No.39 Squadron: The Meteor replaced the Mosquitoes NF.36 of this squadron when it was based in RAF Fayid, in March 1953and then moved on to Malta in 1955. It was rebased to RAF Nicosia in 1956 when the Suez crisis started in order to take part in the Operation Musketeer. After that, it was rebased back to Malta where it was re-equipped with Canberras on 30th June 1958.
• No.219 Squadron: On October 1952 this squadron, based at RAF Kabrit, in Egypt, very close to the Suez Canal, replaced their Mosquitoes NF.36 and by April 1953 it was fully equipped with Meteors NF.13. It was disbanded in September 1954.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint Series no.22 - Gloster Meteor
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._39_Squadron_RAF
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._219_Squadron_RAF

Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.13 - Foreign Users

Today it's the turn for the foreign users of the Meteor NF.13 which weren't few of them.

• Egypt: In 1955 the Egyptian government received three Meteor T Mk.7, six Meteor NF.13 and eight Meteor F.8 as a consequence of an order placed by it's government back in December 1952. As Egypt was under an arms embargo, the United Kingdom allowed the sale with the hope of improving relations with Egypt, however the tensions over the Suez Canal would lead to another arms embargo. They equipped the Egyptian No.10 Squadron and took part in the 1956 Suez crisis. One Egyptian NF.13 claimed to have damaged a British Vickers Valiant bomber during the conflict. However, as the aerial bombing campaign carried-out by the Anglo-French forces in the Operation Musketeer destroyed many Egyptian airplanes stationed in the ground, the Egyptian Air Force decided to withdraw their operation from the Sinai peninsula.
• France: The French CEV (Centre d'Essais en Vol - Centre of in-flight experiments) adquired at least one Meteor NF.13 which was used for experiments. Further details are unknown and the colours displayed in the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Israel: In early 1956 Israel placed an order to buy six Meteor NF.13, with three being delivered that year, before the month of October (when the Suez crisis sparked) and the other were delayed by an arms embargo, and were handed over in 1958. Those three airplanes played a key role in the crisis as an Israeli NF.13 shot down an Egyptian Ilyushin Il-14 carrying many Egyptian high-ranking military officers in the context of Operation Tarnegol. The Israeli NF.13 remained in active service with the 119 Tajeset (119th Squadron) until 1962.
• Syria: The fledgling Syrian Air Force had only one active squadron back in the 1950s, the 1st one and it was equipped both with Meteor F.8 and one or two NF.13. However they lacked any radar and combat training wasn't provided, so the Syrian pilots had to train with their Egyptian counterparts. It's claimed that, in the context the Suez crisis an unknown Meteor shot down a British Canberra that was performing reconnaissance missions over Syria, more precisely over the city of Homs. Anyway, almost any Meteor was replaced in 1957 by the Soviet MiG-17 as that airplane was cheaper and the USSR offered also combat training. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor

2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint Serie No.22 - Gloster Meteor

Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.12

After the brief post about the Japanese airplane, we're back in the United Kingdom with the Meteor.

The Meteor NF.12 was a development of the previous NF.11 fitted with the new American APS-21 radar system. It made it's maiden flight on 21st April 1953 and was similar to the NF.11 albeit a bit longer, 43.2cm longer to be more precise. As the keel area was bigger the fin was enlarged to compensate.
In order to counter the wig-wag effect that affected the gunsight, an anti-tramp that opperated the rudder was fitted midway up to the front leading edge of the fin.

It was powered by the new version of the Rolls-Royce Derwent 9 engines, so the wings were reinforced to cope with that new engine. The deliveries of this variant started in 1953 and it started serving with the squadrons in early 1954. The armament remained the same as the NF.11.

The depicted squadrons below are:

• No.46 Squadron RAF: This squadron was reformed from the transport role to the night-fighter role on 15th August 1954 at RAF Odiham. The squadron was composed by 12 NF.12, 12 NF.14 and one Meteor T.7 for training. They were gradually replaced by the Gloster Javelin in January 1956 and the Meteors that were in service with this squadron passed on to the No.72 Squadron RAF.
• No.85 Squadron RAF: This squadron had the Meteor NF.12 in service during the 1950s when based at RAF Church Fenton.
• No.152 Squadron RAF: This squadron received the Meteor NF.12 together with some NF.14 on 1st June 1954 when it was reformed as a night-fighter unit at RAF Wattisham and was disbanded at RAF Stradishall on 11th July 1958.
• No.153 Squadron RAF: This unit received both Meteors NF.12 and NF.14 in 1955 and was disbanded at RAF West Mailing in 1957.

Also, we haven't drawn them, but the NF.12 served also with these other squadrons:

• No.25 Squadron RAF: This squadron was dedicated to the night fighting duties and received the Meteor NF.12 as a replacement for the De Havilland Vampire NF.10 in February 1951. Then, in 1954 they were starting to be replaced by the Meteor NF.14.
• No.29 Squadron RAF: This squadron had the NF.12 in active until 1957 when they were replaced by the Gloster Javelin.
• No.64 Squadron RAF: The Meteor NF.12 and NF.14 replaced the Meteor F.8 of this squadron on September 1956. The Meteors remained in active service until September 1958 when they were replaced by the Gloster Javelin.
• No.72 Squadron RAF: In 1952 this unit was reformed as a night-fighter role and received the Meteor NF.12 and NF.14. They were replaced in 1959 by the Gloster Javelin.
• No.264 Squadron RAF: On October 1954 this squadron received the Meteor NF.12 together with the NF.14. They served until 30th September 1957 when the squadron was disbanded and was re-numbered as No. 33 Squadron RAF.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor

2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint Series No.22 - Gloster Meteor.

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._46_Squadron_RAF

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._85_Squadron_RAF

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._152_Squadron_RAF

7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._153_Squadron_RAF

8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._25_Squadron_RAF

9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._29_Squadron_RAF

10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._64_Squadron_RAF

11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._72_Squadron_RAF

12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._264_Squadron_RAF

Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.11 - British Users, part three

We forgot to include a technical description of the airplane. We're sorry.

As the De Havilland Mosquito NF variant was becoming obsolete, the Meteor was used as an interim replacement. Initially Gloster had proposed a design based on the trainer variant of the Meteor with the pilot in the front and the navigator in the rear.

The design was accepted by the Air Ministry but it was quickly transferred to Armstrong Whitworth which had been manufacturing, under license the Meteor.

Armstrong Whitworth performed both the detailed design process and production of the type, and the first prototype of the NF.11 flew on 31st May 1950. Although based on the Meteor T.7, it used the fuselage and tail of the F.8 and the longer wings of the F.3. The nose was extended to fit the AI Mk.X radar (which was a license-built Westinghouse SCR-720) air intercept radar. Because of that, the 20mm British Hispano Mk.V cannons had to be moved to the wings, outboard of the engines. A ventral fuel tank and wing mounted fuel tanks completed the design.

It was powered by two wing-mounted Rolls-Royce Derwent 8 turbojet engines delivering each of them 16,01Kn thrust.

The squadrons covered today are:

• No.151 Squadron: In 1946 this squadron was disbanded but was activated again on 15th September 1951 in the night fighter role at RAF Leuchars, in Scotland. Initially they were equipped with the De Havilland Vampire NF.10, but in March 1953 they were re-equipped with the Meteor NF.11. The Meteors were in active service with this squadron until September 1955 when they were replaced with the De Havilland Venom NF.3.
• No.228 Squadron (OCU): The Meteor served in this OCU squadron in 1953
• No.256 Squadron: This squadron was assigned to Germany and was re-equipped with the Meteor NF.11 as part of the No.125 Wing belonging to the 2nd Tactical Air Force. It was activated in RAF Ahlhorn in 1953 and, when that airfield was handed back to German authorities in 1958, it was re-located to RAF Geilenkirchen. The Meteors served until 1960, when they were replaced by the Gloster Javelin and the Squadron was re-numbered as No.11 Squadron.

Also, although we haven't drawn them, the Meteor also served with the next squadrons:

• No.85 Squadron: After World War II, this squadron remained active in the night fighter role, serving with Meteors during the 1950s until they were replaced by the Gloster Javelin.
• No.264 Squadron: In 1951 this squadron, was rellocated to RAF Linton-on-Ouse where they replaced the Mosquitoes NF.30 and NF.35 with the newly built Meteors NF.11.  They were in active service until 1954 when they were replaced with the Meteor NF.14. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor

2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._151_Squadron_RAF

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_conversion_unit

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._256_Squadron_RAF

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._85_Squadron_RAF

7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._264_Squadron_RAF
8. Hall Park Books - Warpaint Series 22- Gloster Meteor

Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.11 - British Users, part two

The squadrons covered today are:

• No.87 Squadron RAF: When the 2nd Tactical was assigned to Germany in 1st January 1952, the No. 87 Squadron was reformed and moved to RAF Wahn, in Germany equipped with the Meteor NF.11. It was committed to the task of defending the Ruhr. In 1957 it was moved to RAF Brüggen, also in Germany and the Meteors were replaced with the Gloster Javelin.
• No.96 Squadron: In 17th November 1952 the No.96 was re-activated at RAF Ahlhorn, in Germany. It was equipped with the Meteor NF.11 and was committed to provide fighter cover for Germany until it was renumbered No.3 Squadron and was equipped with Gloster Javelins on 21st January 1959.
• No.125 Squadron: On 31st March 1955 the No.125 Squadron was re-activated at RAF Stradishall, in Suffolk. The Meteors were in active service for a brief period of time as they were replaced in late 1955 by the De Havilland Venom NF.3.
• No.141 Squadron: This unit was briefly equipped with Meteors NF.11 on 1955 at RAF Tangmere before being re-equipped and their roles rechanged to a missile ground-air unit. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor

2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._87_Squadron_RAF

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._96_Squadron_RAF

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._125_Squadron_RAF

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._141_Squadron_RAF

Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.11 - British Users, part one

Today we start a series of posts about the British users of the Armstrong Whitworth Meteor. The squadrons/units covered in this post are:

• No.6 Joint Services trials unit: A meteor NF.11 was used in Australia as a testbed for the Blue-Sky air-to-air missile between 1955 and 1957. The Meteor NF.11 has, this way the honour of being the first British airplane to be equipped with an air-to-air missile.
• No.5 Squadron: As this squadron suffered from the defence cuts of 1957, it was disbanded but it was restored again in 1959 in RAF Laarbruch, Germany. It was re-equipped with Meteors NF.11 (they had been previously flying De Havilland Vampires and De Havilland Venoms) and were replaced by the Gloster Javelin. 
• No.29 Squadron: This squadron remained in active status during the post-war years as a night/all weather fighter unit, equipped with the De Havilland Mosquito NF.30 and based at RAF Acklington. The Mosquitoes were replaced by the Meteor NF.11 in August 1951 and then, in November 1957 they were replaced by the Gloster Javelin.
• No.68 Squadron: On 1 January 1952 this squadron was reformed as a night-fighter one at RAF Wahn, in Germany and was equipped with the Meteor NF.11 until it was renumbered as No.5 Squadron on 20 January 1959.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor

2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint Series 22 - Gloster Meteor

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._5_Squadron_RAF

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._29_Squadron_RAF

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._68_Squadron_RAF

Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.11 - French Users

As the French Air Force wanted to update their fighter fleet, and after testing a pair of Meteor MK.IV with very good results, the French Air Force ordered 25 new airplanes plus 16 ex-RAF ones.
They were purchased in 1954 and were delivered between September 1954 to April 1955.

The Meteor replaced the Mosquito NF.30 with the Escadre de Chasse 30, where it would serve until being replaced by the Sud Aviation Vautour in 1957.

Many Meteor NF.11 saw combat service in the Algerian war, where they were transferred to the Escadre Chasse de Nuit (Night Fighter Squadron) 1/7 which operated from Bône, in the north-east of Algeria. Those Meteor that weren't employed in combat, were used for training purposes, specially to train the crews that would serve with the Vautour.

Five of the were transferred to the Centre d'Essais en Vol (CEV) in 1958 where they served as testbed and chase planes for various purposes including radar and missile tests and during the development of the ill-fated Concorde airliner.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.11 - Various foreign users

Note: So far we're only covering those variants of the Gloster Meteor built and designed by Armstrong Whitworth.

The Armstrong Whitworth Meteor in it's night fighter variant was used by many countries, those countries were:

• Belgium: In July 1949 Belgium decided to create three night fighter squadrons before the end of 1951 and, in May 1948 the No.10 night-fighter squadron equipped with De Havilland Mosquitos NF.30 was formed at Beauvechain. On 1st July 1951 the No.11 Night-Fighter Squadron was formed and the Mosquitos were split between those two squadrons until the Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.11 arrived in the summer of 1952. Initially they were used by both squadrons but later all of them were allocated to the No.11 Night Fighter squadron. In 1953 the Mosquitos were written-off and the pilots were allocated to the No.11 Squadron. Later, in 1956 more second-hand Meteors were bought in order to re-equip both squadrons. They were replaced by the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck. 
• Denmark: The Royal Danish Air Force equipped their night-fighter squadron, Eskadrille 723 with the Meteor NF.11. They were replaced in 1959 by the North American F-86D Sabre Dog.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor

2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

3. http://www.belgian-wings.be/Webpages/Navigator/Photos/MilltaryPics/post_ww2/Gloster%20-AW-%20Meteor%20NF.11/Gloster%20Meteor%20NF11%20Frontpage.htm

4. https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskadrille_723 (translated)