Gloster Meteor

what is it?

The Gloster Meteor is the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. It was designed and primarily produced by the Gloster Aircraft Company, although its development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Frank Whittle and his company, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the Meteor began in 1940, while work on its engines had been under way as early as 1936.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 11.3 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 965 km/htop speed
• size 7,122 kgmax take-off weight
• built 3,947made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 83 years ago, in 1943.
• 🏎️Top speed is 7.4× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 11.3 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.5× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1943-03-05

introduced

1944

retired

1980

status

still flying

number built

3,947

role

fighter aircraft

origin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

makers

Gloster Aircraft Company

engines

2× Rolls-Royce Derwent 8 / turbojet

crew

1

length

13.6 m

wingspan

11.3 m

height

4 m

max take-off weight

7,122 kg

top speed

965 km/h

range

—

ceiling

13,106 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.