First off the runway is Britain's debut jet fighter and the only Allied jet aircraft to reach operational status during World War II. I can only recall having made 2 Gloster Meteors in my scale modelling 'career' and surprisingly both are in my back catalog. The first was the Mk.3 variant from WWII which I built as an Airfix 'Dogfight Doubles' kit together with a V-1 flying bomb. I recall at the time thinking what an unbelievable cheek this was, Airfix charging for 2 models when the second was made of no more that 5 pieces and perhaps 1/5 of the plastic of the other! The second was the post war Mk.4 which I built as part of a previous Korean War phase that I was going through! During the 'top up' research for this post, I discovered a small but fundamental error in my earlier appreciation of the RAF's Korean War heritage, something you'll discover if you read on. The upshot of this is that neither of these Meteors would have appeared in the sky over Korea in their presented schemes, however, I'm still happy having painted the contemporary Mk.4 in the colour scheme of 600 squadron Meteors which, during the Korean War, were actually based at RAF Biggin Hill, Kent; a village in which I spent many a happy time aircraft spotting during my youthful and formative years.
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| Revell's Gloster Meteor Mk.4 1:72 scale |
As for the Gloster Meteor, despite its radical use of jet power, for the time, it was very conventional in design and was never considered to be cutting edge in performance. Having straight wings, missing the memo that swept wings were better, it was not much faster than the fastest piston-fighters such as the P-51 Mustang and Spitfire. The jet engine was still in its infancy and far from a proven technology. The most notable jet fighter at the time was the Messerschmitt Me 262, which was well along in production, but at a price, as its engines weren’t fully developed and it could be a dangerous aircraft to fly. The British, meanwhile, wanted to ensure the Meteor was airworthy before entering service. The delays in doing so lost it the clear advantage it would have had in surpassing the Me 262 in performance and numbers.
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| Meteor F.3 of No. 616 (F) Sqn. RAF Manston 1944 |
Given its late arrival and British desire for design secrecy, the Meteor was never destined to come up against the Me 262 in a dogfight but instead was put to work countering the V-1 flying bomb threat. Meteors of No. 616 Squadron undertook their first operational jet combat mission on 27 July 1944, when three aircraft were active over Kent and went on to record their first two V-1 kills on 4 August. By the end of the war, Meteors had accounted for the destruction of a total of 14 flying bombs. After the end of the V-1 threat, and the introduction of the ballistic V-2 rocket, the RAF was forbidden to fly the Meteor on combat missions over German-held territory for fear of an aircraft being shot down and salvaged by the Germans or the Soviets!
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| Meteor F.4 of No.600 (City of London) Sqn. RAF Biggin Hill 1951 |
The next-generation post war Meteor F.4 went into service in 1946 with 16 RAF squadrons who were already operating Meteors. The F.4 was faster than the F.3 at sea level but the reduced wings impaired its rate of climb; the F.4 wingspan was shorter than the F.3 and had blunter wing tips copying a design also proven on the later Spitfire Mk V & FR.IXc.
When North Korea invaded South Korea on 25th June 1950, the United Nations condemned the action and UN troops were ordered into action. Whereas the Royal Navy carriers and Fleet Air Arm were heavily involved in the air fighting and ground attack sorties, the RAF had no actual fighter squadrons in Korea, RAF pilots being instead assigned to USAF squadrons. This was a very different experience for British pilots, as the American training curricula remained basically unchanged from WWII, focussing on air combat, while in Cold War Europe, British pilots were almost solely being drilled on rapid [Russian] Bomber interception. So, while my Meteors are both painted in the colours of RAF squadrons, the Meteors which fought in the Korean War were those of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). I can perhaps see a need for another Meteor for my collection!
The RAAF had actually attempted to procure Sabres to replace the Mustangs of their No.77 Squadron in 1951, but with the priority being given to re-equipping the USAF, deliveries to the RAAF would not be possible until 1954. The Australian government, therefore, agreed to purchase Gloster Meteors from Britain being the only viable alternative. The first missions for No.77 Squadron’s Meteors were flying offensive sweeps up the Yalu River with USAF flying 'their' Sabres, and escorting Boeing B-29 Superfortresses on bombing missions.
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| No. 77 Squadron RAAF Briefing |
North Korean MiG-15s, flown by Russian and Chinese pilots, appeared over Korea in 1951 and at first they held off engaging the Meteors; it was speculated at the time, and subsequently confirmed, that they had been observing the performance of the newly arrived RAAF jets. Then on 29th August 1951, eight Meteors and sixteen Sabres were engaged in a dogfight with twelve MiGs; one RAAF pilot ejected when his aircraft was shot down, and a second Meteor was badly damaged. A week later another Meteor suffered severe damage in a dogfight with MiGs. As a result of these clashes, it was clear that the Meteor was outclassed as a fighter and it was subsequently removed from its air-to-air combat role and operations in "MiG Alley" (the area between the Yalu and Chongchon Rivers on North Korea's border with Manchuria) curtailed. Being relegated mainly to escort duty and local air defence caused controversy among those who believed that proper tactics exploiting the Meteor's manoeuvrability and heavy armament would have allowed it to remain competitive as a fighter.
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| Gloster Meteor Mk.4 of No.600 (City of London) Sqn. RAF Biggin Hill 1951 |
A change in RAAF squadron command during December 1951 resulted in a reassessment of the Meteor's capability and it was returned to an offensive role; although this time to one more suitable to its disposition, namely ground attack. Despite the earlier challenges, the 3 years of hostilities concluded for No. 77 Squadron with them having 'removed from enemy hands': 3,700 buildings, 1,500 vehicles, 16 bridges and three MiG-15s!
In 1956, although continuing to be used for pilot training until 1962, the Meteor flew its last front line service operation, to be replaced by the newer jet aircraft types of the Hawker Hunter and Gloster Javelin.
Title: Dogfight Doubles V1 Flying Bomb | Gloster Meteor III
Number: A50039
Scale: 1:72
Type: Multi-kit
Released: 2008 | Rebox (Changed box only)
Title: Gloster Meteor Mk.4
Number: 04658 (Also listed as 80-4658)
Scale: 1:72
Type: Full kit
Released: 2011 | Rebox (Updated/New parts)
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