I'm sure that many of you reading this have as much of an interest in early jets as do I. These aircraft were the cutting edge of technology in the early/mid 1940 and were very much exploring new ground when they were developed. There were literally hundreds of designs and ideas about how to transform the new turbojets into flying aircraft, yet what finally hit the air were relatively standard-looking aircraft.

Britain's first operational combat jet was the Gloster Meteor and while its use in WWII was limited to flying bombs and, in the last months of the war, ground attack, it was still a very significant aircraft that was to see much modification and long term use. Sort of like the US P/F-80 Shooting Star.

It has been a long time since a book was done on the Meteor. My best reference on the type is a very old book from the early 1960s. Since then, there has been more information about the Meteor and so the authors have taken full advantage of that for this superb reference.

Naturally, there is a lot of emphasis on the development of the turbojet in the UK and the trials and tribulations of developing a reliable engine. The number of options available to Gloster were considerable so it was important to develop an airframe that could take advantage of different engines in case the primary power plant didn't work out. It was also helpful when it came to installing more powerful engines in the same airframe.

The story is all here including short histories of all the prototype airframes, a run-down of the different variants, the different RAF units that operated the type, foreign users, test aircraft, a look in detail at the airframe and a huge color section that includes the very colorful unit markings that were so prevalent in the 1950s.

Though I may be a bit biased as I like the aircraft, I have to say that this is probably the best history of the type yet published. It is an excellent read and one that I can recommend without reservation.

November 2006

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