The Meteor is remembered as the first British jet fighter to enter
squadron service and the only jet powered Allied fighter to see action in WWII.
Subsequent development was limited as a result of its relatively conventional
airframe although it did hold the world air speed record for a while. The Meteor
was immensely strong and many pilots owe their lives to its rugged construction.
For a whole generation of pilots the aircraft (the Meatbox as it was
affectionately known) provided the ideal introduction to jet-powered flight. It
did suffer a high accident rate but many of the losses were due to lack of
knowledge of the stresses of high speed flight at low level and a misguided
training programme. More than sixty years after its first flight the Meteor
lives on as it still used by Martin Baker to test ejection seats, testimony to
the basic soundness of the design. This book looks into the aircraft s design
history, development through many different variants and includes many
first-hand accounts of flying the aircraft in peace and
war.
