Gloster Meteor Mk IV (Special) EE549/7008M

 Print page

Manufactured by Gloster Aircraft Company, Hucclecote Glos in 1946. Contract 1490

Service History
Date Notes
One of three Mk.IV Meteors (EE548-50) modified at Glosters to Special (or 'Star') status for the High Speed Flight to improve on airspeed record of 606 mph set on the 7th Nov 1945 by Meteor F Mk IV EE454 (Grp Capt H.J.Wilson AFC). The aircraft had special duralumin cockpit covers and faired over gun ports. The skin irregularities were filled in, air brakes locked and the VHF mast removed with a machmeter in place of the gyro gunsight. It was painted in the standard day fighter scheme of dark grey and dark green although it was highly polished.
1st August 1946 Taken on charge.
8th August 1946 Issued to RAF High Speed Flight at RAF Tangmere, Sussex. The unit was formed at Tangmere on 14 Jun 1946 as the Fighter Command High Speed Flight. Practice flights limited by adverse weather conditions.
12th/ 13th August 1946 Fitted with specially Derwent V engines providing 700 lb additional thrust each.
14th August 1946 Air test. First flight at 12.40 p.m. aborted after two minutes due to a minor electrical fault. Second flight achieved a true speed of 626 mph for 3 minutes at 3,000 feet.
20th August 1946 Further trials over course.
23rd August 1946 Returned to Glosters at Moreton Valence for repair. Skin buckled under the belly of the rear fuselage aft of the trailing edge. Inspection revealed buckled frames and twisted stringers, necessitating a very careful flight back to Glosters for overnight repair involving three new frames.
25th August 1946 Returned to RAF Tangmere.
7th September 1946 Flown from Tangmere by the Flights' Commanding Officer, Group Captain E.M.Donaldson DSO, AFC and achieved absolute world airspeed record of 615.78 mph at Rustington off the Sussex coast. Taking off at 5.58 p.m. he covered four laps of the 3 km figure of eight shaped course between Littlehampton and Worthing, often flying at less than 100 feet over the water, (and never higher than 650 feet) landing 17 minutes later. The speeds were 622, 610, 622, and 609 mph, averaged at 616 m.p.h.
On the same day he also reached 623.45 mph, but this was not ratified by the Federation Internationale Aeronautique. The record lasted until 19 Jun 47 when it was claimed for America by a Lockheed P-80R Shooting Star. It had been hoped to reach a higher speed, but unseasonably cool weather cooled the air temperature - every extra one degree of air temperature meant another 1 m.p.h. on the maximum speed.
3rd October 1946 Aircraft returned to Glosters
November 1946 Displayed on the Glosters stand at the Paris Salon, Le Bourget for the 17th International Exposition of Aeronautics.
16th January 1947 Flew from Le Bourget to Croydon in 20 minutes 11 seconds for the 208 miles, averaging 618.4 mph.
22nd May 1947 Modifications to fit short span wings in common with all RAF Meteor IV's completed.
29th May 1947 Issued to the Fighter Command Communications Squadron at RAF Bovingdon, Herts. Personal aircraft of C in C Fighter Command Air Vice Marshal James Milne Robb, coded J-MR until November 1947.
24th March 1948 To the Central Fighter Establishment, West Raynham, Norfolk.
24th July 1948 Returned to service with CFE after accident on the 2nd July. Pilot had landed at West Raynham but had selected undercarriage retract instead of flaps while taxiing. Nose and port undercarriage collapsed.
9th February 1950 To RAF Bovingdon.
4th April 1950 Returned to CFE RAF West Raynham.
10th June 1952 To RAF Cranwell, Lincs.
18th January 1953 Allocated maintenance serial 7008M and sent to RAF College Museum at Cranwell.
4th June 1958 To RAF Fulbeck, Lincs for storage with other aircraft from the Air Historical Branch collection.
March 1961 Displayed at RAF Innsworth, Glos. Carried starboard side nose inscription commemorating record-breaking status.
June 1967 To RAF St.Athan, South Wales for refurbishment by No.19 Maintenance Unit from Dec 67 and storage afterwards. Short span wings exchanged with long span wings from Mk IV EE419 at RAF Coltishall around April 1968.
September 1968 Displayed at Horse Guard's Parade, London during Battle of Britain Week celebrations then returned to storage at RAF St. Athan.
March 1971 To RAF Museum Hendon for public display from Nov 1972.
Septemeber 1979 To storage at RAF Abingdon, Oxon. Restored (including anti-corrosion treatment) and repainted.
September 1981 Moved to RAF St Athan for display in the Station Museum.
27th October 1983 Displayed at RAF Bentley Priory during commemorations of 40th anniversary of the first flight of the Meteor then returned to St. Athan.
1989 To Aerospace Museum, Cosford, Salop for display following dispersal of the St Athan collection.
19th September 1992 Moved by road to Tangmere Military Aviation Museum , Sussex on loan from the Royal Air Force Museum.

Back