The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Frank Whittle and his company, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the aircraft began in 1940, although work on the engines had been under way since 1936.
The Westland Welkin was a British twin-engine heavy fighter from the Westland Aircraft Company, designed to fight at extremely high altitudes, in the stratosphere; the word welkin meaning "the vault of heaven" or the upper atmosphere. First conceived in 1940, the plane was built in response to the arrival of modified Junkers Ju 86P bombers flying reconnaissance missions, which suggested the Luftwaffe might attempt to re-open the bombing of England from high altitude. Construction was from 1942 to 1943. The threat never materialised; consequently, Westland produced only a small number of Welkins and few of these flew.
The Gloster E.28/39, was the first British turbojet-engined aircraft first flying in 1941. It was the third turbojet aircraft to fly after the German Heinkel He 178 (1939) and Heinkel He 280 (1941), the Italian Caproni Campini N.1 of 1940 being a motor jet and not a true turbojet.
A g-suit, or anti-g suit, is a flight suit worn by aviators and astronauts who are subject to high levels of acceleration force (g). It is designed to prevent a black-out and g-LOC caused by the blood pooling in the lower part of the body when under acceleration, thus depriving the brain of blood. Black-out and g-LOC have caused a number of fatal aircraft accidents.
Janusz Żurakowski was a Polish fighter and test pilot. At various times in his life he lived and worked in Poland, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
The Gloster Javelin is a twin-engined all-weather interceptor aircraft that served with Britain's Royal Air Force from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s. It was a T-tailed delta-wing aircraft designed for night and all-weather operations and was the last aircraft design to bear the Gloster name. Introduced in 1956 after a lengthy development period, the aircraft received several upgrades during production to its engines, radar and weapons, including support for the De Havilland Firestreak air-to-air missile.
The Armstrong Whitworth Siskin was a sesquiplane single-seat fighter aircraft developed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. It was also the first all-metal fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), as well as being one of the first new fighters to enter service following the end of the First World War.
The Gloster Aircraft Company was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1917 to 1963.
The Gloster Grebe was developed by the Gloster Aircraft Company from the Gloster Grouse, and was the Royal Air Force's first post-First World War fighter aircraft, entering service in 1923.
The Hawker Hornbill was the last Hawker military aircraft designed under the direction of George Carter. The design was started in 1925 and the first flight took place in July 1925. The Hornbill did not achieve service in the Royal Air Force due to problems in its power plant and radiator. Only one aircraft was built.
The Gloster Gamecock was a biplane fighter designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Gloster.
The Gloster F.5/34 was a British fighter of the 1930s. It was a single-seat, single-engine monoplane of all-metal cantilever construction; the undercarriage was of the tailwheel type with retractable main wheels.
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.16 was a single-engine biplane fighter aircraft designed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft.
The Reid and Sigrist R.S.3 Desford is a British twin-engined, three-seat advanced trainer developed in the Second World War for postwar use. Although the R.S.3 was evaluated as a trainer, the type never entered production and was eventually rebuilt as the R.S.4 Bobsleigh as an experimental aircraft with the pilot in a prone position, seen as advantageous in minimising g-force effects in fighters.
The Nieuport Nighthawk was a British fighter aircraft developed by the Nieuport & General Aircraft company for the Royal Air Force towards the end of the First World War. Although ordered into production before the aircraft first flew, it did not enter large scale service with the RAF owing to unreliable engines. Re-engined aircraft did see service in Greece, serving from 1923 to 1938.
The Westland F.7/30 was a British fighter prototype. A single prototype was built in 1934, but the type was not put in production because its performance fell far below the RAF's requirements. The Gloster Gladiator won the F.7/30 competition.
The Akaflieg Berlin B 9 was a twin-engined experimental aircraft, developed by Akaflieg Berlin and Flugtechnische Fachgruppe in the 1940s. It was designed to examine the benefits of having a pilot in a prone position. The aircraft was flown in 1943, but was eventually abandoned.
William Arthur Waterton, AFC & Bar, GM was a Canadian and British test pilot, squadron leader and correspondent for the Daily Express. He was awarded the George Medal for saving the flight data when he landed at great risk the prototype Gloster Javelin after it lost its controls during a test flight.
The Martin-Baker Mk.1 is a British ejection seat designed and built by Martin-Baker. Developed in the late 1940s it was the first in the line of production Martin-Baker seats for military aircraft. Ground and air testing of earlier designs resulted in the first successful test ejection of a company employee in July 1946. A seat type designed for the Saunders-Roe company was known as the Pre-Mk.1.
Royal Air Force Moreton Valence or more simply RAF Moreton Valence is a former Royal Air Force installation located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) southwest of Gloucester, Gloucestershire and 24 kilometres (15 mi) northwest of Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England.
