The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to achieve 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 Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with No. 616 Squadron RAF. The Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in its aerodynamics, but proved to be a successful combat fighter. Gloster's 1946 civil Meteor F.4 demonstrator G-AIDC was the first civilian-registered jet aircraft in the world. Several major variants of the Meteor incorporated technological advances during the 1940s and 1950s. Thousands of Meteors were built to fly with the RAF and other air forces and remained in use for several decades.
In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the pilot or other crew of an aircraft in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an explosive charge or rocket motor, carrying the pilot with it. The concept of an ejectable escape crew capsule has also been tried. Once clear of the aircraft, the ejection seat deploys a parachute. Ejection seats are common on certain types of military aircraft.
Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd. is a British manufacturer of ejection seats and safety-related equipment for aviation. The company's origins were originally as an aircraft manufacturer before becoming a pioneer in the field of ejection seats. The company's headquarters are in Higher Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, with other sites in France, Italy and the United States.
The Gloster Javelin is a twin-engined T-tailed delta-wing subsonic night and all-weather interceptor aircraft that served with Britain's Royal Air Force from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s. The last aircraft design to bear the Gloster name, it was introduced in 1956 after a lengthy development period and received several upgrades during its lifetime to its engines, radar and weapons, which included the De Havilland Firestreak air-to-air missile.
The Boulton Paul Defiant is a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any fixed forward-firing guns, also found in the Blackburn Roc of the Royal Navy.
The Gloster Aircraft Company was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1917 to 1963.
Chalgrove Airfield is a former Second World War airfield in Oxfordshire, England. It is approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) north-northeast of Benson in the heart of South Oxfordshire between Henley and Oxford; about 42 mi (68 km) north-northwest of London.
A much modified Gloster Meteor F8 fighter, the "prone position/prone pilot" Meteor, was used to evaluate the effects of acceleration/inertia-induced forces while flying in a prone position. Along with the Reid and Sigrist R.S.4 "Bobsleigh", the Gloster Meteor was engaged in a proof-of-concept experimental programme that proved in practice that the difficulties in rearward visibility and ejection outweighed the advantages of sustaining higher g effects.
RAF Wymeswold is a former Royal Air Force station located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-east of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. The airfield is situated between Hoton, Wymeswold and Burton on the Wolds, lying in the current district of Charnwood.
The Martin-Baker Mk.7 is a British rocket-assisted ejection seat designed and built by Martin-Baker. Introduced in the mid-1960s, the Mk.7 has been installed in combat aircraft worldwide.
The Martin-Baker Mk.6 is a British rocket-assisted ejection seat designed and built by Martin-Baker. Introduced in the 1960s, the Mk.6 has been installed in combat and training aircraft worldwide.
The Martin-Baker Mk.5 is a British ejection seat designed and built by Martin-Baker. Introduced in the late 1950s, the Mk.5 has been installed in combat and training aircraft worldwide.
The Martin-Baker Mk.4 is a British ejection seat designed and built by Martin-Baker. Introduced in the 1950s, the Mk.4 has been installed in combat and training aircraft worldwide.
The Martin-Baker Mk.9 is a British rocket-assisted ejection seat designed and built by Martin-Baker. Introduced in the late-1960s, the zero-zero capable Mk.9 has been installed in several European combat aircraft types and was also used in experimental aircraft.
The Martin-Baker Mk.10 is a British rocket-assisted ejection seat designed and built by Martin-Baker. Introduced in the 1970s, the zero-zero capable Mk.10 has been installed in many combat aircraft types. A lightweight version is known as the Mk.10L.
Martin-Baker Mk.8 is the designation given to two distinct British ejection seat types designed and built by Martin-Baker. The original use applies to a seat developed for the cancelled BAC TSR-2 strike aircraft project of the 1960s, re-use of the designation applies to a lightweight version of the Martin-Baker Mk.10 seat for the Short Tucano and other similar military training aircraft.
The Martin-Baker Mk.2 is a British ejection seat designed and built by Martin-Baker. Introduced in the early 1950s, the Mk.2 was developed from the Martin-Baker Mk.1, the main improvement being automatic seat separation and parachute deployment.
ML Aviation was a British aerospace company. Until 1946 it was R Malcolm & Co, taking its new name from the businessman Noel Mobbs and the aircraft designer Marcel Lobelle.
John Oliver Lancaster was a Royal Air Force bomber pilot who transitioned to a career as a test pilot for various firms. On 30 May 1949, he ejected from the experimental Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 flying wing in a "primitive" Martin-Baker Mk.1 seat, becoming the first person to eject from a British aircraft in an emergency.
