Gloster Meteor T7(Mod) - Civilian

The oldest airworthy British jet - the Gloster Meteor - will be on static display at this summer's Air Tattoo. The aircraft, produced by the Gloster Aircraft Company, featured Sir Frank Whittle's ground-breaking turbo jet engines. It first flew in 1943 and began RAF operations in July 1944 with 616 Squadron, initially as a counter to the Germans' V-1 flying bomb. The aircraft on display at the Air Tattoo comes from Martin-Baker, based at Chalgrove near Oxford, where it is used to test live ejection seats, it represents one of the few jet types that were in service with the RAF in 1952 which are still flying in the UK today.

Photo Credit: Rich Cooper