R.N.Z.A.F. Meteor Jet Offered For Sale

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28260, 24 April 1957, Page 10

R.N.Z.A.F. Meteor Jet Offered For Sale

The Royal New Zealand Air Force is offering for sale by ten- I der its only Gloster Meteor jet 1 fighter plane, stationed at Hobson- < ville. The Meteor was lent to < the Dominion by the British Air i Ministry for service instruction 1 and public indoctrination for jets < in 1945, when it was valued at 1 £50.000, but later the Govern- ’ ment bought the aircraft outright < foi a tenth of that sum. The Meteor was shipped to New 1 Zealand and assembled at Hob- i sonville. A Wigram-trained pilot i and New Zealander, Squadron i Leader R. M. McKay, flew the plane on test after its assembly, 1 and 11 years ago this week was j in Christchurch with it showing 1 it to the public. j While the aircraft was in the 1 Dominion it flew 272 hours. 67 of ; them with Squadron Leader Me- 1 Kay (now a group captain and commanding officer at Hobson- i ville) at the controls. Fifty-six 1 Air Force pilots received jet con- ; version training on the machine, <

The Meteor was one of the third of 16 versions built by Gloster for the Royal Air Force, and came off the first quantity production line. It was one of three planes given on loan to British Dominions—the other two being damaged beyond repair and written off in Australia and Canada. The plane had a maximum speed of 475 miles an hour at 30,000 feet and burned 300 gallons of kerosene an hour. Its sea level range was only 280 miles, but the range was extended to 600 miles in higher altitudes. The Gloster Meteor was the first British combat plane fitted with jet propulsion, and the only Allied jet to go into operational service in World War 11. The Mark IV version set a world air speed record of 616 miles an hour in 1946. Meteors went out of production in Britain three years ago. and this month the Royal Air Force announced it would retire its operational Meteors.