The Gloster Meteor was the RAF’s first jet aircraft and the only Allied jet to see combat during WWII, entering service in 1944 to help combat V-1 flying bombs. Developed from the E28/39 'Whittle Jet', the Meteor first flew on 5 March 1943. The most successful version was the Meteor F.8, introduced in 1948 with improved Rolls-Royce Derwent engines, a redesigned cockpit, ejector seat, and four 20mm nose-mounted cannons. Known to pilots as the “Meatbox,” the F.8 served as Fighter Command’s main interceptor from 1950–1955 and equipped 19 front-line RAF squadrons and 10 Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadrons, including No. 500 (County of Kent) Squadron.
This squadron flew the F.8 until its disbandment on 10 March 1953. Notably, F.8 WF714 suffered a landing accident while on summer camp in Malta that same year.
