METEOR F8 IN KOREA
…at the end of December, 77 Squadron's role became much more ground-attack orientated, and the unit's Meteors were soon fitted with underwing rockets featuring an Australian-developed napalm warhead. The dangers of low-level attack were quickly demonstrated, however, and in March 1952 Sgts I. Cranston (A77-920) and L. Cowper (A77-120) were both shot down and killed by flak. To try to counter the Meteors' activities, MiG-15s were committed further south [from MiG alley], and on 4 May Plt Off J. Surman was credited with a probable in a brief exchange near Pyongyang. As these engagements were now taking place at lower altitudes, the performance gap between the Meteor and the MiG was less pronounced, and on 8 May Plt Off Bill Simmonds (A77-385) claimed a MiG-15 whose pilot was seen to eject while in a spin. The MiGs were to gain revenge on 2 October when Plt Off O. Cruickshank, RAF, was shot down and killed in A77-436 when he was jumped on returning from a ground attack mission. The last encounter with the MiGs occurred on 27 March 1953 during an armed reconnaissance by four Meteors in the area around Pyongyang. Splitting into pairs, Wg Cdr John Hubble AFC and Flt Lt Rees swung north from a road junction at Namch'onjom, while Sgts George Hale and Dave Irlam headed south. Not long after, Hale and Irlam spotted two RF-80s being followed by a pair of MiG-15s. As his aircraft was fitted with two [air to ground] rocket projectiles, Hale fired these at the nearest MiG, giving its pilot an almighty fright and prompting him to climb and head for home. Irlam than called to say that he had been hit, and Hale became aware of two more MiGs diving out of the sun. One advantage that the Meteor possessed over the MiG-15 was its ability to decelerate rapidly, thanks to extremely effective airbrakes, and Hale was able to cause the MiG to overshoot. Kicking on left rudder, he fired a short burst and saw strikes just behind the cockpit, which produced a plume of black smoke. The MiG then fell away and went straight down. He was not able to follow as he was attacked by two more and forced to turn into them. As he was firing at these, another pair sliced down onto him, so he turned in behind them and secured hits on one, which caused a stream of white smoke to be emitted from its jet-pipe. By now Hale was out of ammunition, so he disengaged and dived back to Kimpo. He was able to do this in relative safety as Hubble and Rees had arrived by this time, prompting the rest of the MiGs to head north. Although his aircraft was riddled with bullet holes, Dave Irlam made it safely back to base and Hale was later awarded with one probable and a damaged.
By the time that the armistice came into effect on 27 June 1953, 77 Squadron had destroyed 1,500 vehicles, twenty locomotives, sixty-five railway carriages, sixteen bridges and 3,700 buildings. Out of a total of 18,872 sorties, 15,000 had been flown in Meteors. Three MiG-15s were claimed destroyed [plus two probable], but this overall effort had to be set against the loss of forty-two pilots, thirty-two of them while flying Meteors.
Caygill, Peter.
Meteor from the Cockpit: Britain's First Jet Fighter. Casemate Publishers.
No 77 squadron was to be awarded a presidential citation for their work during the Korean War.
The F8 was competitive with the MiG 15 in terms of dog fighting and unlike the Me 262, was a good ground attack aircraft. Galland stated that due to various problems, the Me 262 was lucky to be able to drop its bombs accurately on a small town.
The Derwent was way in advance of the JUMO interms of performance and reliability:
Derwent 1 JUMO 004 BMW 003
Thrust (kN) 8.9 8.8 7.83
Pressure ratio 3.9 3.14 3.1
Turbine inlet temp C 849 775 770
Spec fuel consumption 1.17 1.39 1.4
Thrust to weight ratio 2.04 1.25 1.28
The Derwent 1 wins on every count...
Also from
http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA800524
The average Me 262 engine life before overhaul (or throw-away) above is 30.66/9 =
3.4 hrs!.
Also see
The Messerschmitt Me 262 Jet Fighter | Defense Media Network
"Although it was the first by a considerable margin, the Me 262 was not the best jet of its era. Britain's Gloster Meteor, which used more reliable centrifugal-flow turbojet engines, joined the Royal Air Force in 1944. The first practical U.S. jet fighter, the P-80 Shooting Star, reached Europe by May 1945, but saw no combat in World War II...'
If you really knew anything about jet engines you would know that you control EGT by throttle position unless you have fuel control issues. The most critical time to monitor EGT is during the start and at operations at 100%, that's why all turbine engines are limited on how long you could fly at 100%. All early turbine engines were unreliable regardless of nationality. Do some homework and then come back to play.
