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wmaxt said:There is little evidence of cross pollenation of ideas. After the war I'm sure data was examined and considered at least. As for a connection to a published article of the Horton aircraft and the issueance of a contract to Northrop - most likely - but it would be to counter a percieved advance by a possable adversary. It does not infer any connection between the two designs/data.
DerAdlerIstGelandet said:There are just too many similarities. There was a lot of espionage going on at the time. They were 100% indipendent designs but I am sure ideas were stolen from one another.
DerAdlerIstGelandet said:I would not be surprised if information leaked into Germany. The Germans had an extensive spy agency up and running.
The fifth prototype was the first Meteor to fly, when it made its first test flight on March 5, 1943, piloted by Michael Daunt. The prototypes were powered by two de Havilland Halford H.1 turbojets, but de Havilland reserved the production of these engines for its own de Havilland Vampire design......
The first aircraft were delivered to the Royal Air Force on July 12, 1944 and one was also sent to the US in exchange for a Bell YP-59A Airacomet for comparative evaluation. The Meteor Mk. I saw action for the first time on July 27, 1944 against the V1 Flying Bomb. The Meteor never saw aerial combat against the Luftwaffe despite flying missions over Germany from January 1945, using the Mk. III variant from bases in Belgium.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor
History: First Flight July 18, 1942(Turbojets) April 4, 1941 on Jumo 210 piston engines; Me 262A-1a June 7 1944; First Delivery (A-0 to Rechlin) May 1944; first experimental combat unit (EK 262) June 30, 1944; first regular combat (8/ZG26) September 1944
http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/me262.html