Editing Gloster Meteor (section)

===Into production===
[[File:Gloster Meteor F.3 - Royal Air Force- 2nd Tactical Air Force, 1943-1945. CL2934.jpg|thumb|Meteor being deployed in March 1945]]
On 12 January 1944, the first Meteor F.1, serial ''EE210/G'', took to the air from [[RAF Moreton Valence|Moreton Valence]] in Gloucestershire. It was essentially identical to the F9/40 prototypes except for the addition of four nose-mounted 20&nbsp;mm (.79&nbsp;in) [[Hispano-Suiza HS.404|Hispano Mk V]] cannon and some changes to the [[Aircraft canopy|canopy]] to improve all-round visibility.<ref name="James 304-5">James 1971, pp. 304–305.</ref> Due to the F.1's similarity to the prototypes, they were frequently operated in the test program to progress British understanding of jet propulsion, and it took until July 1944 for the aircraft to enter squadron service.<ref>Butler and Buttler 2006, pp. 23–24.</ref> ''EE210/G'' was later sent to the U.S. for evaluation in exchange for a pre-production [[Bell P-59 Airacomet|Bell YP-59A Airacomet]], the Meteor being flown first by [[John Grierson (pilot)|John Grierson]] at [[Edwards Air Force Base|Muroc Army Airfield]] on 15 April 1944.<ref>Berry, Peter. [http://www.enginehistory.org/r-r_w2b.htm "The Whittle/Rover W2B and Rolls-Royce W2B/23 Welland Turbo-Jets."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131015440/http://www.enginehistory.org/r-r_w2b.htm |date=2010-01-31 }} ''enginehistory.org''. Retrieved: 30 January 2010.</ref>

Originally 300 F.1s were ordered, but the total produced was reduced to 20 aircraft as the follow-on orders had been converted to the more advanced models.<ref>Butler and Buttler 2006, p. 23.</ref> Some of the last major refinements to the Meteor's early design were trialled using this first production batch, and what was to become the long-term design of the engine nacelles was introduced upon ''EE211''.<ref>Butler and Buttler 2006, p. 24.</ref> The original nacelles had been discovered by the RAE to suffer from [[compressibility]] buffeting at higher speeds, causing increased drag; the re-designed longer nacelles eliminated this and provided an increase in the Meteor's maximum speed. The lengthened nacelles were introduced on the final fifteen Meteor IIIs.<ref name="fi27555 p727"/> ''EE215'' was the first Meteor to be fitted with guns; ''EE215'' was also used in [[afterburner|engine reheat]] trials,<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1957/1957%20-%201873.html|title=Gas Turbine Development – Further Abstracts from Hayne Constant's Sir Henry Royce Memorial Lecture|magazine=Flight|date=20 December 1957|pages=961–962|archive-date=8 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208111920/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1957/1957%20-%201873.html}}</ref> the addition of reheat increasing top speed from 420&nbsp;mph to 460&nbsp;mph.<ref name="fi27555 p727"/> It was later converted into the first two-seat Meteor.<ref>Butler and Buttler 2006, pp. 24–25.</ref> Due to the radical differences between jet-powered aircraft and those that it replaced, a special ''Tactical Flight'' or ''T-Flight'' unit was established to prepare the Meteor for squadron service, led by [[Group Captain]] [[Hugh Wilson (RAF officer)|Hugh Joseph Wilson]].<ref>Butler and Buttler 2006, p. 25.</ref> The Tactical Flight was formed at [[Farnborough Airport|Farnborough]] in May 1944, the first Meteors arriving the following month, upon which both tactical applications and limitations were extensively explored.<ref>Butler and Buttler 2006, pp. 25–26.</ref>

On 17 July 1944, the Meteor F.1 was cleared for service use. Shortly afterwards, elements of the Tactical Flight and their aircraft were transferred to operational RAF squadrons.<ref>Butler and Buttler 2006, p. 26.</ref> The first deliveries to No. 616 Squadron RAF, the first operational squadron to receive the Meteor, began in July 1944.<ref name ='boyne 262'/> When the F.2 was cancelled, the Meteor F.3 became the immediate successor to the F.1 and alleviated some of the shortcomings of the F.1.<ref>Butler and Buttler 2006, pp. 26–27.</ref> In August 1944, the first F.3 prototype flew; early F.3 production aircraft were still fitted with the Welland engine as the [[Rolls-Royce Derwent|Derwent]] engine's production was just starting at this point. A total of 210 F.3 aircraft were produced before they were in turn superseded by production of the Meteor F.4 in 1945.<ref name = "shack 45">Shacklady 1962, p. 45.</ref>

Several Meteor F.3s were converted into navalised aircraft. The adaptations included a strengthened undercarriage and arrester hook. Operational trials of the type took place aboard {{HMS|Implacable|R86|6}}. The trials included carrier landings and takeoffs.<ref>Butler and Buttler 2006, p. 28.</ref> Performance of these naval prototype Meteors proved to be favourable, including takeoff performance, leading to further trials with a modified Meteor F.4 fitted with folding wings; a "clipped wing" was also adopted.<ref>Butler and Buttler 2006, pp. 28–29.</ref> The Meteor later entered service with the [[Royal Navy]], but only as a land-based trainer, the Meteor T.7, to prepare pilots of the [[Fleet Air Arm]] for flying other jet aircraft such as the de Havilland Sea Vampire.<ref>Sturtivant 1990, p. 164.</ref>

While various marks of Meteor had been introduced by 1948, they had remained very similar to the prototypes of the Meteor; consequently, the performance of the Meteor F.4 was beginning to be eclipsed by new jet designs. Gloster therefore embarked on a redesign programme to produce a new version of the Meteor with better performance.<ref>Andrews 1965, p. 4.</ref> Designated ''Meteor F.8'', this upgraded variant was a potent fighter aircraft, forming the bulk of RAF Fighter Command between 1950 and 1955. The Meteor continued to be operated in a military capacity by several nations into the 1960s.<ref>Andrews 1965, pp. 3–4.</ref>