WWII Meteors ever engage in air combat?

[Ryan B.]

For diorama idea. I know they never spatted with ME-262s, and destroyed a few planes on the ground, but did they ever meet with German piston-engined aircraft in the air?

[gingerbob]

I think an unofficial Storch, of all things!

[Sturmovik]

7 hours ago, Ryan B. said:

I know they never spatted with ME-262s

But it would be a great diorama though.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Sturmovik

[Mark Harmsworth]

How about a V1? They definitely did that.

[Rob G]

http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_gloster_meteor_WWII.html

[Ryan B.]

"The biggest frustration for the pilots of 616 Squadron was that they never clashed with the Me 262, or indeed with any German fighter aircraft."

Thanks you, gentlemen.

 

[Sturmovik]

5 hours ago, Ryan B. said:

"The biggest frustration for the pilots of 616 Squadron was that they never clashed with the Me 262, or indeed with any German fighter aircraft."

Thanks you, gentlemen.

 

But you can make a dio with the title "What could have been," with an Me 262 and a Meteor Mk.I in combat.

[Work In Progress]

With or without the title. Modelling things which didn't actually happen or haven't happened yet is a completely legitimate  purpose of modelling. There is absolutely zero obligation whatsoever to restrict yourself to things which are historically proveable and documented. 

[Devilfish]

According to Adolf Galland, who flew both 262 and Meteor, the 262 was the better fighter, but the Meteor had better engines (more reliable?)  I assume from this he rates the 262 as the better dogfighter?

[Work In Progress]

Depends what you call dogfighting, as to most fighter pilots that word does not mean "all forms of aerial combat by a fighter".  No, I don't think he would call it the better dogfighter in the sense of turning fights as the Meteor can out-turn the 262 all day. The 262 was however able to engage and disengage targets at will due to its speed advantage, and that is generally the key against a slower enemy. Running away and use of large open verticals to convert surplus speed into escape before re-engaging, or selecting another target that hasn't seen you coming in a hit-and-run slashing attack.  Bear in mind the purpose of the 262 as a fighter was not to engage other fighters but to elude them while taking down bombers, and while the engines were working it could do that with relative impunity (though the high closing speeds against bomber formations, and the relatively short effective range of the guns made it quite a difficult thing to score hits with).

 

That boom and zoom ability is very advantageous in dictating the terms of aerial combat so of course fighter pilots like it. But most would describe those tactics as something other than dogfighting, which implies fighter-versus-fighter furballs. What most fighter pilots would describe the 262 as, is an excellent interceptor rather than a dogfighter. So long as it was working.

 

The reliability advantage was pretty profound, of course. It's not just a case of Jumo 004 engines often failing in flight after as little as 10 hours' operations, and rarely exceeding 25 hours . An in-flight failure could mean a fire, and even if it doesn't it means you are now easy meat for any passing P-51 - but it's also that the aeroplane is so much more often unavailable for use because it's being having to be re-engined. An aeroplane you can't fly because it's broken isn't a fighter of any kind.

Edited June 17, 2019 by Work In Progress

[Chris Thomas]

17 hours ago, Sturmovik said:

But you can make a dio with the title "What could have been," with an Me 262 and a Meteor Mk.I in combat.

616 Sqn were equipped with the Meteor Mk III when've they arrived in 2nd TAF in April 1945 - a much better prospect than the Mk I, but still slower than the 262.