Gloster Meteor NF.11 prototype WA546 that flew in May 1950 as Britain's first jet propelled night fighter
Posted by jacksmachiningreveng@reddit | WeirdWings | View on Reddit | 5 comments
KokoTheTalkingApe@reddit
Just curious: did they originally call the outfit "Gloucestershire" and changed the name when nobody could pronounce it correctly?
RandoDude124@reddit
TIL Night fighters were still a thing in the 50s
jacksmachiningreveng@reddit (OP)
They were into the subsequent decade too, these days we take it for granted that even a basic military aircraft can fly and fight at night with compact and efficient instruments and electronics but for a while after WWII you still needed a larger aircraft to lug the equipment around along with the extra crewman to operate it, so the distinction remained.
Foreign_Athlete_7693@reddit
Yup. The 'all-weather fighter/interceptor" came about next, then the term dropped out of usage once new fighters and interceptors were practically all 'all-weather"
Overall-Lynx917@reddit
I thought the DH Vampire NF10 was the first British Jet Nightfighter becoming operational with 25 Sqn in 1951 although the prototype flew in August 1949 as a Private Venture.