More than 71 years ago, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) received its first jet fighters. Manufactured in England, the Gloster Meteors arrived in Brazil in April 1953, ushering in the jet era in the FAB, which today is reflected in the acquisition of modern, cutting-edge jets, the Saab F-39 Gripen.
In the case of the Gripens, Brazil paid R$5 billion for 36 aircraft and a broad technology transfer package. In the case of the pioneering British jets, the situation was different: payment was made in cotton.
Learn a little more about the Gloster Meteor, the fighter that the FAB bought without using money.
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In August 1939, broke a major technological barrier by making the first flight of a jet aircraft, with the Heinkel He-178. Just over a year later, the Germans were the first to fly the first jet fighter, the He-280, also from Heinkel.
It was only in 1941, during the Second World War, that the Allies made the first flight of a jet-powered aircraft, with the Gloster E.28/39. Also called the Gloster Pioneer, the small single-engine aircraft was extensively tested and experimented with, at the same time as combat was raging in Europe.
Unlike the German models, which used an axial turbojet, the British model used a centrifugal engine, which included 10 reverse-flow combustion chambers mounted around an axial engine. England took a chance on this design and continued to improve and study its application in combat aircraft. Based on these developments, Gloster presented the G.41 project in response to the British Air Ministry's F.9/40 requirement. Thus emerged the Meteor, the Allies' first successful jet fighter.
Despite its advent and superior performance over other active fighters, such as the P-51 Mustang and the Supermarine Spitfire, the Meteor was not immediately deployed in combat, since it was a completely new aircraft and its operation was limited. In addition, the Allies feared that the jet would fall into German hands.
Thus, in 1944, the Meteor F.1 entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a defense vector for England. Its first combat use was to shoot down V-1 flying bombs; in parallel, the RAF collected data on the use of the aircraft to improve its performance.
With the model more mature, the Allies finally decided to send their new aircraft to the front line. In February 1945, a detachment from 616 Squadron RAF was sent to Belgium, but remained there only until the end of March. Following the rapid advance of the Allied troops, the unit was transferred to the Netherlands, where it changed bases twice more until the final surrender of in May of that year.
During this brief period, the Meteors were not engaged in aerial combat, participating only in ground attack and armed reconnaissance missions. Much anticipated by British fighter pilots, the Gloster Meteor's battle against the Messerschmitt Me-262 never took place.
Brazil
At the end of the conflict, the Brazilian Air Force had a generous fleet of aircraft of all types. The main fighters were the P-40 Warhawk and the legendary P-47 Thunderbolt. The latter was the model used in Italy by the pilots of the 1st Fighter Aviation Group (1º GAvCa), the famous Senta a Púa.
The arrival of the jet at the end of World War II completely changed aviation. From one moment to the next, piston-powered fighter planes became obsolete, overtaken by models such as the P-80 Shooting Star and F-86 Sabre from the United States, the MiG-15 Fagot from the Soviet Union and the Meteor itself. This fact was noticed by Brazilian authorities, who soon began the search for a new vector. The vast majority of FAB planes were of North American origin, so it was to the United States that the military went first.
A delegation from the then-young FAB visited the country to understand the operation of jet aircraft, which involved a different logistics chain. Not even aviation kerosene, which fueled jet engines, existed in Brazil. The change would be enormous.
At the same time, the P-47s and especially the P-40s were already showing signs of wear and tear. In the case of the P-40, the loss of a wing in flight resulted in a fatal accident in Rio Grande do Sul. This occurrence decreed a complete cessation of operations with the model in the 1950s.
Despite the need for jets, Brazil was unable to purchase American models. In addition to being very expensive, the Korean War was ongoing, delaying any deliveries.
Cotton by Hunts
Without a budget for the US F-80, F-84 and F-86, Brazil ended up finding a creative solution to acquire new fighters.
Still recovering from the damage of World War II and facing other crises, England's need for certain materials was high. In a rapprochement between governments, the two countries began negotiations that would guarantee the first jet fighters for the Brazilian Air Force.
After long talks, the contract was signed in October 1952. In exchange for 15 tons of cotton, England would deliver 70 Gloster Meteor fighters to Brazil, ten of which would be the two-seat TF-7 training model and 60 would be the single-seat F-8 combat version.
While the cotton was being delivered, the first ten Brazilian pilots went to England to see the new machine. Among them were four veterans who fought in Italy, the then majors Rui Moreira Lima, Hélio Langsch Keller, Josino Maia de Assis and Roberto Pessoa Ramos.
Brazilian Meteors
After training in the “Lands of the Queen”, the FAB Gloster Meteors began to be sent to Brazil, disassembled on board merchant ships of Lloyd Brasileiro. The “meteors” were unloaded in Rio de Janeiro and assembled at the then Aircraft Factory of Galleon. After assembly, they were delivered to the Hunting Group and, later, to the Pampa Squadron at Canoas Air Base (RS).
The arrival of the Meteors drew enormous public attention. Even then-President Getúlio Vargas flew aboard a TF-7 when the fighters arrived in 1953. Powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Derwent turbojets, the F-8s exceeded 900 km/h, easily outpacing any other Brazilian fighter of the time.
The main armament was four 20 mm Hispano-Suiza cannons mounted in the nose of the F-8s. The TF-7 trainers were unarmed. Similar to the Meteor F.8s used by Israel and Australia, the Brazilian F-8s had structural reinforcement in the wings to carry 250 and 500 lb bombs, as well as 127 mm HVAR rockets. Fuel tanks could also be carried in the wings and fuselage to extend the fighters' range.
Although initially designed for air defense interception missions – as demonstrated by the British to Brazilian aviators during training – the F-8s ended up being used in ground attack activities, since at the time Brazil lacked an early warning radar network. This would only be implemented in the 1970s, along with the arrival of the Dassault Mirage III.
A premature end
The use of Meteors in ground attack roles would also take its toll. In 1961, less than 10 years after the planes arrived, Gloster was already warning of the possibility of structural problems in the F-8 and TF-7. After further warnings, a letter from Hawker Aviation (which absorbed Gloster) would be the beginning of the end of the career of the F-8 and TF-7 in the FAB.
As per the website History of the Brazilian Air Force, by Professor Rudnei Dias da Cunha, the document issued several restrictions on aircraft, such as loads of only 5G positive and -3G, even in clean configuration (without bombs, tanks or rockets on the wings).
From one day to the next, the “turbines” of Canoas and Santa Cruz went silent. English technicians came to Brazil to inspect the planes, most of which were structurally condemned. In October 1966, the Pampa Squadron ended its activities with the Meteors.
The aircraft that were still able to fly were transferred to the Fighter Group, and the Rio Grande do Sul unit received AT-33 Shooting Star/Thunderbirds from the United States. In 1968, the 1st GAvCa retired the F-8s and in 1971 the last flight of a TF-7 took place, which at the time flew only as a target tug for aerial shooting training.
The last of the comets
In 1969, amid the deactivation of the Gloster Meteors, an unusual event occurred at the São Paulo Aeronautics Park, currently known as PAMA-SP. The unit headquartered at Campo de Marte was undergoing reorganization when the military found a complete fuselage of an F-8, packed in a box. The fuselage was acquired in 1953, along with the supply and materials for the British jets.
At the same time that the F-8s and TF-7s were being decommissioned, FAB technicians embarked on the mission of assembling Brazil's last Meteor. After eight months, FAB 4399 was born, later re-ed as 4460. Unlike the other Meteors, which sported metallic colors with colorful details, F-8 4460 received, in 1972, a camouflage paint job, similar to that used by the then-new AT-26 Xavante.
Like the TF-7s, the “new” 4460 began to be used as a target tug in the Fighter Group, fulfilling this function from 1970 until 1974, when it carried out its last flight in the Fighter Aviation Day. Today, the last Brazilian meteor rests at the Aerospace Museum, in Rio de Janeiro, next to a TF-7.
More than 50 years after their definitive retirement, the FAB’s “cotton fighters” can still be found around, preserved in squares and museums. In Canoas (RS), for example, it is possible to find two F-8s, in front of the Air Base and in the famous Praça do Avião.
