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The designation FR 5 was given to a single Gloster Meteor F.Mk.4 (VT347) experimentally modified to operate as a fighter-reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft carried vertical and oblique cameras in the nose, and also retained its four cannons. The single FR 5 made its maiden flight on 15 July 1949, but it came apart in the air over Moreton Valance, killing test pilot Rodney Dryland. The accident was caused by a failure of the side skins around the central fuselage fuel tank, and was thus not related to the modifications in the nose. Work on a fighter-reconnaissance version of the aircraft continued with the FR 9.
Gloster Meteor, Britain's Celebrated First-Generation Jet, Phil Butler and Tony Buttler. This is a detailed, well illustrated and well written look at the development and service history of the Gloster Meteor, both in British and overseas hands. The book covers the development of the E.28/39, Britain's first jet aircraft and the development of the Meteor, looks in detail at the prototype aircraft, the various versions of the Meteor and its British and overseas service careers. [see more]
