Britain's U2, the story of the Meteor PR19

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Meteor PR19 - The full size story


During the '50s the  RAF's  photo-reconnaissance  assets  were  not exactly at  the  forefront  of  technology.  The  latest  equipment available were Meteor FR9s for the tactical tasks  and  the  longer spanned PR10s for higher altitude duties. The Canberra PR3 was just coming into in service for the strategic task,  and  it  was  hoped that the PR7 would show a worthwhile performance increase later on. Some units even still relied on PR versions  of  the  Spitfire  and Mosquito, but these venerable aircraft were being replaced as  fast as possible. There were two Squadrons of the astonishing Martin Baker MB8 Marlin PR1 in service but they were few in number and the Air Staff were still exploring the capabilities of this most unusual of aircraft, being a hybrid of British and German WWII technologies. Some use had been made of  the  large  RB-45  Tornadoes loaned from the  USAF,  and  through  this  somewhat  tenuous  link information on other US projects became available.

The first hint that something extraordinary might be  coming  came through some questions concerning the service wing stressing of the PR Canberra, and it's capabilities at high altitude. Various engine test-bed versions of the Canberra had been floating around  in  the 50,000 foot area for some time, and it seemed as if  the  Americans might be thinking about  this  sort  of  performance  as  standard. During discussions on these matters during  '53,  the  project  now known to be the RB-57D was revealed to the Air  Ministry,  and  the prospect of a really  high  altitude,  long  range  recce  aircraft seemed to be an attractive possibility for the RAF, if  some  joint development programme could be worked out.

When the idea was put to English Electric,  they  were  horrified, and refused to have anything to do with a  project  with  such  low safety factors on the modified wing structure proposed  by  Martin. But by now the  RAF  found  the  idea  of  such  an  aircraft  very attractive. Although the RAF reconnaissance units might not need to carry the large cameras that were intended  to  be  fitted  to  the RB-57D, the prospect of carrying a smaller camera fit to very  high altitudes using similar technology was  seen  to  be  an  intriguing possibility. The word 'overflight' was not in current use  at  that period of the Cold War, but the idea certainly was. At the time the use of the Marlin PR1s was kept very much under cover and only those passed at the highest security level knew that some of their flights could very well have been classed as overflights.

Searching for other available airframes didn't  turn  up  anything all that obvious, until Armstrong Whitworth  suggested  re-engining the Meteor NF14 that they had  just  put  into  production.  As  it turned out, no  British  engine  was  suitable  for  the  job.  The Olympus, although incredibly powerful, needed  a  very  heavy  ring frame to mount it to the Meteor wing structure.  The  Sapphire  had the performance, but Armstrong Siddley were  unwilling  to  put  the development effort into a  project  that  would  only  sell  a  few special  high-altitude  versions  of  the  standard   engine,   and Rolls-Royce were working flat out to fit the Avon into  just  about every other airframe in the RAF's inventory.

Going back to America, Pratt & Whitney were working on just such a high altitude version of the J57 to fit the RB-57D, and offered  to provide it to Britain as well. As it turned  out,  the  RB-57D  was only going to be a low production aircraft anyway, and a  few  more J-57s going to the UK would  help  defray  the  development  costs. Armstrong Whitworth started work on a long span wing  for  the  new Meteor variant in extreme  secrecy,  and  realising  that  such  an aircraft would be unlikely  to  undergo  the  high  G  loads  of  a fighter, took the opportunity of lightening most of the  structure  of  the NF14 at the same time. Obviously the large, heavy radar  set  would not be needed either, and originally the standard Meteor PR10  nose was to  be  fitted,  but  it  soon  became  apparent  that  a  more sophisticated system would be needed, so a new  more  spacious  and more aerodynamic nose was designed.

Although the project was going  ahead  in  fits  and  starts,  the Ministry and the RAF were uncertain  how  many  aircraft  would  be acquired for the somewhat tenuous tasks they had in mind. After  at first thinking that the new  Meteor  would  be  bought  in  some numbers, it then became apparent that the Canberra PR variants were very capable indeed,  especially the newly developed PR7 variant and eventually  only  twelve  aircraft  were ordered. AW had already earmarked  some  airframes  from  the  NF14 production batch, and the fuselages of these  were  modified  while the advanced wing structure was being developed.

At this point, in  early  '55,  during  discussions  with  the  US concerning the J-57 engines, it became clear that there was another aircraft under development that needed the same engine,  and  after some very high level conferences, the existence of the U-2  project was made known to the Air Ministry and the RAF. At first it  seemed as if the US might  be  intending  the  RAF  to  buy  the  Lockheed aircraft, but the American's knowledge of the  Meteor   project was sketchy, and they did not realise that  an  order  had  already been placed, such was the security surrounding the operation.

The Ministry requested some co-operation from Lockheed on the wing design, as AW were by now running  into  problems,  and  after  the commercial details  were  worked  out,  the  two  companies  worked together on the project. The U-2 prototype flew in August '55,  and It immediately showed  the  most  incredible  altitude  capability, although at the expense of some control problems. AW  were  allowed access to the flight test information of the craft,  and  took  the opportunity of making some modifications  to  the  basic  U-2  wing structure now intended for the Meteor PR19,  as  it  had  now  been designated. The RB-57D also flew in '55, and information from  both the US aircraft were fed to the Coventry design  team.  Not  having the man power of Martin, or the single  minded  approach  of  Kelly Johnson's 'Skunk Works', AW took some time to get  the  first  PR19 ready, the re-design of the outer engine nacelle  to  fit  the  new wing being a particular problem. English Electric staff had already let them know of their misgivings  concerning  the  RB-57D  in  this area.

Eventually, the first PR19, WS761  made  it's  first  flight  from Baginton on March 19th '56, in the middle of the night. The  flight was made using J-57-P-31 engines. These were the special hand-built high altitude versions of the engine, and as soon as '761 was flown to Boscombe Down to start it's  full  flight  test  programme,  the capabilities of the remarkable engine/airframe  combination  became apparent. Offering twice the thrust of the U-2, with a larger  wing area, and only a little extra weight, the British aircraft was soon putting up performances that outstripped even 'Kelly's Angel'.  The U-2s had been routinely breaking the then  current  World  Altitude Record of 65,890 ft., held by Walter Gibb in the  Olympus  Canberra since August '55, in their flight tests. The PR19 annihilated it.

During  one  flight,  in  June  '56,  by  then  using   production J-57-31As, WS766 touched  70,000  ft.  while  testing  new  aileron gearing, and routine testing was being carried out above 65,000. As the fuselages of the remaining eleven airframes had been ready  for some time, AW had delivered the whole batch to Boscombe  by  August '56, and the Squadron pilots were fully trained on the aircraft by October of that year. The Squadron in question  was  13,  and  even though it was officially based in  the  Middle  East,  flying  it's Canberra PR7s from Malta, virtually a complete shadow  13  Squadron was formed to  operate  the  high  flying  Meteor  from  Watton  in Norfolk.  Watton  also  housed  the  RAF's  Central   Reconnaissance Establishment, and the co-location of the two units was an  obvious one. This situation mirrored 13's previous split personality while flying the equally long spanned Marlin PR1s some then years previously.

Pressure was now on 13 Sqdn. to reach operational  capability,  as the Suez crisis was just starting to boil up,  and  three  aircraft were sent to join the 'real' 13 in Cyprus.  The  first  operational flight by a PR19 took place on September 10th, and  flew  not  over the USSR, it's planned target,  but  over  Egypt,  a  country  that ironically operated Meteor NF13s in the defensive role,  and  whose maximum altitude was approximately half that of the PR19. The three 19s carried out a number of flights during the Suez crisis, but  as air superiority was almost total, most of  the  photographic  tasks were handled by the more conventional Canberras.

The Suez operation stretched the political goodwill between the US and Britain almost to breaking  point,  and  the  cooperation  from Lockheed and P&W almost ceased during this period, resulting  in  a slow-down in 13 Sqdn. gaining full operational capability  for  it's intended target. The U-2s of WRSP-1 that originally  were  to  have operated from Lakenheath in  conjunction  with  the  twelve  PR19s, had moved their base to  Wiesbaden  in  Germany,  and  had  started operations from there in July of '56.

The U-2s were operated by the CIA, but  under  USAF  auspices  and using USAF  facilities.  It  had  been  hoped  that  joint  mission planning would take  place  using  the  two  types  to  their  best advantage, but the Suez problem put this on hold for some time. The U-2s were actually used by the US to overfly the British and French ,forces in the Mediterranean to gather data on the operations  there. One of the U-2 flights was noted by Cyprus based radar during  it's approach phase, and 13 scrambled a PR19 to intercept the U-2 flight over the Mediterranean. The photo lab at Akrotiri sent the best  of the resulting prints to Wiesbaden. It showed the  U-2  flying over Allied shipping in perfect focus. From above.

Later in the year, relations  thawed  a  little,  and  during  the November of '56, one of  the  U-2s  visited  RAE  Farnborough.  The Watton crew sent their best  performing  aircraft,  '766  for  some comparative tests. Even though the basic design of  the  PR19  went right back to the 1940s, the marrying of the wing and engine of the competing  aircraft  to  the  old  Gloster   design   produced   an outstanding performer which could outstrip the Lockheed aircraft in almost every area. The one parameter on which the U-2 exceeded  the PR19 was in range. The RAF's ambitions did not stretch so far  into the USSR as the CIA's, and accordingly the thirst of the two J-57s, with only 35% more  tankage  than  the  single  engined  US  craft, resulted in a smaller radius of action. The two crew members in the PR19  also  had  a  lower  workload,  and  could  operate  at  high efficiency for longer periods.

Certainly the altitude performance of the PR19 outstripped the U-2 at this stage  of  both  aircraft's  development,  and  during  the Farnborough tests '766 exceeded  it's  previous  mark  by  reaching 74,480 ft. The Watton  Squadron  were  by  now  making  operational flights over the USSR and other  Warsaw  Pact  countries,  bringing back very good coverage of strategic and tactical targets. In  line with the agreement  worked  out  on  the  aircraft's  design,  this information was shared with the US, and  comparison  with  the  U-2 results produced a 'job-sharing' scheme whereby the Meteors did the really high altitude tasks, as long as they were within the limited range of the twin engined craft, and the U-2s did  the  long  range flights. By early  '57,  a  second  U-2  unit  was  operating  from Incerlik in Turkey, and both  aircraft  types  could  overfly  from their Northern bases to Incerlik. For forward operations, 13  moved some  ground  staff  to  Laarbruch,  and  also  maintained  a  PR19 capability from it's  Mediterranean  bases  in  Malta  and  Cyprus, although very few operations began or ended at the  former  island. The flight distance over inquisitive European airspace was  usually considered too great.

For some three years, 13 Sqdn. ran in conjunction with  the  CIA's U-2 operations, flying  both  overflights  and  peripheral  flights along the Iron Curtain borders. The U-2s also operated to and  from Watton and occasionally into their original Lakenheath base. During this time, the aviation community gradually began to  realise  that some very odd looking aircraft were operating over East Anglia, and a number of accurate sightings were reported. At the dead of night, it is very difficult to tell if a long span,  matt  black  aircraft has one or two engines, and so the fact that  two  different  types were operating was not realised.

The original misgivings  about  the  structural  strength  of  the RB-57D had now been proved correct, as a number of them had  failed at the wing, engine joint, and the USAF gradually started to  phase out it's use of the long wing  Canberra,  and  eventually  withdrew them from service in '64  pending  development  of  the  much  more capable RB-57F. The 'D version was  used  only  rarely  for  Soviet overflights, as it's maximum altitude was just  about  60,000  ft., and it was considered a little too vulnerable. Only when the special capabilities of it's  large  camera  suite  were  needed  were  such missions tasked. Mostly the 'Ds were used on peripheral tasks,  and carried out many operations over  mainland  China,  operating  from Taiwan. During this period, the USAF also started to use  the  U-2, but these operations were primarily to seek information  on  Soviet nuclear tests by air sampling at high altitude.

The events of May 1st 1960 were to change all this. On  that  day, Gary Powers was shot down by a number of Soviet SA-2 missiles while on an overflight from Peshawar in Pakistan to Bodo  in  Norway.  Of course the  U-2  overflights  were  stopped  immediately,  but  the existence of the twelve PR19s had not  been  compromised,  and  the Russians did not seem to know that two  types  had  been  operating over their airspace. Although President Eisenhower  had  officially banned the CIA from operating the U-2s over the USSR,  nothing  had been said to 13  Sqdn.,  so  after  an  assessment  of  the  Powers incident had been made, it was determined that a PR19 operating  at maximum height, and with only  one  crew  member,  would  still  be beyond the SA-2's operational limit.

A list of very high priority targets were drawn up, and during the summer of  1960  the  PR19s  flew  the  last  of  their  overflight missions. The Soviet's attempted to bring them down using the  same 'shotgun' approach that resulted in the Powers' U-2  disaster,  but the Meteors were  another  5000  feet  higher,  and  flew  on  with impunity. Obviously, this could not be carried on indefinitely, and 13 finally ceased the overflights in August  after  gathering  much important data.

The last overflight missions of 1960 enabled both the CIA and  the RAF Central Reconnaissance Establishment  to  evaluate  the  PR19's performance more closely while the U-2 units were returning to   the USA. The big  winged  Meteor's  lack  of  range  was  it's  obvious limitation, and it was further hampered by it's  lack  of  a  large enough camera bay to carry the  huge,  US  developed  cameras  then becoming available. A proposal to delete the fuselage fuel tanks in favour of an equivalent to  the  U-2's  'Q'  bay  met  with  little enthusiasm from 13 Sqdn., as the PR19 would have  been  limited  to about 4 hours endurance in this configuration. The  CRE  kept  it's options open on this problem while the Watton  based  squadron  was preparing for deployment overseas.

The foreign based operations were based on some  lateral  thinking on the part of the CRE that had  been  proposed  to  the  US  recce establishment. The U-2's cover had been well and truly broken,  and it's CIA/USAF operators could not really be seen  to  be  operating the aircraft in  even  a  semi-covert  role,  and  thus  Lockheed's masterpiece was limited  to  'Weather  Flights'  or  the  HASP  air sampling role that the USAF had been carrying out  for  some  time.  The twelve PR19s, however, had not been disclosed to the  world  at large, even if the PVO Strany were only too aware that  something had been giving them a hard time  after  their  success  with  the Powers flight. The plan therefore, was  that  13  would  deploy  to various overseas bases and carry out peripheral missions  in  order to continue at least a token coverage of  the  Soviet  developments that had been disclosed during the previous four years.

The squadron operated these foreign detachments  as  two  aircraft flights,  a  system  that  had  been  tried  out  during  the  Suez operations from Cyprus. That island was one of the bases  that  was used during this period of 13's  activities,  some  of  the  others being the ex U-2 airfields at Incirlik, and Peshawar. The RAF  also used some of it's more far flung bases for these  deployments,  and the PR19s are now known to have operated from Butterworth in Malaya and from Laverton in Australia.

There are still some unconfirmed reports of operations out of USAF fields in Alaska  and  Japan,  but  most  of  these  sightings  are described as 'black U-2s', and although there may well have been  U-2 operations from these bases, both the CIA and the USAF were  making quite sure that any of their flights were anything but clandestine. It thus seems more than possible that  the  'Big  Black  Meatboxes' were actually carrying out these flights. Of course, the  world  at large knew nothing of the existence of the PR19s at this time,  and any long span, black aircraft was likely to be reported as a U-2.

All of these peripheral flights  were  carried  out  so  that  the take-off was under the cover of darkness in order to  minimise  the amount of time the  aircraft  were  visible  to  ground  observers.  Landing approaches were made  very  steeply,  and  at  engine  idle settings so again the probability of being  observed  was  minimal.  The  fact  that  any  such  aircraft  was  twin-engined   was   not necessarily obvious. The secrecy of the project in the UK  was  such that neither take-offs nor landings  were  made  in  daylight  from British airfields. This meant that the ferry flights  to  and  from the detachment bases were fraught with difficulty  trying  to  keep the aircraft away from prying eyes. There was at least one instance when a PR19 returning to Watton  from  Cyprus  encountered  a  very strong jet stream at altitude, and arrived over Norfolk in the  cold light of dawn with no other option than to land in full view of any assembled spotters. As far as the aviation magazines of the  period were concerned however, this occasion seems to have passed  without comment.

As the Meteors did not have FR probes fitted at this time all such flights had to be carried out in hops from secure  base  to  secure base, and various  proposals  to  carry  them  in  transports  were mooted, but as the structure of the aircraft did not lend itself to ready dis-assembly this was only successfully  carried  out  on  two occasions,  and  in  both  cases  the  carriers  were  USAF   C-133 Cargomasters. In later years the RAF's own Belfasts  proved  to  be able PR19 carriers, but they did  not  become  available  for  some years.

This far flung period of the PR19's life lasted about  two  years, by which time the USAF had re-assessed the U-2  as  an  operational reconnaissance platform, mostly  gained  during  Taiwan  based  CIA sponsored overflights against  Communist  China,  and  had  started limited use of the Lockheed aircraft in the peripheral  role.  They were aided in their task by the extremely long slant range  of  the US developed camera packages that could be carried, and also by the increasing importance of the ELINT mission. The U-2 proved to be an able carrier of various ELINT cargoes, and many and varied  antenna configurations were seen on the Lockheed aircraft from then on. The PR19s, because of their  limited  fuselage  volume,  could  not  be readily adapted to ELINT  missions.  The  RAF  considered  that  it already had two good ELINT platforms in the Comet and Canberra,  and could not afford to adapt an already complex and unique aircraft to this new role.

With such a small unit, and a very specialised task, the number of real operational missions carried out relative to training missions was very small indeed  prior  to  the  Powers  incident.  One  real mission every month for the whole  squadron  was  about  the  norm.  During the following two years, when the twelve PR19s were carrying out the Soviet targeted workload of the entire U-2 fleet, this ratio increased considerably, and problems started  to  appear  with  the J57's  serviceability.  Since  13  Sqdn.  had  formed,  the  engine servicing had actually been carried out by a small group of Pratt & Whitney engineers, just as in the U-2 units, but with the  dispersal of 13's aircraft across the world, this system did not work as  the P & W team were based at Watton. Although engines were rotated back to the UK from the dispersed bases, aircraft could remain  grounded for long periods while waiting for a replacement.

When the dispersed operation ceased in early '62, and most of 13's fleet arrived back at it's Norfolk base, the RAF started to look at an alternative powerplant for the PR19. The main idea  behind  this effort was to lessen the dependency on the US service team, and  to use some of the RAF's own resources. However, just as in  1954,  no suitable engine could be found, even though  a  specially  modified Avon seemed to be a front runner for some time. However,  salvation was at hand as Lockheed had already been re-engining  the  original U-2As with the more powerful J75, the military version of the P &  W JT4 engine. This programme had been continuing since late '58,  and the big engined aircraft amounted to about 75% of the U-2  fleet  by now.

This left a large surplus of unused,  high  altitude  J57s,  which were offered to the RAF. Having a substantial pool  of  engines  to hand meant that they could be rotated back to the USA for  service, and still leave a useful number in the UK for operational use. Thus the first attempt at re-engining the PR19s came to an end, and  the P & W service team left their Watton facility and returned home.

During the mid '60s, the PR19s  were  only  being  used  in  their peripheral role  against  Soviet  targets,  operating  mainly  from Watton, but it seems some flights originated  from  Leuchars  aimed toward more Northern objectives, and others from various RAF  bases in Germany. Use of the USAF facilities at Incirlick, and  the  RAAF field at Butterworth in Malaya was still  available  to  the  PR19s however, and some operations  did  take  place  from  these  remote airfields, although the number of Soviet  'targets'  accessible  to the  Meteor's  cameras  from  these  bases  using  only  peripheral techniques was quite small. It would appear logical that some Far East based during this period missions were targeted at Communist China, but no confirmation of this has been released.

Just as the USAF had used the U-2  in  the  air  sampling  role  to gather data on nuclear tests, so the PR19 was also found to  be  an ideal platform for this sort of intelligence gathering. Four of the PR19s were fitted with a belly sampling pack which apparently  used a standard Meteor auxiliary fuel tank as a basis. Use of the  PR19s in this role was originally  developed  to  monitor  Britain's  own thermo-nuclear tests at Christmas Island in May '57,  and  to  this end the four 'Suckers' as they were nicknamed, were  dispatched  to the  Pacific  along  with  the  Canberras,  Valiants  and  assorted transports for the 'Grapple'  tests.  The  'Suckers'  proved  their worth on the opposite side of the world, and these  four  aircraft, WS762-3, '766 and '773, retained their  sampling  capability  until the Test Ban Treaty became effective in March '64.



Very little information  on  the  sampling  pod  itself  has  been released, and no drawings or photos of the external  appearance  of the modifications are known. It is known that  the  'Suckers'  were used to monitor French  tests,  also  based  in  the  Pacific,  and various probing flights were made to check on rumours  of  a  South African nuclear capability. Normally  the  sampling  missions  were targeted on the Soviet weapon tests, using  the  US  bases  on  the Southern flank of the USSR.

An opportunity to practice their overflight techniques did  recur during the Six Day War, when four of the PR19s were  dispatched  to one  of  their  original  bases  in  Cyprus  to  keep  an  eye   on developments in the Eastern Med. This  time  they  were  acting  in concert  with  their  American  counterparts  however,   and   both peripheral and true overflights were carried out by both  the  high altitude types. No interception attempts seem to have been made  by any of the warring parties,  and  only  a  couple  of  half-hearted missile attacks were made  by  Syrian  SAM  batteries  against  the PR19s. Without the 'shotgun'  technique  used  against  the  Powers flight though, there was little chance of downing the Cyprus  based 'snoopers'. It  is  not  known  whether  any  of  the  intelligence gathered  during  these  flights  was  released  to  any   of   the combatants, but it seems unlikely when viewed in the light  of  the political position taken by both the USA and  the  UK  during  that conflict.

After 1965, the Squadron had reverted to a  purely  optical  role, and the number of real operational missions dropped to a  very  low level, apart from the Cyprus operation mentioned above. Due to  the rather difficult flying techniques involved in getting the best out of the big winged Meteor, the low flying hours of the  'shadow'  13 Sqdn. began to have an effect on the proficiency of the crews. For the first time since the Squadron's formation in '57,  two  of  the aircraft were lost, but luckily all the  crew  members  ejected  to safety. The first accident,  to  '763,  was  caused  by  an  engine failure during a descent over the North Sea in  early  1968,  which resulted in a major fire in the starboard wing tank. Later the same year WS771 was lost in somewhat more crucial circumstances while at operational height over the Baltic. It  appears  that  control  was lost, resulting in  structural  failure  of  the  wing.  Both  crew ejected, and had to free-fall some  45,000  feet  before  deploying their  'chutes.  Both  were  picked  up  by  Swedish  rescue  teams suffering from severe frostbite.

The number of in flight engine shut-downs  were  by  now  becoming more notable, and even though the number  of  available  units  was almost inexhaustible, the RAF decided on a  major  upgrade  to  the entire  fleet  of  PR19s.  EMI  had  been  working   on   a   belly reconnaissance pod for the new F4-M Phantoms then being built,  and a  fixed  version,  optimised  for  the  high  altitude  role,  was developed for the ten remaining PR19s. This gave both IR line-scan, SLAR and large camera capability to the Meteors, although  not  all of the possible sensor fits could be  carried  at  once.  The  nose camera bay was to be retained, and  an  improved  air  conditioning unit installed in the rear fuselage avionics bay.  The  problem  of the PR19s endurance was to be cured by fitting a refueling  probe, and it's unwillingness to land was finally solved by fitting a tail braking 'chute, although the  final  result  could  not  have  been called a styling  masterpiece!  The  'chute  housing  was  attached wholly externally to the starboard side of the tail  cone,  and  at last gave some confidence to  returning  crews  that  the  aircraft would actually come to a halt before running into the next county.

Re-engining the PR19s was not as straightforward as it might seem, the RAF preferring not to use the J75 used in the later U-2s, opting for a high altitude modified turbo-fan in  order  to  maximise  the improved endurance conferred by the AAR capability of the  re-built aircraft. The engine chosen was for some obscure reason  designated as a civil engine, a JT3-D-15, and not as it's  USAF  version,  the TF33. This may  have  been  some  attempt  at  a  security  screen, although by now the PR19s were quite well  known  in  the  aviation fraternity, even though they had yet to be made known to the public at large.

As Armstrong Whitworth had long since  disappeared  in  the  great merging of the British aircraft industry, the  upgrading  programme of the PR19s was  entrusted  to  Hawker-Siddley  at  their  Chester factory, and the remaining ten aircraft were flown there  in  early 1970. The re-build programme took nearly  two  years  to  complete, although the  first  aircraft to be upgraded,  WS773  flew  in  it's  new  form  by September of that year. Various delays held up  completion  of  the contract, and for some time 13 Sqdn. operated with  only  three  of the  uprated  aircraft,  now  designated  as  PR19a.  The   enhanced performance given by the new engines, raising the maximum thrust by over 60%, while at the same time improving the fuel consumption  by 20%, changed the Meteor out of all recognition. Even  in  it's  J57 powered form the PR19 had been no slouch, but with  the  turbo-fans it's climb performance was almost unbelievable.



New Phantom pilots  frequently  became  severely  embarrassed  when coming upon a PR19a at medium altitudes and attempting to close  to an attack position. The PR19a  could  quite  easily  out-climb  the Phantom, even  with  the  latter  in  re-heat,  and  would  rapidly disappear  into  the  stratosphere  leaving  the   F-4M   literally floundering in it's wake. Because no changes had been made  to  the fundamental aerodynamics of the airframe, the maximum altitude  and maneuvering capability remained relatively unchanged, but the much higher  Specific  Excess  Power  meant  the  PR19a  was  more manageable at less than maximum altitudes, even though care  had  to be exercised in order to avoid overstressing  the  airframe.  This unfortunately, was the fate of the prototype, WS761 which  suffered a double wing spar failure  while  flying  an  anti-missile  attack training mission in 1972. This time the crew  were  not  so  lucky, both of them being quite badly injured as  the  aircraft  broke  up around them. This incident might have been  the  catalyst  for  the upgrading of the ejector seats to M-B Mk4s at about this time.

Once again actions in the Middle East prompted 13  Sqdn.  to  head toward Cyprus as the Yom Kippur War exploded. On this occasion it seemed prudent to monitor activities from a distance, and no actual overflights took place as far as is known. On a number of occasions IDF F4s attempted to intercept the PR19s,  and  the  amazing  climb rate conferred by the  JT-3Ds,  together  with  the  wingtip  radar warning pods fitted for the missions, later becoming a standard fit,  proved to be a winning combination. One of the F4s did launch a pair of Sidewinders at a PR19 during one of these missions, but at the  Meteor's maximum altitude the AIM-9 was almost wholly ballistic, and could not  turn tight enough for long enough to score a hit. From the point of view of the F4 pilot's credibility, this was probably a good  thing,  as claiming a confirmed Meteor kill at that stage of history would not have been calculated to improve one's standing  with  the  Squadron Intelligence Officer!

By this time, attrition due to normal wear and tear were  starting to tell, even though the turbo-fans were  more  reliable  than  the J-57s, there were fewer of them, and they required very specialized attention. The  airframes  themselves  were  suffering,  especially bearing mind that some of the original components were  almost  the same items  that  took  to  the  air  in  the  '40s.  A  policy  of cannibalising high hour airframes to keep the remainder flying  was reluctantly adopted, and by 1975, 13 Sqdn. could muster  only  half of  the  original  dozen  aircraft  at  the  much  delayed   public announcement of the PR19's existence. Nearly twenty years after the type's first flight, the Great British Public were at last  let  in on the fact that we had our own 'U-2',  even  though  it  had  been obvious to many of the aviation fraternity for a number  of  years.  At the Press Showing, all the six PR19s were shown  in  a  slightly less sinister colour scheme than the overall black  that  they  had mostly been flying in since the '50s. The new scheme was Light Aircraft  Grey upper surfaces and PRU Blue undersides, bearing a remarkable resemblance to WWII high altitude schemes.  One  interesting  twist was the use of red/blue 'B type' roundels on the underside  of  the wings, apparently to minimise the contrast of any white areas.

Having been prevented from showing it's mettle  for  so  long,  13 Sqdn. now approached it's more public role with enthusiasm, and  no airshow in Europe was complete  without  a  PR19a  performing  it's unbelievable, almost vertical take-off routine, plus an near silent low level run with engines at idle. Sometimes the PR19 would arrive at the venue at 60,000 feet or so, without the knowledge of  anyone except local Air Traffic, and make a photo-run across the airfield.  A batch of the resulting photos would then be processed by  one  of 13 Sqdns. mobile labs dispatched to  the  venue  earlier,  and  the results put on display later on during the event. The shortest time clocked for such a tour de force was 17  minutes  from  landing  to display during the 1978 Finningley Battle of Britain Display. These pictures would frequently reveal amazing detail, sometimes  showing individual vehicles from the car park  with  the  occupants  eating lunch and pursuing other activities, although a certain  amount  of 'censorship' was exercised to avoid any embarrassment!

13's Squadron Commander at this time, Wing Commander Bruce Mountford, had also flown the Marlin PR1 during a previous posting with 13 Sqdn's partner squadron, 58 Sqdn.  a considerable number of years beforehand, and was aware that the 2nd prototype of the Martin Baker aircraft still existed at the RAF Engineering College at Henlow. He persuaded the MoD to bring the Marlin out of storage and to have it repainted in the scheme that his own aircraft, VR173, carried during his time with 58 Sqdn. and even had a false serial number applied, which caused considerable confusion to aviation historians ever since! Thus equipped he formed a 'PR Squadron Demonstration Flight' with 'VR173' and one of the Meteor PR19s, usually WS773 as it was the best handling of the remaining Squadron aircraft. This long spanned pair flew an enterprising display routine, usually at low fuel loads, which enabled them to display their astonishing climb rate event low levels, and quite often their low level antics obscured the overflights of the airfield being carried out by a second PR19 as mentioned above. Sadly this situation didn't last too long as the MB8 suffered a wing spar failure outboard of its starboard radiator block during a Battle of Britain day event at RAF Finningley in 1978. Wng. Cdr. Mountford made a superb recovery from the failure and managed to land the Marlin safely despite the starboard wing exhibiting a dihedral angle of some 35 degrees, but the aircraft was deemed irrepairable and was rebuilt to static display standard and it is still visible today, in its erroneous colour scheme and carrying the wrong serial number, at the Newark Air Museum.

The  need  for  such  an  optical-only  strategic   reconnaissance platform for the RAF was becoming less  and  less  clear  with  the advent of satellite intelligence and increased  availability  of  US sourced information through NATO,  especially  as  the  number  of available PR19s on any one day was by now very small.  Indeed,  the 'other half' of 13 Sqdn., now flying the Canberra PR9, was  heavily involved in the more conventional PR duties that suited  the  RAF's current needs more closely.

The RAF's PR units had for some time been centered at  Wyton,  and other units at that airfield  were  operating  in  the  ELINT  role around the fringes of the Iron Curtain. The use of  the  PR19s  as an ultra-high altitude ELINT platform had been mooted before,  and  in the twilight of the Meteor's years steps were taken to explore this capability using the last three remaining aircraft, '762, '767  and '773. The camera ports were blanked off, and most  of  the  systems stripped from the belly pods to  enable  a  variety  of  electronic surveillance packages to  be  carried.  In  this  role,  the  three Meteors worked out their last airframe fatigue hours, flying either over Germany or Norway at their  customary  65,000  foot  altitude, seeking out faint signals from deep inside the Soviet Union.

It is true that the higher altitudes gained by the  PR19s  gave  a deeper coverage of the areas being searched, but it is doubtful  if the use of the Meteors was all that economical  due  to  the  small payload that could be carried in this role. Only a relatively small band of the spectrum could be covered  on  each  flight,  and  full coverage sometimes required  all  three  aircraft  to  be  launched together, each one searching a different frequency band.

However, during 1978 events on the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic began arguably the most bizarre  phase  of  the  PR19's  life.  The original U-2 had been developed into a much more  capable  platform during 1968 as the U-2R, which bore only a superficial  resemblance to the original 1956 aircraft. Prior to 1978 the USAF  had  decided to put the U-2R back into production as the TR-1A, primarily  as  a specialized ELINT/SIGINT/COMINT  platform,  and  this  variant  was designed to carry a very wide range of packages using different pod and nose configurations. One of these was called ASARS-2, and  used a very high resolution radar system to look up to 80 miles behind a line of  battle  giving  almost  real-time,  photographic  quality, imagery of ground based units and formations.

The  Ministry  of  Defence  had  become  very  interested  in  the possibilities of ASARS-2, but did not feel  they  could  be  wholly reliant on the USAF TR-1s to gather the  information.  The  feeling was that the UK, having been offered the  ASARS-2  package,  should have it's own reconnaissance platform to carry it.  Of  course,  we could have bought the whole TR-1/ASARS-2 package,  but  in  a  most uncharacteristic fit of patriotism the MoD decided  that  something wholly British would do the carrying. As the range of  the  ASARS-2 radar was  wholly  determined  by  it's  platform's  altitude,  the initial candidate for  such  a  carrier  almost  chose  itself.  In August 1980 the obvious choice was made and the PR19s  entered  the last phase of their long lives.

There were a few fundamental problems however, not  the  least  of which was that  only  one  aircraft, '762,  had  any  flying  hours available, and these were down into double figures. In  an  amazing feat of single mindedness, it was decided to  totally  re-build  the two high-hour airframes to fit the new role, and to  use  up '762's last hours to keep a small cadre of aircrew current  on  the  type.  The re-build was  much  more  radical  than  the  JT-3D   re-engine programme, and must have been very expensive indeed  for  only  two aircraft. Once again Lockheed gave their design experience  to  the Meteor engineering team, by this time based at BAe Brough.

The entire wing structure was replaced from  the  roots  outwards, and an even more powerful engine was to be fitted. This engine  was an uprated version of the JT-3D, this time correctly designated  as a TF-33-PW-200A, a 21,000 lbs thrust unit developed from the  Pratt & Whitney power plant used on the  E-3A  AWACS.  The  use  of  this engine on the PR19b, as  the  aircraft  became  known,  represented nearly a fourteen-fold increase in power from the  original  Meteor prototype some 34 years earlier. So far as is known, the PR19b  was the only type to use this engine, although  earlier  variants  were the main engines of the RB-57F. These enormous engines were  fitted to a wing that was externally identical to the TR-1A, although only the panels outboard of the engines were  in  fact,  the  same.  The inboard sections carried the PR19's original  undercarriage  units, by now  operating  at  about  three  times  their  original  design loading, at a much wider track to improve stability on the  ground.  The ASARS-2 radar unit was carried in the same nose pod used on the TR-1A,  giving  the  PR19's  last  variation  an   almost   obscene appearance. The tailplane was also replaced with a TR-1A  assembly, complete with the external strengthening ribs retro-fitted  to  the US aircraft. On a curious note, the use of the TR-1 wings gave  the PR19b a wing-fold capability as this was  a  standard  fit  on  the later U-2. This facility was used by the U-2R/TR-1 to  operate  off the large US carriers, but although the Meteor had at one stage  in it's career been evaluated as a carrier-borne fighter, the  PR19b's wing span was greater than the width of any British carrier's deck!

After early flight testing, the ventral fin was deepened,  but  as will be seen later, only '773 ever flew with this fitted. Almost as an afterthought  it  seems,  the  shell  of  the  ventral  pod  was retained, but not to carry any of the ASARS-2 electronics. It seems that with the greater wing area, the re-build team calculated  that the TF-33s, big as they were, would not be able to  provide  enough thrust at the 75,000 foot plus altitudes expected to  be  attained, so the pod was modified to carry a  throttleable  rocket  motor  at it's extreme rear. The forward end of the pod and the rear fuselage avionics bay carried the rocket's fuel load, and the  motor  itself was angled downward so that the  thrust  line  passed  through  the C of G, rather similar to  the  installation  fitted  to  the  SAAF Buccaneers ten years earlier. The motor itself was a much developed version of the Stentor motor used on the Blue Steel stand-off  bomb carried by Vulcans and Victors, and was  expected  to  provide  the PR19 with the  capability  to  maintain speed  at  the  phenomenal altitudes that it could attain.

The two much-modified aircraft, now finished in a dark/light  grey scheme, were trucked to Boscombe Down for  initial  flight  trials, and there disaster struck. '767 was  used  for  the  initial  flight tests while '773 was used  for  ground  testing  with  the  ASARS-2 package, and on an early test flight '767 suffered a multiple  bird strike in one of it's gigantic TF-33 intakes  while  still  at  low altitude. The pilot ejected safely, but '767 was totally destroyed, and with it went the UK ASARS-2 programme. With only  one  aircraft available, it seems that the programme would have taken too long to evaluate properly, and the cost of bringing '762 up  to  the  PR19b standard was deemed excessive at that stage. From  that  point  on, the high resolution radar  images  would  have  to  come  from  the TR-1As.

With very few hours left on '762, this left the tiny  'shadow'  13 Sqdn. with only a single aircraft and almost no  purpose  in  life.  Integrating '773's unique capabilities into 13's normal  activities was  virtually  impossible,  and  so  the  RAF's   sole   remaining operational Meteor flew under the aegis of the CRU. although  still crewed by the few remaining pilots from 13 Sqdn. still qualified to fly at the astronomical heights normal for the PR19. '773 did  find a use at Wyton, primarily  as  an  ELINT  test  platform  with  the ASARS-2 fit removed, but no operational flights were made as far as records show.

However, during the Spring and Summer of '82, no sign of it's most distinctive planform was noted anywhere over the UK , and  one  can only surmise that the 'Last Meteor' might  have  been  enjoying  an Indian Summer in the South Atlantic. As the  re-build  removed  the refueling probe from '773, any operations over  the  Falklands  or even Argentina itself could not have been flown from Wideawake,  so if '773 was doing what it was designed  for,  it  is  difficult  to decide where it was doing it from. In 2012 we may well be told, but in the meanwhile the only logical supposition is that such flights, if indeed there were any, could only have been mounted from another South American base, or just possibly from  one  of  the  US  fleet carriers mentioned above. Either possibility seems  unlikely  under the prevailing political conditions of the time, but  the  question remains, just where was '773 during those months in '82? The Squadron Commander at the time, Wng. Cdr. Tim Wheeler, has remained close lipped on the subject even though retiring from the RAF, at the rank of Air Commodore, some years later.

After it's re-appearance in July '82, '773 was primarily used as a high altitude test vehicle, but eventually the costs  of  operating such a unique aircraft outweighed it's usefulness, and  in  mid-'85 the RAF decided to retire it's 'Last Meteor'. In  fact  this  title was not quite true, as all the time that '773 had been  engaged  in useful work,  '762  had  not  been  totally  idle,  as  the  Wyton maintenance team had been eking out it's  hours  by  an  ingenious reclamation scheme involving dismantling the remains of  the  other non-flying PR19s. All this was to keep up the flying hours  of  the only three qualified pilots, but eventually  even  these  strenuous efforts had to come to an end, and '762 was  shipped  off  to  it's original home  at  Watton  to  become  possibly  the  longest  spanned  gate guardian in the UK.

The passing of the last of Britain's WWII aircraft,  even  if  the link was by now extremely tenuous, could not go unmarked, and plans were made for the occasion to be suitably celebrated. After a  tour  of all the UK bases that had flown Meteors, preparations were made for a final flight to end all  final  flights.  The  Cosford  Aerospace Museum had expressed an interest in '773, and the  delivery  itself was to become a really special occasion.

The use of '773's  rocket  booster  had  been  tested  during  the Boscombe trials, but  it  had  never  been  used  normally  as  the requirement for  ultra-high  altitudes  had  never  been  realised.  However  it  had  been  used  for  training  purposes,   and   it's capabilities were well known. A couple of extra flights  using  the booster were  used  to  explore  the  performance  limits  of  this combination, and final plans were made for the Cosford flight.

As luck would have it, weather considerations prevented the flight taking place until just before Christmas, and so on  December  23rd 1985, '773 crewed by Wng. Cdr. Wheeler and Sqdn Ldr. Mike Barratt, took  off  from  Wyton  to  fly  into  history.  Careful calculations had been made to ensure that only just enough fuel was loaded to achieve the flight's objectives. These objectives were to reach  Cosford  horizontally  and  the  highest  possible  altitude vertically, using the  rocket  motor  during  the  climb  phase  to maximise that altitude. '773 was almost  totally  ballistic  during the final phase of  the  flight,  with  little  or  no  lift  being provided by the rarefied atmosphere at those altitudes, and control was distinctly marginal.

The flight peaked at 100,046 feet, and on the descent full control was not gained until the aircraft had passed 80,000. The top 20% of the flight had only been possible due to the  rocket's  thrust,  as the TF-33s were producing very little output at such  an  altitude, and one of them flamed out close to  the  peak  of  the  flight.  A re-light was successfully accomplished however, and '773 came  into land at Cosford holding the all-time UK altitude record.



'773 is now preserved as part  of  the  Museum's  Collection,  and stands as a  unique  example  of  British  aviation.  As  '762  was regrettably scrapped  in  1991  in  yet  another  act  of  official vandalism, '773 not only holds the altitude record, but  it  serves as the only remaining evidence of Britain's most secret operational aircraft. '773 was the only one of the  twelve  PR19s  to  actually serve the RAF in all three versions, it flew the greatest number of hours of any Meteor, albeit having been re-built twice, and it  was the longest lived of all Meteors in RAF service.  '773  has  surely earned it's rest.

===================

Updated in the light of new information vis a vis 13 Sdqn's operation of the Martin Baker MB8 Marlin.

The recently completed  PR19b build thread is here :- http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,22547.new.html#new

....and the first version of the PR19's build thread is here :- http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,34935.0/highlight,meteor+pr19.html

[Martin H]

The legend lives on..............

[PR19_Kit]

Martin,

Hehehe, is that what you call it? 

I recently had an email from a modeller I knew some years back, who hadn't made it to Telford this year, saying he'd spotted the darn thing in some photos of the Show, so he knew I'd made it back there this year. I dug out the 1/4 built PR19b the other night, trying to figure out how to patch the even larger TF-33-200s onto the TR1 wings. There has to be a way.....