Neill Michael Daunt OBE was a British test pilot; the first person to fly the Gloster Meteor in March 1943, Britain's first production jet aircraft. He was the second person to fly the Gloster E.28/39 "Pioneer" in November 1942. He had many severe accidents that he was lucky to survive, including one for which he had no recollection.
The early jet aircraft for Gloster were designed and built at the Bentham Works in Gloucestershire. He joined Gloster – owned by Hawker – in 1937 as Deputy Chief Test Pilot. He became Chief Test Pilot of Gloster in 1942 when the previous pilot, Gerry Sayer, was lost presumed killed in an accident flying a Hawker Typhoon on 21 October 1942. Most of his test flying took place at Brockworth, Gloucestershire. He flew the Gloster E.28/39 on 6 November 1942 at RAF Edgehill in Oxfordshire, near Shenington off the A422. He took the only known picture of the E.28/39 first flight in May 1941. He retired from test flying in June 1944 when the Meteor he was flying had a full compressor failure in mid-air and he was lucky enough to have a safe landing.
Meteor first flight
On 3 February 1940, Gloster was given the contract for Britain's first F9/40 jet fighter, before any British jet aircraft had flown. On 7 February 1941, the Minister of Aircraft Production ordered twelve Meteor prototypes. The twin engine design was chosen because the engines available were not powerful enough for a single-engine design. The first Meteor prototype was moved to RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire on 12 February 1943. On 5 March 1943 Daunt flew the Meteor, prototype DG206, on the Meteor's first flight. It was not fitted with Power Jets W.2 engines, but the de Havilland Halford H-1. The first flight lasted three and a half minutes, as the aircraft began to yaw violently from side to side. The second flight of the Meteor was on 17 April 1943. He flew the first Meteor powered by Power Jets jet engines on 12 June 1943. Another Meteor prototype, DG204, flew with the axial-flow Metropolitan-Vickers F.2 jet engine in November 1943, which was the fifth Meteor prototype, and the Metropolitan-Vickers engines outperformed those of Power Jets. The highest speed of any Meteor prototype was at. An order was made for 300 Meteors, but due to engine problems, this first order was reduced to 20 aircraft. Michael Daunt flew the first production version of the Meteor Mk 1, equipped with four 20mm Hispano cannon, EE210/G, on 12 June 1944. The Meteor entered service in July 1944. The Messerschmitt Me 262V3 prototype first flew on 18 July 1942 at Leipheim with the Junkers Jumo 004 axial-flow jet engine, piloted by Fritz Wendel.
