Researched 2026-10-11 from the sources listed below. Airframes move between hangars, workshops and loans: check with Tangmere Military Aviation Museum before travelling to see this one.
The airframe in brief
| Serial / registration | EE549 |
|---|---|
| Type | Gloster Meteor F.4 |
| Delivered | August 1946, direct from Gloster to the RAF High Speed Flight |
| Units / operator | RAF High Speed Flight, Tangmere; later Fighter Command units |
| World record | 615.78 mph, 7 September 1946, Gp Capt E.M. Donaldson |
| City record | Paris (Le Bourget) to London (Croydon) in 20 min 11 sec, January 1947 |
| Withdrawn | June 1952, to Cranwell as instructional airframe |
| Arrived | Tangmere, 1992 on loan; gifted 2025 |
| Status | On display |
| Where | Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, Chichester |
The story of EE549
The RAF High Speed Flight reformed at Tangmere in late 1945 to make an attempt on the world air speed record. Group Captain Edward 'Teddy' Donaldson took command in July 1946. In August 1946 the flight received Meteor F.4 EE549 straight from the Gloster Aircraft Company.
On 7 September 1946 Donaldson flew EE549 over a 3 km course off the Sussex coast at Rustington, near Littlehampton. He averaged 615.78 mph, a new official world air speed record. In January 1947, returning from the Paris Air Show, EE549 set a record time of 20 min 11 sec from Le Bourget to Croydon.
The aircraft then served with Fighter Command units. In June 1952 it was retired to Cranwell as an instructional airframe, and it went into store in June 1958. The RAF Museum put it on display in 1972. It was lent to the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum in 1992, returning it to the airfield the High Speed Flight used. The RAF Museum gifted it to Tangmere in 2025. Donaldson himself is buried at Tangmere, and the museum shows his Meteor alongside Neville Duke's record Hunter.
Seeing EE549 today
Displayed at Tangmere near Neville Duke's Hunter WB188, the two record aircraft that flew from this airfield.
| Museum | Adult entry | Airframes | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tangmere Military Aviation MuseumChichester, West Sussex | £15 | 23 | Hawker Hunter WB188 in one-off scarlet, in which Neville Duke took the world air speed record to 727.63 mph off this coast in 1953;… |
Also known as: Meteor F4 EE549 · Donaldson Meteor · High Speed Flight Meteor · Meteor world speed record