Perhaps I could add a little to the debate on the Meteor in Korea.
As regards the fighter role, the outcome usually depended on the height that the Meteors operated. At medium altitudes (around 20,000 ft) a Meteor F.8 could out-turn, out-accelerate and out-climb an F-86A Sabre so stood a reasonable chance of success in mock combat. It therefore should, at least, have been able to hold its own against a MiG-15.
At altitudes in excess of 25,000 ft, however, the Meteor’s performance fell away progressively and was completely outclassed by Sabre and MiG above 30,000 ft as the latter two could cruise at Mach numbers that the Meteor could not attain due to compressibility issues and they could employ dive and zoom tactics at will.
In Korea there does not seem to have been that much co-operation between RAAF and USAF, especially in the early war period, as on a number of occasions RAAF Meteors were positioned above USAF Sabres, the exact opposite of what should have happened! If the Sabres had been used consistently as top cover to RAAF Meteors at medium levels, any MiGs that were forced down into the clutches of the Meteors would have had a tough time getting home.
Peter
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