THE BRITISH GLOSTER METEOR JET FIGHTER THE FIRST ALLIED
JET PLANE ENTERED SERVICE IN THE BATTLE AGAINST THE V-1
The V-1 offensive resumed on 15 June 1944 244 missiles were launched in 24 hours. 144 reached the English coast and 73 fell on Greater London. During the next few weeks England was hit by an average of 100 flying bombs a day, most fell in the London area and there were heavy casualties. Some one and a half million people were evacuated from London. The air defences had a problem, to shoot down these flying bombs over London's built up areas would cause as much damage as a normal strike.
On the 21 July 1944 London's anti-aircraft guns were moved to the south coast, from then on matters improved. The guns were able to shoot down the V-1's over the sea, while in front and behind them the fighters joined in. It was now that the RAF's first operational jet fighter the Gloster Meteor entered service on 12 July 1944 with 616 squadron and entered combat. On 4 August 1944 a Meteor it's guns jammed succeeded in tipping over a V-1, marking the first successful jet versus jet action, on the same day another Meteor shot down a V-1.
On August 28 1944 only four out of 94 V-1's got through to London, 65 were destroyed by anti-aircraft guns, 23 by fighters and four by the last defence line in front of London, barrage balloons.
The British Government announced on 7 September 1944 that "except possibly for a last few shots the battle of London is over" By now the Pas-de-Calais in northern France where most of the V-1 launch sites were located had been overrun by Allied forces.
6.275 V-1's had reached the south coast of England, more than half were destroyed by the air defences 2.340 reached the London area, killing 5.475 people and injuring a further 16.000. This however was not the end of the story, the German began to launch the V-1's from piloted aircraft and during the next seven months 750 were launched in this way. Only one- tenth reached the London area, the remainder striking as far north as Yorkshire and as far west as Shropshire. The last V-1, a modified long-range version, fired from northern Holland, did not appear over Britain until 29 March 1945, and was shot down by anti-aircraft guns over Suffolk.
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