Today In History:  24 July  [1946]   --  The first live test of the Martin-Baker ejection-seat system

The first live flight test of the Martin-Baker ejection-seat system took place when Bernard Lynch ejected from a Gloster Meteor Mk.III jet travelling at 320 miles per hour (510 km/h) at 8,000 feet (2,400 m) over Chalgrove Airfield in Oxfordshire.

PHOTO: Gloster Meteor WL419 Model T7, an ejection-seat test aircraft owned by Martin Baker Company. On static display at the 2008 Air Day, Kemble Airport, Gloucestershire, England. There are modifications to the rear cockpit where the ejection seat is fitted (in particular, no canopy). Photo Adrian Pingstone.

Photo Attribution:  Public Domain  via Wikimedia. Adrian Pingstone