Jan H. J. Tolido
(1931 - 1954)
Jan Tolido

This page is in honor of Jan (Johannes) Tolido who died in service of his country on November 16th of 1954.

Born September 3rd, 1931 in Voorburg, Netherlands, Jan was an airforce pilot for the Royal Dutch Airforce. As an accomplished pilot, Jan was among an elite crew who flew the very first jet fighter in use by the Dutch RAF, the Gloster Meteor.

The Meteor aircraft was the result of a British war effort to combat the sophisticated German jet fighters during the second World War. Thankfully, for the British Meteor pilots, that meeting never happened. As a direct result of bringing the fighter into production as quickly as possible, the Meteor didn't have the benefit of a thorough "cold war" test cycle and consequently lacked certain quality and design aspects. A common ailment with the initial design models was fallout of both engines. This frequently happened during practice flights and was reportedly due to rough handling of the throttle.

While many pilots were impressed by the advanced technology, many others mentioned the heavy maneuverability, under powered engines, lacking emergency procedures and the frequency of accidents. The Meteor was by no means an easy plane to fly.

During Jan's short but dedicated flying career he became a pilJan Tolidoot for the 325th Squadron. It was during a routine flight in a two-seater Gloster Meteor T.Mk.7 (I-7) that his plane malfunctioned and he crash-landed near Leeuwarden with his colleague, A.G. Kraayeveld on November 16th, 1954. Jan left behind his fiancee, his parents, and his three younger brothers and sister. He is remembered among his peers and by his family to this day. Jan is immortalized as part of the fictional 329th squadron which recognizes those pilots who have gave their lives to flying during those early years.
Note: Between 1950 and 1958, 45 Meteor aircraft crashed taking a total of 52 lives, with the year 1952 seeing 12 incidents. Although the Meteor has seen it's share of incidents, many surviving pilots still speak and write affectionately about the aircraft experience. Among a number of different books which detail the history of the Gloster Meteor is "Het paard van Phaëthon" and the forthcoming "Alle paarden van Apollo" written by Aart van Wijk in 1999. See also the following reference page of the Gloster Meteor along with this Wikipedia reference in English and in Dutch. Many thanks to Aart van Wijk for his comprehensive research and information.

Gloster Meteor T.Mk.7


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