In 1952, British aircraft manufacturer de Havilland shocked the world. They released the de Havilland Comet, the world’s first jet airliner. This single aircraft revolutionized the aviation industry, with it never being the same again!
Despite this, you would never want to fly on a Comet! But why exactly is that?
Pre-Comet
Prior to the Comet, jet aircraft were only relatively new. In 1930, Frank Whittle had invented the jet engine. These engines were first used on military fighter jets, designed during WWII, although entering fairly late.
All commercial aircraft prior to the Comet had been piston-driven, with the most common long-range airliner being the Lockheed Constellation. Other long range aircraft like the Boeing 377 also existed.
For some small airlines, outdated models like the Ford Trimotor or Boeing 247 were still in service on their high-density routes. However, for the time, these aircraft were extremely fuel consuming.
Airlines had seen the introduction of new, faster and more fuel efficient military jet aircraft and wanted their own. This spurred most aircraft manufacturers to try to develop their own jet engines.
As early as 1940, aircraft manufacturers were designing small to medium range jet airliners. Indeed, many of these designs spawned future jet aircraft, some of which are still in service today!
In 1942, the UK formed the Brabazon Committee to sort out the future of the British commercial aviation market. The foremost part of this was the introduction of jet airliners to the newly established British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).
Development
One of the members of the committee was aviation pioneer, Sir Geoffrey de Havilland. De Havilland was the owner of the de Havilland Aircraft Company, one of the largest producer of military fighters during WWII.
Using his company and influence in the industry, de Havilland pioneered the design of jet-powered aircraft. De Havilland managed t convince the committee that a full jet-powered aircraft was necessary, not a half and half.
As such, the Brabazon Committee sent out a specification for a fully jet-powered airliner. De Havilland had his engineers working on this design right away, with the official designs being completed in 1944.
Three subsequent designs were also drawn up in 1945, 1946 and 1947 respectively. All four designs (along with their specifications) were sent to BOAC and the Brabazon Committee for review.
Of the four de Havilland sent, their 1947 design was the most intuitive. Due to this, de Havilland had to manufacture both the engines and the airframe, however, neither party minded that too much.
After much back and forth, the de Havilland DH 106 Comet as we know it was born. By 1949, both the Brabazon Committee and BOAC were satisfied with the design, and the first Comet prototypes were built.
Service
The de Havilland Comet first flew on July 27 1949. Following more tests, and the odd tweak here and there, the Comet was introduced with BOAC on May 2 1952.
De Havilland would later develop several variants of the Comet for both civilian and military uses.
Commercial
In September 1952, following BOAC’s trial flights of the Comet, BOAC entered the de Havilland Comet into regularly scheduled passenger flights. The first commercial flight took place between London and Johannesburg.
Following their entry into service with BOAC, several other airlines bought Comets. Most controversially, two French airlines, Air France and Union Aéromaritime de Transport acquired three Comet 1As each.
By 1953, sales of the Comet were up more than had been expected. This led several British newspapers and aerospace publications to make very bold claims about the future of the aerospace industry: Britain would rule it.
However, these did not come to fruition. Airlines began demanding a longer variant of the Comet, which was delivered in 1953, being delivered to Air India, British Pacific Commonwealth Airlines and Japan Airlines among others.
Several airlines wanted to use the Comet on long-range and transatlantic routes. However, it lacked the range in order to do it, so de Havilland invented new engines that allowed you to fly transatlantic.
This eventually led to airlines such as Pan Am, Capital Airlines and National Airlines to place orders for de Havilland Comets! These fleets work side by side with their Boeing 707 counterparts!
Military
Despite being initially designed as a commercial aircraft, the British military soon took notice of the de Havilland Comet and entered negotiations for specialized variants.
Transport
The military use of the Comet was as a transport aircraft. Due to it being a jet-powered aircraft, it flew higher and faster than most other transports of its day, this made it a favorite among militaries.
Most notably, the British military, in particular the RAF, were very fond of the Comet. In 1956, eight Comet 2s were designed for commercial service. Instead, they ended up in RAF service after the airline abandoned their order.
These Comet 2s were entered into service as de Havilland C2s. These aircraft were attached to 216 squadron as transport aircraft, based at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire. Most of these aircraft were VIP transportation.
In fact, these aircraft didn’t just transport high ranking military officers, but also royalty and politicians. If ever any of these people were flying out of the country on long-haul trips (on official business), they’d fly in a C2.
Here, these aircraft served in this capacity until 1984, when they were replaced by more fuel efficient aircraft. In 1953, the Canadians utilized retired Comet 1s as VIP transport aircraft too.
These retired Comet 1s were sent to de Havilland Canada, where they were outfitted for the same roles as their British counterparts would be a few years later.
Maritime Patrol Aircraft
After de Havilland was acquired by Hawker Siddeley, the RAF approached Hakwer Siddeley about a new aircraft. Since WWI, the British military had used aircraft to spot incoming enemy ships.
However, with the advent of U-Boats and then nuclear-armed submarines, the stakes became ever greater. The RAF had Avro Shackletons to do this task for a long time, however, they were ageing immensely.
As such, the RAF wanted an all-new jet-powered fleet of anti-submarine aircraft. The aircraft they chose was the de Havilland Comet. These were aircraft developed by Hawker Siddeley on the plans of the Comet.
This aircraft was designated as the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod. These aircraft featured new engines with extended ranges as well as faster speeds. The fuselage of the Nimrod was lengthened, as well as heightened.
Hakwer Siddeley equipped the Nimrod with several different pieces of equipment, including submarine-detecting sonar. Much of the fuselage was also taken up by bomb bays, carrying an array of ordnance.
The Nimrod was also given a higher service ceiling. This helped to protect it not only from enemy aircraft but also many contemporary radars. However, as time moved on, these were no longer effective.
Failed Military Variants
Following the introduction of the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod R.1 in 1973, the RAF approached Hawker Siddeley and eventually BAE Systems for Comet-derived Nimrod aircraft.
In the late 1970’s, radars became small enough that they could fit inside an aircraft. This led the US Air Force to contract Boeing to develop the Boeing 707-derived E-3 Sentry AEW&C (AWACS).
As the British had invented the radar in WWII, the British Government was adamant that British companies could produce an aircraft better than than the E-3 Sentry.
Hawker Siddeley, later British Aerospace, complied and developed the Nimrod AEW3. However, this aircraft failed dramatically, and was too expensive to mass produce, as such, the RAF chose to purchase E-3s instead.
In 2004, the Nimrod R.1s (and others) were ageing very quickly. In an attempt to keep the aircraft British, the RAF approached BAE Systems for a new Comet-derived aircraft that could replace the earlier variants.
As such, BAE Systems designed the Nimrod MRA4 for the RAF. However, it too would’ve been extremely expensive to build and operate. As such, it was passed over in favor of the 737-800-derived Boeing P-8 Poseidon.
Specifications
Due to the Comet’s initial success, de Havilland was emboldened to develop several other variants of the Comet, some with longer fuselages or others with extended ranges.
In total, four commercial variants of the de Havilland Comet were developed. The first was the Comet 1, followed by the Comet 2, Comet 3 and later the Comet 4. By far the most common were the Comet 3 and Comet 4.
| Specifications | Comet 3 | Comet 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 111 ft 6 in (33.99 m) | 111 ft 6 in (33.99 m) |
| Wingspan | 115 ft (35 m) | 115 ft (35 m) |
| Height | 29 ft 6 in (9 m) | 29 ft 6 in (9 m) |
| Crew | 4 | 4 |
| Seats | 58–76 | 56–81 |
| Cruise Speed | 840 km/h (450 kn; 520 mph) | 840 km/h (450 kn; 520 mph) |
| Range | 2,700 mi (2,300 nmi; 4,300 km) | 3,225 mi (2,802 nmi; 5,190 km) |
| Service Ceiling | 45,000 ft (14,000 m) | 42,000 ft (13,000 m) |
| MTOW | 150,000 lb (68,000 kg) | 156,000 lb (71,000 kg) |
How Safe Was The de Havilland Comet?
Despite it being almost impossible to fly on a Comet today, it is still important to understand how safe or dangerous the Comet was. Both by contemporary and modern standards.
However, you have to understand, before the Comet, jet engines were only used on fighter jets. And even then, they were only relatively new and were naturally very temperamental.
Early on in the Comet’s career, it got a reputation for being one of the most dangerous aircraft to fly on. This was due to the Comet being involved in 26 crashes, resulting in 426 fatalities.
Compared to later jet aircraft (including other “dangerous” aircraft like the Lockheed L-1011) this may not seem like much. However, the vast majority of them were in the first 5 years of service… and due to the aircraft itself.
During design, de Havilland engineers didn’t accurately account for the stresses that the fuselage would face. As such, the fuselage was very thin compared to other jet aircraft.
This caused the Comet to break up mid flight after several flights. After several crashes of this nature, the problem was addressed, with de Havilland recalling all Comets to have the fuselages reinforced.
This is perhaps the reason why you wouldn’t want to fly on a Comet. Even early on in their service life, they had a reputation for crashing, even after the issue was sorted, people were still fearful that the Comet would crash.
Was The de Havilland Comet a Success or a Failure?
Avgeeks have debated this for a long time. By most standards, the de Havilland Comet, whilst a technical miracle, was a commercial failure, especially so for first generation jet aircraft.
When the Comet was first introduced, airlines went crazy for it. Of the 114 Comets sold, most of them were sold before 1958 (when the Boeing 707 was introduced).
There are several reasons why it was deemed by many as a failure. For starters, the Comet was extremely expensive. It had the price tag of a large piston-powered airliner, but the specs of a mid-sized airliner.
In 1952, de Havilland charged £275,000 ($8 million today) for a Comet 1. For a piston-powered airliner with similar specs, such as the DC-6, it would set you back around £80,000 ($2.3 million today).
This was all for a mostly unproven piece of technology. Yes, a few WWII and later post-WWII fighters had been equipped with jet engines, but a fighter jet and a commercial airliner are two completely different ball games!
Despite higher operating and acquisition costs, other jet aircraft, such as the Convair 990, 707 and DC-8 carried far more people, as well as having a longer range, were preferred by most airlines for most routes.
As such, the Comet sold the second least of any first generation jet airliner, behind only the Convair 880/990 family.
Legacy
Regardless of whether it was a failure or not, the de Havilland Comet did leave a large legacy on the industry as a whole. Much of this can still be seen today!
De Havilland
The failure of the Comet proved to the British Government that the British aviation industry was no match for the post-WWII aviation market. There was a worry that one day, BOAC would fly an all-American fleet.
At the same time, British aviation engineers (as with many other people) unionized, crippling the industry. As such, the British Government funded Hawker Siddeley’s takeover of de Havilland, becoming a large subsidairy.
Eventually, the British Government realized it needed to nationalize the industry, forming BAe Systems. This company is the predecessor of today’s BAE Systems- Britain’s major aircraft manufacturer.
Whilst still de Havilland, the money that the Comet made initially was reinvested. This money helped to finance the HS 125 (eventually BAe 125), one of the first business jets ever!
This money also helped to finance the world’s second trijet- the DH.121, otherwise known as the Hawker Siddeley Trident. Not to mention several failed prototypes of military jets that would’ve entered service in the 1960’s.
The introduction of the Comet in 1952 led to de Havilland getting a very good reputation in the industry. Before WWII, de Havilland was known for its military and general aviation aircraft, not its airliners. The Comet changed that.
De Havilland Comet
The last scheduled passenger flight of the Comet was in 1981, when the last airlines began to phase their Comet fleet out for newer jet aircraft like the 727 and 747. The vast majority of Comets had since been stored or scrapped.
With that being said, government agencies and militaries still operated Comets for various reasons. By March 1994, the British Ministry of Technology still operated a Comet for radio and radar trials.
However, on March 14 1994, the British Ministry of Technology Comet, nicknamed Canopus took its last flight, marking the end of production Comet flights.
The RAF still used a fleet of Comet-derived Nimrods. Since the early 2000’s, the RAF had been phasing Nimrods in favor of newer aircraft. The last of these Nimrods flew in 2011, being replaced by 707-derived E-3 Sentrys and P-8 Poseidons.
As of the time of writing, there are no Comets that still fly, although there is one in airworthy condition. However, several are still nine Comets preserved in aviation museums across the world, mostly in the UK.
Two of the Comets that are in museums are not in the UK, one being in Everett, another in Hermeskeil, Germany. Of those two Comets, both are fully intact, with the one in Everett having recently gone under restoration.
Future Aircraft
From 1949 onwards, almost every successful airliner was jet-powered. After 1949, only one piston-powered aircraft was introduced- the Douglas DC-7 in 1953, however it was only produced until the introduction of the DC-8 jet.
The Comet ensured that what airlines wanted: more speed and comfort, was the future. You could argue that this need for speed eventually created the SST race, producing the Concorde, Tu-144 and failed Boeing 2707.
For the next 35 years, the Comet set the industry standard for engine configuration. Even the Concorde, Tu-144 and Boeing 2707 were all quad jets, just like the Comet had been (although the 707 popularized “under wing” engines).
Even the design of the Comet stood true for almost every subsequent non-short range jet airliner. The tail configuration in particular stands true, popularizing the “inverted T tail” design.
It wasn’t just jet airliners who’s design was inspired by the Comet. Many early military jet fighters and bombers had their engines in their wing. Whilst this was most present in British jet aircraft, some American aircraft had it too!
Did you ever fly on the de Havilland Comet? What was it like? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Classic Aviation via Flickr.