DE HAVILLAND COMET 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION 67Left
When BOAC retired its
Comet 4s in the mid-
1960s, three were
sold to the Ministry
of Supply for test,
trials and research
work. G-APDF went
to the Royal Aircraft
Establishment at
Farnborough for
navigation and
instrumental trials
with the Avionics
Department in 1967,
becoming XV814.Left
The last Comet to
be built was XS235.
It was also the last
of the breed to be
retired when it landed
for the fi nal time on
March 14, 1997.Below left
Ex-RAF Comet 1
XM823 is preserved
at the RAF Museum
Cosford, albeit in the
markings of BOAC.
The aircraft was
originally built for
Air France in 1953 but
was delivered to the
Ministry of Supply
instead. The aircraft
was used for trials
work before being
donated to the RAF
Museum in 1968. STEVE
BRIDGEWATERLeftLeftLeftand the RAF ordered five of the new
Comet 4s in late 1961. The type had
been in BOAC service since 1957,
and proved both useful and more
efficient than the earlier examples.
The first RAF Comet C.4 was
delivered to 216 Squadron in
February 1962 and was configured
to accommodate 94 passengers –
more than double the capacity of
the C.2. The airframe had a much
longer fuselage and was powered
by 10,500lb st (46.71kN) Avon
350 turbojets, which raised the
maximum cruising speed to 503mph
(809km/h) and gross weight to
162,000lb (73,483kg).
The Comet C.2 was retired from
Transport Command in April 1967
but the five C.4s survived until 216
Squadron disbanded on June 30,
- The five jets were immediately
purchased by Dan-Air at Gatwick
and went on to give faithful service
with the airline for a few more years.
However, this was far from the
end of RAF Comet operations, with
various airframes lingering on in
the test and evaluation role. One
ex-BOAC Comet C.4 was used bythe Royal Aircraft Establishment at
Farnborough, for navigation and
avionics instrumental trials, from
1967 to 1997 and another was
tasked with radar development. The
latter was fitted with a Nimrod tail
fin and employed as an aerodynamic
and radar trials asset for the planned
Nimrod AEW.3.CANOPUS
The last Comet was built specially
for the Ministry of Supply. Named
Canopus, XS235 was equipped as
a flying laboratory, and delivered
to Boscombe Down’s Aeroplane
and Armament Experimental
Establishment in December 1963.
The aircraft was used as a flying test
bed until 1997 when it was flown
to Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire
for preservation. When it landed
on March 14, 1997 it was the last
Comet to grace the skies.