de Havilland DH.106 Comet Family
The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first jet airliner to enter commercial passenger service. Its swept low wing, four buried jet engines, pressurized cabin, and high cruising altitude transformed expectations for long-distance travel. Early structural failures exposed destructive pressure-cycle fatigue and led to an unprecedented full-scale investigation; the substantially redesigned Comet 4 restored the type to service and also supported military and research work.
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Identity
- Aliases
- DH.106 CometDH 106 CometComet 1Comet 2Comet 3Comet 4Comet 4BComet 4C
- Family Name
- de Havilland DH.106 Comet
- Full Name
- de Havilland DH.106 Comet Family
- Roles
- airlinermilitaryresearch
- Status
- retired
- Type
- aircraft
Details
- Aircraft Specs
- Configuration
- fixed_wing
- Operating Modes
- land
- Takeoff Landing Capabilities
- conventional
- Description
- The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first jet airliner to enter commercial passenger service. Its swept low wing, four buried jet engines, pressurized cabin, and high cruising altitude transformed expectations for long-distance travel. Early structural failures exposed destructive pressure-cycle fatigue and led to an unprecedented full-scale investigation; the substantially redesigned Comet 4 restored the type to service and also supported military and research work.
- First Flight Year
- 1,949
- Manufacturer
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Count
- 4
- Placement
- wing
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Stage
- airframe
- Variant Notes
- Four Ghost 50 Mk 1 turbojets in the Comet 1 buried wing installation; BAE lists four 4,450 lbst DH Ghost 50 engines for Comet 1. No later Ghost mark or Avon substitution is inferred.
- Name
- de Havilland Comet 1 Ghost 50 Mk 1 installation
- Notes
- Comet 1 production configuration only. Comet 2/2X/2E and Comet 3/4 family alternatives, including Avon-powered variants, remain intentionally unmodeled until exact variant packets are separately sourced. This alternative is not a claim that every DH.106 subseries used Ghost 50 Mk 1.
- Entries
- Count
- 4
- Placement
- wing
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Stage
- airframe
- Variant Notes
- Four exact Rolls-Royce Avon Mk 524 turbojets, two embedded in each Comet 4 wing; no other Comet branch is inferred.
- Name
- Comet 4 exact Avon Mk 524 configuration
- Notes
- Applies only to the de Havilland DH.106 Comet 4 branch. The sealed Comet 1 Ghost 50 Mk 1 alternative is preserved; Comet 2/2X/2E, Comet 3, Comet 4B, Comet 4C, and other Comet variants remain unmodeled until exact variant packets are separately sourced.
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Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 29, 2026 at 09:16:33 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 5, 2026 at 01:08:11 UTC