TG306 became the second aircraft of the triad and this version introduced retractable slats over the fixed, wooden Handley-Page slats featured on TG283. Power was served through a de Havilland Goblin 4 turbojet of 3,500lbs thrust. Its first flight came during June of 1946 and improved performance led to the aircraft attempting to break the World Air Speed record (held by the competing Gloster Meteor at 616mph). TG283 was met with a few adjustments for the attempt but a trial flight prior ended with the aircraft losing control once more, breaking up in mid-flight, and killing pilot Geoffrey de Havilland, Jr. on September, 27th, 1946. During its time in the air, TG283 recorded a maximum speed of 580 miles per hour - though this achieved in a dive.
The DH.108 program then introduced the final flying machine as VW120 - largely influenced by the TG306 model and its issues. First flight was on July 24th, 1947 and the design now boasted an ejection seat for the pilot and a revised cockpit and forward fuselage. Additional strengthening was added to the structure to help avoid the pitfalls of the previous mark in the series. Power-assisted wing surfaces and controls attempted to take some of the fatigue from the pilot. Power was now from a de Havilland Goblin 5 turbojet engine of 3,600lbs thrust. The aircraft went on to become the first British-designed aircraft to break the sound barrier, this accomplished during a steep dive on September 6th, 1948 and resulting in the official speed of Mach 1.02 being recorded. During the dive, the pilot lost control of the aircraft but was able to reclaim her.
It was during another flight on February 15th, 1950 that VW120 was lost when it disintegrated in-flight. Despite access to an ejection seat, the pilot was lost with the aircraft and such ended the tumultuous DH.108 research program. The aircraft proved just as lethal as it was beautiful by 1940s standards, showcasing clean lines and a certain simplicity about her. While the Dh.106 Comet airliner was eventually brought online, it too suffered a stained record with the in-flight disintegrations of three aircraft. The losses and publicity no doubt damaged sales and companies like Boeing were all to ready to take up the market share. Despite this, the Comet - introduced in 1952 - managed a long service life if only through the 114 total examples completed. These served with a handful of carriers with the final Comet retired in March of 1997. The Comet also made up the basis of the RAF's Hawker Siddeley "Nimrod" maritime patrol platform - which itself was not retired until 2011.
The finalized Comet form was completed with a conventional tail unit fitting a sole vertical tail fin and low-set horizontal planes. It did, however, sport sweptback wing surfaces all the main and tailplane units and its engine intakes were similarly placed as on the Swallow design, well-contoured at the wingroots to appear as part of the wing assembly itself.
Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.