De Havilland Comet. The Worlds First Jet Airliner

For an introduction and an overview of the worlds first production commercial airliner, this is an enjoyable book. In addition, as with his other volumes, Ron Davies offers the reader his practical perspective, which in itself makes the book highly worthwhile. The main shortcoming, however, is that, with a mere 65 pages, the treatment of such a notable subject is all to brief. Author Davies presents a brief overview of several abandoned British projects for a long-range post-War commercial airliner, an interesting subject of itself, though he does neglect the Saro Princess and the even more ambitious Saro V-tailed jet-powered flying boat. Brief coverage is afforded the design of the aircraft and the De Havilland Ghost turbojet that powered it. Perhaps this books strongest point is that Ron Davies devotes two-page spreads covering the airlines that flew the Comet, from the 1A through the 4C, each accompanied by a fine color illustration by Mike Machat and a map showing the routes flown by the type (with the exception of Dan-Air London, the famous charter airline). In the end, Ron Davies balances the commercial uses of the Comet with the Royal Air Force variants, from the 2R and 4C (Canopus) to the various Nimrod variants.