Production Komets were not ready for operational use until July 1944 and only 279 had been delivered by the end of the war. The sole operational Komet group, JG 400, scored nine kills while losing 14 of its own aircraft. This example never flew and was most probably deliberately sabotaged by the French forced labourers that built it. The hulk was restored by the Canadian National Aviation Museum and acquired by the National Museum of the USAF for display in 1999.

Captured by the Allies near the end of WW2 and tested as Air Ministry 217. Part of the RAF Colerne collection at date of image. Later displayed at Gatow, Germany.

One of the real stars of the superb Museum of Flight. The Komet was a rocket powered interceptor aircraft with a performance far better than any allied aircraft of the time though it was hampered by a very short flight time. It entered service in May 1944. The wheeeled undercarriage dropped away on take-off with the aircraft landing on a skid in a similar way to that which most gliders do.

Preserved as a technical exhibit at the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield. Now (2015) displayed at East Fortune, Scotland.

This Kraftei (Power Egg) shot down a Lancaster on its last flight on 22 April 1945. Avro Lincoln RF398 is in the background.