AVIATION: Comet on the Bench

When the second Comet I airliner in three months crashed off Italy, all England felt the blow to British national pride. But it found consolation in the sleek new Comets II and III hatching in De Havilland Aircraft Co.'s factories. Trumpeted Lord Beaverbrook's Evening

Standard: "Whatever doubts may exist about Comet I, there can be none about its successor . . . The aim must now be to speed production ... to ensure that as many as possible of these magnificent aircraft will be in service as soon as possible." Last week Britain found that doubts did exist about Comets...