The German air-operated seat of WW2 has been mentioned but this is the only account I have seen by someone who used it.
Author Stephen Harris set out to find more about his great-uncle Flt Lt Col Jones, lost over Berlin in 1943 while a navigator with 149 Sqn. In his excellent book Under a Bomber’s Moon he tells of his long search, during which he also met former night-fighter pilot Lt Otto Fries who had flown Me110 aircraft with considerable success.
By 1944 he had changed to the Heinkel 219, which had twin engines, a high wing and complex twin tail which made safe exit impossible without an ejection seat. The German seat was manually operated, the user having to jettison the canopy, release his seat harness, remove a safety cover on the right of the seat and operate a lever to fire the compressed air propellant.
Otto's Heinkel 219 was at 600ft on the approach to his base near Munster when there was a crash and blinding flash as he was attacked by a Mosquito. He yelled ‘Get out’ to Fred his Bordfunker, jettisoned his canopy and was waiting to hear his Funker leaving when Fred called ‘I can’t, my catapult’s kaput’. The Mosquito’s cannon shells had damaged the aircraft but it did not burn. Rather than abandon Fred he chose to land without hydraulics or rudder control. The wheels stayed locked down, the Heinkel rolled to the end of the runway and its crew escaped though the machine was written off.
The crew had scarcely recovered when they were attacked again a few days later, this time with port engine on fire and elevator cables severed. Otto managed pitch control with trim, descending to 3000ft, jettisoning the canopy, opening the ejector seat safety cover below his right hand and hitting the rod. This time both seats operated perfectly and they landed safely without injury.