Hum it is a bit ugly isent it?
I suppose I would have tried hard and eventually learned to love it.
I read it incorporated a small screw that could come loose unseen by the pilot and freeze the pitch up indications and this caused one Comet to crash.
Seeing that picture and reading up on the history of the Comet just makes me realize how rapid has been the progress in aircraft design and development and how brave and skilled the jet pioneer pilots were.