Cruiser Tank Comet (A34)

History of the cruiser tank Comet (A34)

The Comet Cruiser Tank was the most powerful main battle tank system in Britain during World War II. It reached the later stages of a conflict, where extensive crew training delayed its overall tactical impact in warfare, but it proved to be a reliable mount, and its crew matched them in terms of usable protection and inherent speed.

Eventually, the series will be replaced by more modern armour systems in the British Army's inventory. The Comet became Britain's last infantry-focused "cruiser" tank, after which all thought turned to "main battle tanks" with the coming Cold War.

The design of the Comet cruiser stemmed from a 1941 request by the British Army to seek a new armor system that would have sufficient armor to withstand the dangers of the modern battlefield, and sufficient firepower to effectively compete with what was known at the time. of any German tanks engaged. British operations in North Africa showed that the British Army lacked capable tanks, so much so that it had to rely heavily on American Lend-Lease M3 Lee/Grant and M4 Sherman medium tanks. British tank design philosophy, at least at this point in the history of mechanization, still relies heavily on speed rather than armor protection and firepower.

The development of the Cromwell medium tank helped close the gap between British and German tank designs, at least for now.

One of these early attempts at the initiative of the British Army was the "Challenger" prototype (not related to the Cold War main battle tank), which carried a 17 lb (77 mm) main gun des the above grams on a modified chassis Renwell medium tank. While the Cromwell hull was acceptable in the experiments, the installation of larger gun mounts directly affected the lighter armor protection scheme, which ultimately proved unacceptable to the British authorities.

As such, the Challenger design was officially dropped from serious debate, and more prototypes remained.

Another design soon appeared, using another high-speed 77mm gun on a Cromwell chassis. The 77mm gun is an evolution of a Vickers-Armstrong-inspired small-caliber gun that fires a 15-pound projectile. The new 77mm gun can now fire a 17-pound projectile, has 109mm of armor and can penetrate up to 1,500 feet. The gun has a lower muzzle velocity and a smaller interior than that used in the Challenger design, but overall armor protection has been improved (through welded construction) and a new engine has been installed.

The choice of artillery also opened up the use of existing British ammunition supplies and was eventually able to close the gap with the later German tanks in use - especially the Panthers.

This completed design became the prototype "A34" and soon the tank was nicknamed "Komet". Essentially, the Comet is nothing more than a Cromwell with reinforced suspension, newly widened turret rings and extra armor protection. The completed A34 prototype was unveiled in February 1944, although the serial Comet was not delivered to front-line troops until September when the British Army was preparing to invade Germany. Production of the comet took place from late 1944 to early 1945, and by that time about 1,186 examples had been completed.

His new design approach required retraining of British tanker crews, delaying this type of quantitative use for some time.

Externally, the Comet's hull has the same appearance as the previous Cromwell. The turret has a slightly sloping fairing to provide some ballistic protection, but the overall design is clean. The gun is equipped with a muzzle brake with a shutter for recoil. The fuselage is squat, with a smaller cross-section, and five rubber tire wheels occupy one side of the track. The drive sprocket is at the rear of the design and the chain idler is at the front.

The engine is mounted in a compartment at the rear for maximum protection. The crew quarters are for five people, including the driver, commander, gunner, loader and radio operator.

Come is equipped with a 600 hp Rolls-Royce Meteor Mark VIII V12 engine. This gives the tank a top speed of 32 mph and a range of about 125 miles. The vehicle has a barrel length of 21 feet 6 inches, a width of 10 feet 1 inches and a height of 8 feet 8 inches. The weight is 32.7 tons.

Primary armament is a 77mm Mark II L/49 series (17lb) main gun, supplemented by an array of 2 x 7.92mm BESA anti-infantry anti-tank machine guns. One machine gun was mounted next to the main gun as a coaxial turret, while the other served as a bow machine gun operated by a radio operator.

UK XXX. The Corps could use the Comet during the sprint to Arnhem during General Montgomery's famous "Operation Market Garden" campaign in September 1944, currently available.

In March 1945, the Comet was used to advance towards Germany across the Rhine in Wesel, and the 11th Panzer Division relied on this type to advance into the Baltic region.

In addition to combat operations in World War II, the Comet also served with British Army units in the upcoming Korean War, when British Army units were technically replaced by Centurion main battle tanks. Serving with the British Army until the 1960s, the Comet sees its final days as a crew training vessel for a new generation of British tankers.

Specification

Basic

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

61 x 77mm bullet

5,175x7.92mm ammo

Changes