Comet (tank)

Cruiser tank A34 Comet
Comet in the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr
General properties
crew	5 (commander, driver, gunner, loader, machine gunner)
length	6.55 m
width	3.04 m
height	2.67 m
Dimensions	35775 kg (combat weight)
Armor and armament
Armor	14-102 mm
Main armament	1 × 7.7 cm L / 55 cannon (actually 7.62 cm)
Secondary armament	2 × 7.92 mm Besa machine gun
agility
drive	V12 Rolls-Royce Meteor 440 kW (600 PS)
suspension	Christie Drive
Top speed	50 km / h
Power / weight	13.4 kW / t (18.2 PS / t)
Range	250 km

The Cruiser Tank A34 Comet was a battle tank of the time of the Second World War from a British production.

description

The Comet was based on the experiences of the desert war of 1941/42 . It was originally a further development of the Cromwell cruiser tank . However, when the first prototype of the Comet was presented in February 1944, only 40% of all parts were in common with the Cromwell. Particularly noticeable changes were the stronger cannon and the reinforced support roller drive. The Comet had a shortened version of the 17-pounder, called the OQF 77 mm Mk II. The actual caliber, however, was 7.62 cm. The OQF was slightly weaker than the original model, but the shorter OQF did not need to be enlarged.

The use of the Rolls-Royce Meteor Mk III 12-cylinder gasoline engine already installed in the Cromwell made the Comet very dynamic. With a top speed of 50 km / h on the road and a combat weight of almost 36 t, the Comet was one of the fastest cruiser tanks in the British Army .

Series production did not begin until September 1944, but around 1200 Leyland Motors were still built by the end of the war . The Comet was considered one of the best British multi-purpose tanks. Since it was made available to the troops very late, it was only used occasionally in Europe during the Second World War . The Comet was also used in the Korean War . In the British Army, the Comet was replaced by the more modern Centurion in 1958 . The tank served in other armed forces until the 1980s.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Tanks of World War II, Cruiser Tank Comet (accessed October 20, 2009)

literature

• Alexander Lüdeke: Allied tanks . Motorbuch Verlag 2010, ISBN 978-3-613-03108-1

Web links

Commons : Comet  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• David Boyd, The Comet Tank (A.34) History and Dates
• Prime Portal, The Comet Tank (A.34) / Walk Arounds (Engl.)
• OnWar, data sheet Cruiser Tank, Comet (A34) (engl.)
• Military Factory, Cruiser Tank Comet (A34 )