Comet (tank)

Tank, Cruiser, Comet I (A34)
A Comet tank on display at the Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr.
Type	Cruiser tank
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	December 1944 - 1958 (UK)
Used by	see Operators
Wars	Second World War Korean War
Production history
Designed	1943
Manufacturer	Leyland Motors Ltd
Produced	September 1944
No. built	1,186
Specifications
Weight	32.7 long tons (laden) (33.53 tonnes)
Length	21 ft 6 in (6.55 m) excluding gun
Width	10 ft 1 in (3.04 m)
Height	8 ft 6 in (2.67 m)
Crew	5 (Commander, gunner, loader/operator, driver, hull gunner)
Armour	1.3–4.0 in (32–102 mm)
Main armament	77 mm HV 61 rounds
Secondary armament	2 × 7.92 mm Besa MG 5,175 rounds
Engine	Rolls-Royce Meteor Mark III V12 petrol 600 hp (447 kW)
Power/weight	18 hp (13.3 kw) / tonne
Transmission	Merrit-Brown Z5
Suspension	Christie
Ground clearance	18 in (0.5 m)
Fuel capacity	116 Imperial gallons
Operational range	155 miles (250 km)
Speed	32 mph (51 km/h)

The Comet tank or Tank, Cruiser, Comet I (A34) was a British cruiser tank that first saw use near the end of the Second World War. It was designed as an improvement on the earlier Cromwell tank, mounting the new 77 mm HV gun in a new lower profile and part-cast turret. This gun was effective against late war German tanks, including the Panther and, at most ranges, the Tiger. The tank was widely respected as one of the best British tanks of the war, and continued in service afterwards.

Comet, which was a development of the Cromwell, rendered the Challenger obsolete, and led to the development of the Centurion tank. When firing APDS rounds, the 77 mm HV was a superior weapon to the 75 mm KwK 42 gun of the equivalent Axis tank, the Panther.

The Comet saw action in the closing stages of the Second World War, then combat during the Korean War, and remained in British service until 1958. In some cases, Comets sold to other countries continued to operate into the 1980s.

Combat experience against the Germans in the Western Desert Campaign demonstrated to the British many shortcomings with their cruiser tanks. Hence a request was made in 1941 for a new heavy cruiser tank that could achieve battle superiority over German models. For reasons of economy and efficiency, it had to use as many components as possible from the current A15 Cruiser tank Mk VI Crusader tank.

The initial designs for the new Cromwell tank evolved into the A24 Cruiser Tank Mk VII Cavalier tank and the A27L Cruiser tank Mk VII Centaur tank, both powered by the Nuffield Liberty. Design progressed through the Cruiser tank Mk VII (A27M) Cromwell, a third parallel development to the Cavalier and Centaur, sharing many of the same characteristics.