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Comet tank
Comet tank in a museum
Specifications
Weight	33 t
Length	6.55 m
Width	3.04 m
Height	2.67 m
Crew	5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver)
Armour	102 mm
Primary armament	77 mm HV 58 Rounds
Secondary armament	2 x 7.92 mm Besa MG
Engine	Rolls-Royce Meteor V12 600 hp (447 kW)
Power/weight	18 hp/t
Suspension	Christie
Operational range	250 km

The Tank, Cruiser, Comet I (A34) was a British tank that first saw use near the end of World War II. It is often considered the best overall British tank of the war.

Contents 1 Production 2 Usage 3 References 4 External links

Combat experience against the Germans in the Western Desert Campaign demonstrated to the British the inferiority of their tanks. A request was thus made to Leyland Motors Ltd for a new tank that could achieve combat superiority over German models; for reasons of economy and efficiency, it additionally had to use as many components of their Cromwell tank as possible.

The initial design was the Challenger, basically a 17 pounder anti-tank gun mounted onto a Cromwell chassis. The large weapon required a decrease in armor as well as other design concessions, and ultimately production was stopped after only 200 units were built.

In a second attempt (the A34), the tank designers opted to use a highly-modified version of the 17 pounder, the 77 mm. The new gun was still of the same 76.2mm calibre as the 17 pdr, but was designated "77mm" because it used ammunition that was different and non-interchangeable with the 17 pdr, and also had a lower muzzle velocity than the original gun. Several other upgrades were added as well: armor protection was increased, both the hull and turret were of welded construction with a cast mantlet, ammunition was now stored in armored bins, the suspension was strengthened, return rollers were added, and the turret was electrically traversed (a design feature taken from the earlier Churchill tank), with a generator powered by the main engines.

The first prototype was ready in February 1944 and production models began to be delivered in September. By the end of the war, 1,200 units had been produced.

The British 11th Armoured Division was the first to receive the new tanks in December of 1944 and the only division to be completely refitted by the end of the war. Because of its late arrival, the Comet did not participate in any major battles though it was involved in the crossing of the Rhine and the later Berlin Victory Parade in July 1945. The tank's great speed was greatly exploited on the German Autobahns.

During the following Korean War, the Comet served along with the heavier Centurion, a successor tank introduced in 1949 partially based on its design. The Comet remained in British service until 1958 when the remaining tanks were sold to foreign governments; up until the 1980s, it could be found in the armies of various nations such as South Africa.

The Comet MK I model B was also used by Finnish Defence Forces armoured brigade until 1970.

• The Illustrated Directory of Tanks of the World: From World War I to the Present Day
• Tanks of World War II

• Comet Walk Arounds on Prime Portal
• WWII Vehicles
• OnWar specifications
• Bolton IPMS (Comet pictures)