Tanks Military
The Comet tank or Tank, Cruiser, Comet I (A34) was a British cruiser tank that first saw use near the end of World War II during the Invasion of Germany. 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 at medium range, and the Tiger. The tank was widely respected as one of the best British tanks of the war, and continued in service afterwards.
The 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 superior in armour penetration capability to the 75 mm KwK 42 gun of the equivalent Axis tank, the Panther (which did not use APDS ammunition).
The Comet saw action in the closing stages of World War II 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 Mk VI Crusader tank.
The initial designs for the new Cromwell tank evolved into the A24 Mk VII Cavalier tank and the A27L Mk VIII Centaur tank, both powered by the Nuffield Liberty. Design progressed through the Mk VII (A27M) Cromwell, a third parallel development to the Cavalier and Centaur, sharing many of the same characteristics.
Under the newer A27M specification, Cromwell integrated a number of advanced features. The Meteor engine proved to be very reliable and gave the tank good mobility but some problems appeared based on the vehicle's shared heritage and significant jump in engine power. The tank was prone to throwing its tracks if track tension was not maintained properly or if it turned at too high a speed or too sharply. There were also some problems with suspension breakage, partly due to the Cromwell's high speed and it ran through a number of design changes as a result. More details
The Comet saw action in the closing stages of World War II 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 Mk VI Crusader tank.
The initial designs for the new Cromwell tank evolved into the A24 Mk VII Cavalier tank and the A27L Mk VIII Centaur tank, both powered by the Nuffield Liberty. Design progressed through the Mk VII (A27M) Cromwell, a third parallel development to the Cavalier and Centaur, sharing many of the same characteristics.
Under the newer A27M specification, Cromwell integrated a number of advanced features. The Meteor engine proved to be very reliable and gave the tank good mobility but some problems appeared based on the vehicle's shared heritage and significant jump in engine power. The tank was prone to throwing its tracks if track tension was not maintained properly or if it turned at too high a speed or too sharply. There were also some problems with suspension breakage, partly due to the Cromwell's high speed and it ran through a number of design changes as a result. More details
