| Comet |
| A34 Comet Cruiser Tank Crew: 5 Armament: 77mm gun, 2 BESA mg's Armor: 102mm maximum, 14mm minimum Weight: 35,700 kg Performance: 32 mph road speed, 123 miles range History: Served with British Army 1944-1958. Still in use with Burma and South Africa. While the Cromwell was an excellent medium tank, it still lacked somewhat when faced with German armor. An attempt was made to arm the Cromwell with a 17 pounder gun, which had some success(the Challanger), but this was just a stop gap measure. What was needed was a new tank, armed and armored to face german Panther and Tiger tanks. The Comet was made with as many similar parts to the Cromwell as possible, and indeed their outward appearence is similar. However, the Comet boasted thicker armor, and a slightly downgraded 17 pounder gun, the Vickers HV 75mm. By the end of the war only 1 British armored division was fully equiped with Comets, yet they did play an important part in the ending stages of the war,. finally giving British crews a main battle tank that could compete on reasonably even ground with German medium tanks. |
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