The Second World War triggered the development of tank building not only in the Soviet Union, but also in other European countries. In particular, the British Commonwealth also did not stand aside and created its own Comet tank during the bloodshed in Europe, the description of which will be given in this article.
general information
This fighting vehicle was a medium cruising tank, which was produced between 1944-1945. It was he who turned out to be the last in the cruising line and became a transitional link before starting the creation of common tanks.
Historical reference
In the process of using tanks called “Cromwell” at the front, it became clear to military specialists that these combat vehicles were not able to compete confidently in terms of firepower with enemy equipment. In this regard, British engineers decided to strengthen the relevant indicators of their offspring and for this began to process foreign counterparts. Initially, the British developed the Sherman Firefly based on the American M4 Sherman . But over time, the American allies began to deliver their tanks to the Britons less and less, and the islands decided to develop their own car. In 1944, Leyland Motors took up this issue. As a basis, “Cromwell” was chosen, the design and armament of which it was decided to improve. So, in the end, the Comet tank saw the light, which already in the fall of 1944 began to be mass-produced. The last car left the assembly line in December 1945.
Layout diagram
Tank "Comet" cruising class was produced according to the classic version. The engine compartment of the combat unit, located in the stern, had an engine, cooling system and fuel tanks. The fighting compartment was located in the middle of the hull and tower. It was here that the combat crew of the guns, the combat kit, the recoil mechanism of the gun were located. The control and transmission departments were also interconnected and were located in front of the machine.
Crew
Tank "Comet" served five people. The charging fighter, gunner and commander were in the turret and in the middle of the hull. The driver, as well as in the predecessor - “Cromwell”, was located with a slight offset to the right side of the longitudinal axis of the tank in the control compartment. The radio operator’s workplace was located on the left side of the hull, closer to the front of the car, directly opposite the machine with a large-caliber frontal machine gun, from which he could, if necessary, conduct targeted fire on enemy manpower.
To get into the tank, as well as to get out of it, it was possible through a pair of single-wing hatches, having a rectangular shape and located in the upper part of the tower of the car. These hatches were located directly above the gunner and commander. Also, another entrance / exit of the tank was a hatch mounted on the raised part of the hull in front.
Armored tower and hull protection
Tank "Comet", the photo of which is presented to your attention in the article, was made from rolled armored sheets, which, in turn, were interconnected by welding and mounted on a frame. The frontal compartment of the hull was mounted from three (upper, lower and middle) armor plates. Of these, the thickest was the top, having a thickness of 76 mm. The feed and sides of the machine were protected with 32 mm thick sheets. The tank roof was assembled from armored plates of 25 mm, and the bottom - 14 mm.
The tower of the armored vehicle had some differences in configuration from the Cromwell, first of all, this consisted of the presence of a much more powerful mask of the gun and rounded sides. However, like the predecessor, all vertically located tower sheets did not have tilt angles in the vertical plane. The tower was welded, and its sheets were fixed on the corner frame. The frontal part had an impressive thickness of 102 mm. The roof was protected by an armored sheet of 25 mm.
Weapon
To arm the Comet tank, the characteristics of which we consider in detail in this article, with a seventeen-pound gun, Vickers-Armstrong specially created its lightweight version with a reduced breech and shortened barrel. This gun was originally referred to as the "Vickers HV QF 77 mm" and had the highest muzzle velocity of an outgoing projectile of 76.2 mm caliber. The ammunition quantity indicator was 65 shots. Shells stacked along the sides in the fighting compartment.
Installation of the gun was carried out in front of the tower in a semi-cylindrical mask, which, in turn, could provide guidance of a powerful gun vertically with high accuracy.
Auxiliary weapons of the tank were also two Bren machine guns with a caliber of 7.92 mm. One of them was securely mounted on a ball mount on the left side of the housing. The second was paired with a gun and was located to the right of the gun. The ammunition for the machine guns was 3,500 rounds, which were invested in carob type stores.
If it was necessary to set up a smokescreen, it was possible to use 12 grenade launchers (6 on each side) mounted on a tower and firing with special smoke grants to mask the machine in the field.
Movement mechanism
The Comet tank, whose tactical and technical characteristics for the period of World War II were quite high and almost inferior to those of the German counterparts, had a modernized Rolls-Royce Meteor V-type carburetor engine and equipped with liquid-type cooling. The engine developed a power equal to 600 horsepower, which, in turn, made it possible to accelerate the car along the highway to a speed of 47 km / h.
As for the transmission of the tank, its components were:
- the main (main) clutch operating on the basis of the dry friction principle;
- elongated multi-stage driveshaft;
- gearbox equipped with symmetrical synchronizers;
- swing mechanism with double differentials.
In general, the Comet tank had a slightly modified chassis in comparison with the Cromwell. On each side there was a single-ridge steel caterpillar, which was assembled from wide tracks, basic rubberized rollers in the amount of five pieces and supporting rollers, as well as guide and drive wheels.
The fifth, fourth, second and first rollers of the supporting type were equipped with hydraulic shock absorbers.
Later models of the tank were equipped with an improved system of air intake from the environment.
General technical data
Tank "Comet", the technical characteristics of which, as mentioned above, were optimal for their time, differed in the following parameters:
- The total length with the gun is 7652 mm.
- Width - 3048 mm.
- Height - 2680 mm.
- The combat weight is 33 tons.
- The distance from the underlying surface is 460 mm.
- Type of armor - rolled steel, homogeneous, cast.
- The power density indicator is 18 horsepower.
- Cruising on the highway - 200 km / h.
- The specific indicator of ground pressure is 0.88 kg / m 2 .
- The length of the overcome ditch is 2.3 m.
- The length of the wall to be overcome is 0.9 m.
- The length of the overcoming ford is 1.1 m.
- Suspension - "Christie" with hydraulic shock absorbers.
- The number of people in the carriage is 5 people.
Combat operation
The Comet tank, the review of which was given above, took part already at the end of World War II, therefore it was no longer able to have a significant impact on its final outcome. Examples of the successful use of this armored vehicle at that time were few and were not widespread.
During the war in Korea, the Comet was in service with the UN peacekeeping contingent and the South Koreans. Practice has shown that, despite the fact that the tank was newer than the Soviet models, it still was not able to be fully competitive on the battlefield with the equipment of the DPRK troops, although it was very good.
He served in the British Armed Forces until the early 1960s, and in some countries, such as Cuba, Burma, South Africa, Ireland, Finland, which was exported, he was able to survive in the military ranks until the beginning of 1970 years. In total, 1,186 Comet tanks were produced.