Tank "Comet": technical characteristics

The Second World War served as an impetus to the development of tank building not only in the Soviet Union, but in other European countries. In particular, the British Commonwealth also did not stand aside and created during the bloodshed in Europe its tank "Comet", a description of which will be given in this article.

general information

This fighting vehicle was an average cruising tank, which was produced in the period 1944-1945. It was he who was the last in the cruising line and became a transition link before the creation of common tanks.

Historical reference

In the process of using tanks called "Cromwell" on the front of the tank, it became clear to military specialists that these combat vehicles can not confidently compete in firepower with enemy equipment. In this regard, British engineers decided to strengthen the relevant indicators of their offspring and for this they began to process foreign analogues. Initially, based on the American M4 Sherman, the British developed the Sherman Firefly. But over time, American allies have become less and less likely to supply the British with their tanks, and on the islands decided to develop their own car. This issue in 1944 took up the firm Leyland Motors. As the basis was chosen "Cromwell", the design and armament of which it was decided to improve. So in the end, the light saw the tank "Comet", which already in the autumn of 1944 was produced serially. The last car came off the assembly line in December 1945.

Layout diagram

The tank "Comet" of the cruiser class was produced according to the classical variant. The engine compartment of the combat unit, located in the stern, had an engine, a cooling system and tanks with fuel. The fighting compartment was located in the middle part of the hull and the tower. It was here that the gun crew, combat kit, and the cannon mechanism were located. The control and transmission compartment was also interconnected and was in front of the car.

Crew

The tank "Comet" served five people. Charging fighter, gunner and commander were in the bash and the middle of the case. Mechanic driver, as well as in the predecessor - "Cromwell", was located with a slight shift to the right side of the longitudinal axis of the tank in the control department. The workplace of the radio operator was on the left side of the hull, closer to the front of the machine, directly opposite the installation with a frontal heavy machine gun from which he could, if necessary, conduct aimed fire on the enemy's manpower.

To get into the tank, and also get out of it could be through a pair of single-hatch hatches, having a rectangular shape and located at the top of the tower of the car. These hatches were directly above the gunner and commander. Also another input / exit of the tank was the hatch, mounted on the raised part of the hull in front.

Armored turret and hull protection

Tank "Comet", a photo of which is presented to your attention in the article, was made of rolled armored sheets, which, in turn, were connected together by welding and fixed to the frame. The frontal compartment of the body was mounted from three (upper, lower and middle) armored cars. Of these, the thickest was the upper, having a thickness of 76 mm. The feed and sides of the car were protected with sheets 32 mm thick. The roof of the tank was collected from armored plates 25 mm, and the bottom - 14 mm.

The tower of the armored car had some differences in its configuration from Cromwell, primarily it was the presence of a much more powerful cannon mask and rounded sides. However, like its predecessor, all vertically arranged tower sheets did not have angles of inclination 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 with an armor sheet of 25 mm.

Weapons

To equip the "Comet" tank, whose characteristics we consider in detail in this article, a seventeen-pound gun, Vickers-Armstrong specially created its lightweight version with a reduced breech and trunk of a truncated type. This weapon was originally called "Vickers HV QF 77 mm" and had the highest initial speed of the departing projectile in the caliber of 76.2 mm. The quantitative indicator of the ammunition was equal to 65 shots. The shells were laid along the sides in the fighting compartment.

The cannon was mounted at the front of the tower in a semi-cylindrical mask, which, in turn, could provide guidance of a powerful tool vertically with high accuracy.

The auxiliary arms of the tank were also two Bren machine guns with a caliber of 7.92 mm. One of them was reliably fixed to the ball installation in the left part of the case. The second was paired with a gun and was located to the right of the gun. The ammunition to the machine guns was 3,500 rounds, which were invested in carob-type stores.

If it was necessary to set up a smoke screen, it was possible to use 12 grenade launchers (6 on each side) mounted on the tower and shooting special smoke grants to camouflage the machine in the field.

Movement mechanism

The "Comet" tank, whose technical characteristics for the period of the Second World War were quite high and almost equal to those of the German counterparts, had a modernized Rolls-Royce Meteor V-type carburetor and equipped with a liquid-type cooling. The engine developed power equal to 600 horsepower, which, in turn, made it possible to accelerate the car along the track to a speed of 47 km / h.

As for the transmission of the tank, its components were:

• Basic (main) friction, working on the basis of the principle of dry friction;
• Extended multistage propeller shaft;
• Gearbox equipped with symmetrical synchronizers;
• The mechanism of rotation with double differentials.

In general, the "Kometa" tank had a slightly modified chassis in comparison with "Cromwell". On each side there was a single-bore steel caterpillar, which was assembled from wide tracks, supporting rubberized rollers in the number of five and supporting rollers, as well as the guide and driving 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 already mentioned above, were optimal for their time, differed in the following parameters:

• The total length along with the gun is 7652 mm.
• The width is 3048 mm.
• The height is 2680 mm.
• Combat weight is 33 tons.
• The distance from the underlying surface is 460 mm.
• Type of armor - rolled steel, homogeneous, cast.
• The specific power factor is 18 horsepower.
• The power reserve along the route is 200 km / h.
• Specific index of ground pressure is 0.88 kg / m ² .
• The length of the trench to be overcome 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 - "Christy" with shock absorbers of hydraulic type.
• The number of people in the crew is 5 people.

Combat operation

The "Comet" tank, the review of which was cited above, took part already at the end of the Second World War, therefore it was already unable to exert a significant influence on its final outcome. Examples of the successful use of this armored vehicle at that time were few and not of a massive nature.

During the war in Korea, the "Comet" was in service with the UN peacekeepers and South Koreans. Practice showed that, despite the fact that the tank was newer than the Soviet models, it still failed to be fully competitive on the battlefields with North Korean technology, although it was very good.

While serving in the British Armed Forces, the Comet was in existence until the early 1960s, and in some countries such as Cuba, Burma, South Africa, Ireland, Finland, where it was exported, it was able to survive in the ranks until the early 1970s -ies. In total, 1186 pieces of the Kometa tanks were produced.