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Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Cruiser Tank Comet
GENERAL
DATA |
Formal Designation |
Cruiser
Tank, Comet (A34) |
Manufacturer(s) |
Leyland |
Production Quantity |
about 1200 |
Production Period |
Sept. 1944 -
Postwar |
Type |
Medium/Cruiser |
Crew |
5 |
Length /hull (m) |
7.66/6.55 |
Barrel Overhang (m) |
n.a. |
Width (m) |
3.07 |
Height (m) |
2.67 |
Combat Weight (kg) |
33225 |
Radio Equipment |
n.a. |
FIREPOWER |
Primary Armament |
77mm ROQF Mk. II |
Ammunition Carried |
61 |
Traverse (degrees) |
Electric (360°) |
Elevation (degrees) |
-12° to +20° |
Traverse speed (360°) |
24 sec. |
Sight |
n.a. |
Secondary
Armament |
2 x 7.92mm Besa
MG (coaxial, bow) |
Ammunition
Carried |
5175 |
2 x 6 barrel
smoke discharger |
12 |
MOBILITY
CHARACTERISTICS |
Engine Make & Model |
Rolls-Royce
Meteor Mk. III |
Track Links |
n.a. |
Type & Displacement |
V12, n.a. |
Track Width |
45.7cm |
Horsepower (max.) |
600hp@2500rpm |
Track Ground Contact |
393.6cm |
Power/Weight Ratio |
18.1 hp/tonne |
Ground Pressure |
13.8 psi |
Gearbox |
5 forward, 1
reverse |
Ground Clearance (m) |
0.4 |
Fuel |
Gasoline (Petrol) |
Turning Radius (m) |
n.a. |
Range on/off road (km) |
240/130 |
Gradient (degrees) |
31° |
Mileage (liters/100km) |
220 on/405 off
road |
Vertical Obstacle (m) |
0.9 |
Fuel Capacity (liters) |
527 |
Fording (m) |
1.0 |
Speed on/off road |
51/26 km/h |
Trench Crossing (m) |
2.44 |
ARMOR
PROTECTION |
Armor
(mm@degrees) |
Front |
Side |
Rear |
Top/Bottom |
Hull |
64mm@90°(nose) |
14mm@90° |
25mm@90° |
n.a. |
Superstructure |
32mm@17°(glacis) |
29mm@90° |
- |
14mm@0° |
76mm@90° |
Turret |
102mm@90° |
64mm@90° |
57mm@90° |
20&25mm@0° |
Mantlet |
102mm@90° |
- |
- |
- |
The Cruiser Tank Comet was in practice an enhanced Cromwell
,but deserved a new name because the high number of design changes and new
components (first of all the adoption of the 17-pounder as main gun). The
first were delivered in December 1944 and during the last stages of the
war they proved themselves both battle-worthy and reliable
The Comet was the best British tank of the war years
and serviced in many countries well over the 1960s |
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