A34 Comet (Type A)

Type: Cruiser Tank
Nation: United Kingdom
Period: World War 2
Location: Bastogne Barracks, Belgium

In 1943 the British Army had recognised the need for a tank with a high-velocity gun to take on the newest generation of German tanks, namely Panther and Tiger. But they soon found out that the excellent 17-pounder anti-tank gun was too big to fit into the turret of the newly developed A27M Cromwell. A new, lightly armoured and awkwardly high turret was designed to mount the 17-pounder on the Cromwell chassis, but the resulting A30 Challenger was an unsatisfactory dead end.

The Comet, which entered service in December 1944, was a more successful vehicle. The turret ring on the overall very solid Cromwell hull was changed to a larger diameter so that a partly cast, partly welded turret with the new 77 mm HV (high velocity) gun could be installed. This weapon was a smaller and lighter version of the 17-pounder with less recoil and shorter shell casings, but with the same 76.2 mm calibre. It was only called “77 mm” to prevent the troops from mixing up ammunition types. The 77 mm AP rounds had slightly less armour penetration capability, but the HE shells were better and the weapon was also more accurate at long distances than the 17-pounder.

This particular vehicle was used by the Irish Army after World War 2 before it was given to the Musée Royal de l’Armée in Brussels, then to a military base near Antwerp and eventually to Bastogne Barracks. It is an earlier Type A with a “Normandy Cowl” exhaust cover on the engine deck to prevent fumes from getting into the turret when idling. Unlike its predecessor, the Comet’s cowl was split in two, so that the long gun could rest in between when the turret was turned to six o’clock for long road marches. Later Type B Comets had fishtail exhausts instead.