The British army, during World War II, was dramatically behind in tank design. But when, in 1942, the heavy German tank Tiger I appeared, terror struck the British tanks.
So it was decided to design a new tank, based on the Cromwell tank, which would be equipped with the most powerful British anti-tank gun in service, the 17pdr (77mm).
The new tank was named Comet, while its official name was A34 Cruiser Tank. The tank carried a maximum armor thickness of 102 mm. It weighed 35,696 kg, was 7.66 m long, 3.04 m wide and 2.98 m high. The chariot was powered by a 600 hp Rolls-Royce Meteor Mk 3 V-12 water-cooled gasoline engine.
The chariot developed a maximum speed, on the road, of 51 km per hour and had a radius of action of about 200 km. It could pass a trench up to 2.43 m wide and a vertical obstacle 0.92 m high. In addition to the gun, the tank also carried two 7.92 mm machine guns.
The tank entered service in 1944 with the 11th Armored Division and therefore did not see much action in World War II. However, it saw service in Korea and remained in service with the British Army until 1958. South Africa, however, kept it in service until the mid-1980s.
Finland used theirs until 1970. The Republic of Ireland used them until 1973. Tanks of the type were also used by Cuba and Myanmar.