Team Britain (Ricky and Roel) Cruiser Tank A34 Mk.2 "Comet II" The British design team considered a number of options for this competition. Firstly the new A41 ‘Centurion’, which is a very promising design – but sadly overweight for this competition. Also overweight, as well as inferior to the A41, is the ‘Black Prince’ development of the Churchill series. So the British team sadly abandoned its stock of new designs, and turned to models in service. The immediate choice was the Comet. Combat-proven, fast, well-armoured and with a good gun, it was also just over 2 tons below the weight limit. As there was some weight spare, and as the Kaganevian Free States wanted the best possible tank for their army, it was decided to upgrade the existing Comet tank – especially taking combat experience into account. The first job was to increase the armour thickness on the bottom of the hull, and the next step was to eliminate the flat-faced glacis/upper hull arrangement, and replace it with a glacis sloped at 60 degrees. The hull gunner’s station was removed, and the space dedicated to ammunition storage for the main gun Next it was decided to replace the 77mm gun with the superior 17pdr gun. Obviously, this meant widening the turret ring, which translated into an 8-inch widening of the hull. The extra space gained was used mostly to increase fuel capacity, giving the upgraded Comet greater range on internal tankage. Finally, a mount for a Bren LMG was added (though with an option to replace this with the MG of choice – we recommend the .5 Browning if the Bren is considered insufficient) These changes brought the combat weight to just under 35 tons. 17pdr APCBC Muzzle velocity – 884 m/s Penetration at 30 degrees 140mm @ 500m 130m @ 1,000m 120mm @ 1,500m 111mm @ 2,000m APDS Muzzle velocity – 1,204 m/s Penetration at 30 degrees 208mm @ 500m 192mm @ 1,000m 176mm @ 1,500m 161mm @ 2,000m UES tanks can only penetrate the Comet II frontally at under 500m (T-34/76) or just over 1,000m (SU-85), while the Comet II can penetrate any UES tank at over 2,000m. GENERAL DATA Formal Designation: Cruiser Tank, Comet II Type: Medium/Cruiser Crew: 4 Length /hull (m): 6.55 Width (m): 3.28 Height (m): 2.67 Combat Weight (kg): 35,300 FIREPOWER Primary Armament: 17pdr OQF Ammunition Carried: 55 Traverse (degrees): Electric (360°) Elevation (degrees): -12° to +20° Traverse speed (360°): 24 sec. Secondary Armament: 1 x 7.92mm Besa MG (coaxial), 1 x 7.92mm Bren LMG (turret mounted) Ammunition Carried: 4,500 MOBILITY CHARACTERISTICS Engine Make & Model: Rolls-Royce Meteor Mk. III Type & Displacement: V12, n.a. Track Width: 45.7cm Horsepower (max.): 600hp@2500rpm Track Ground Contact: 393.6cm Power/Weight Ratio: 17.2 hp/tonne Ground Pressure: 15.4 psi Gearbox: 5 forward, 1 reverse Ground Clearance (m): 0.4 Fuel: Gasoline (Petrol) Range on/off road (km): 270/155 Mileage (liters/100km): 220 on/405 off road Vertical Obstacle (m): 0.9 Fuel Capacity (liters): 560 Fording (m): 1.0 Speed on/off road: 51/26 km/h Trench Crossing (m): 2.44 ARMOR PROTECTION Armor (mm@degrees) Hull front, 65mm@60° (glacis); side, 20mm@90°; rear, 25mm@90°. Superstructure front, 65mm@60° (glacis); side, 29mm@90°; top/bottom, 20mm@0°. Turret front, 102mm@90°; side, 64mm@90°; rear, 57mm@90° top, 25mm@0°. Mantlet, 102mm@90°
I'll declare Roel and Ricky automatic winners next friday. If this sizzles, it will be the last game I'll play.
Me too, there's no fun in winning for lack of competition! This way there's no way of knowing that you actually designed/drew something worthwhile.
The glorious designers from Festung Berlin hereby presents their design proposal. We apologise for the delay, which was caused by a slight problem with the public transportation network. We can assure you, that everything will soon be back to normal. Fledermaus Pz.Kpfw.XI (8,8 cm Kw.K.43) (Sd.Kfz.191) The Fledermaus has been made to focus on quality as well as ease ofproduction. It has been developed from the E-10 'Hetzer' and the Schmalturm planned for the Pz.Kpfw.Panther, sharing many of their components, which will guarentee a steady supply of spare parts. The armament is the 8,8 cm Kw.K.43 - the best anti-tank gun in the world today. It is readily capable of defeating any known tank in frontal engagements, and combines anti-tank fighting abilities with a high rate of fire and good high-exposive capabilities, making it an excellent choice for any type of scenario. The turret is a modified Schmalturm from that used on the Pz.Kpfw.Panther. The frontal armour protection is excellent, consisting of 100 mm. of face-hardened steel, and with the Topfblende it is void of shot traps. The sides and rear of the turret have 80 mm. of armour - enugh to resist most medium-class anti-tank guns. The total ammunition is 70 grenades. On top of the turret is a remote-controlled small turret with a belt-fed shortened 30 mm MK 108, which is very effective against both lightly armour vehicles and aircrafts. The 30 mm MK 108 has a rate of fire of 450 rounds per minute. Ammunition for 90 seconds of contiuous fire is supplied. On the remote-controlled turret, there is an infra-red sighting device, which enables the Fledermaus to operate during night. The chassis has has been modified from the E-10 Hetzer, having big road wheels (providing excellent cross-country abilities) and a rear-mounted running gear and newly developed Daimler-Benz 600 HP diesel engine (thus countering the weight from the 8,8 cm Kw.K.43). The frontal armour is a heavily-sloped 100 mm. armour plate, and the side and rear armour is well-sloped 50 mm. armour plates. This provides sufficient protection for most purposes. There are auxillary machine guns for both the radio operator in front and for the loader in the turret. A total of 5,500 rounds are supplied. Weight: 37.5 t. Crew: 5 Length: 6.3 m. Width: 2.95 m. Height: 3.15 m. Maximum speed: 60 km./h. Cross-country speed: 25 - 30 km./h. Fording: 0.9 m. Trench crossing: 1.85 m. Step climb: 0.75 m. Gradial climb: 35 degrees Range, road: 250 km. Range, cross-country: 150 km. Ground pressure: 0.75 kg./cm2 Turret traverse: 360 degrees in 19 seconds (nine seconds is possible through an emergency mechanism)
Christian, your design has as much or more armour than the Tiger. How can you assume it would weigh only 37.5 tons?
The Tigers armour was Front: 100 mm. Side: 80 mm./80 mm./60 mm. Rear: 80 mm. My design has Front: 100 mm. Side: 80 mm./50 mm./50 mm. Rear: 50 mm. My design is also smaller.
Oli has managed to get a message in (via Hahn) to let us know that he doesn't have access to the internet at the moment, which means he can't take part in the latest tank game. He is very sorry that he can't tell anyone this personally. He will get back online as soon as he is able to and he will explain for himself why he is unable to participate.
Uhh, Panther, sorry. Anyway, the Comet has: Front: 76mm. Side: 29mm/51mm/20mm. Rear: 57mm. It is smaller than your design, yet it weighs 33.5 tons already.
Christian wins. However, it is overweight and I am a littleskeptical to all the gadgetry it mounts, especially the 30 mm. Anyway... Game 12?
Might be a bit off on the weight, but I don't think it's much. Besides, the Panther was taller than the Tiger, don't know about length though. The MK 108 did exist. I chose it over the MK 103, because of its lower rate of fire. So, should I make a pre-session?
Hi guys. Good news and bad news- I had a job interview on Friday AND GOT IT!!! Bad news - no Internet whatsover in the office, so I'm limited to occassional use in my local library until I have enough money coming in to get on the net at home. Apologies for not entering the competition, but I spent most of last week running round applying for jobs (5 vacancies came through in two days). And then once I was offered the job I didn't have time to think about anything else. Woohoo I'm employed again.
Congratulations Oli! It's good to prioritize, we will simply have to be less demanding of you in the near future!
A double congratulation! Oli - great news! Christian - nice one! When I saw the extras on your Fledermaus I had a feeling you might win...
