ground vehicles Irish A34 Comet "The Headless Coachman"

[WiseMinerva 437]

Salutations everybody,

 

This suggestion is for the A34 Comet tank that was modified by the Irish in 1969 by removing the turret and affixing a Swedish PV-1110  90mm recoilless rifle. 

 

 

Comet TYI 433 was initially ordered in 1958 along with several other Comets and four Churchills, which were used mostly for training. In 1962 disaster struck when TYI 433 suffered a massive electrical fire which completely destroyed the turret. At this point the Irish military couldn't acquire spares for the destroyed turreted (and possibly not afford) therefore there was discussion on what to do with the turretless Comet. While there was talk of turning the tank into an APC Capt. Roger McCorley proposed a rather unique idea. He had just completed a course on the PV-1110 recoilless rifle and knew that the back-blast from the gun would give away its position therefore he suggested mounting it the now toothless Comet. The gun was borrowed for testing from the local infantry stocks.

The gun was mounted in 1969 by welding a beam across the open turret while using the tanks turret ring to travers the gun 360 degrees. One minor change had to be made to the tank in that extra plates were added to protect the driver and machine gunner from the back-blast. On trials the tank proved reliable and very potent with the HEAT round being able to pen over 300mm of armour. The only criticism the military had was that the gunner was completely exposed.

 

Unfortunately the tank would never see service. Despite plans to mount different caliber guns the military shelved the project due to lack of available funds. The gun was returned to the infantry and the hull was turned into a target.

 

The name "Headless Coachman" is possibly a reference to the Irish faerie the Dullahan. A ghostly specter who carries their still wide grinning head while riding astride a large black horse, while wielding a whip made from a human spine. Its eyes darting about in their sockets as if trying to follow the flight of a fly. Trailing behind it is a wagon with wheel spokes made of femurs and a cloth covering it made of dried skin. It was believed that if the Dullahan stops riding a person will die on the spot or that if it calls out a name that person dies. Gold was supposedly able to ward it off.

 

Magazine article on the Irish Comets

Spoiler

 

 

 

HEAT round comparison chart

Spoiler

 

References

http://www.dfmagazine.ie/site-assets/uploads/Vol._43_No._3_-_Mar_1983-low.pdf

http://irish-armour.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page_29.html

http://tanks.mod16.org/2015/09/25/armor-penetration-of-swedish-tank-and-anti-tank-weapons/

 

News reel of Irish Comets during training at Glen of Imaal

http://euscreen.eu/item.html?id=EUS_9FB12903985B4A9CB70370D99A7D5211

 

Edited May 31, 2021 by WiseMinerva

[leroyonly 3,982]

Open for discussion.

[Shepard_FR 533]

What is this thing ?...

 

 

I'm not really sure about this, this would be barely playable... at any BR.

Maybe yes but as a cheesy event reward, as long as it is already premium/spaded lel.

[dotEXCEL 5,589]

+1 as event tank

[PickleJarOfDeath 1,466]

Gib

 

this and ATM M24 for Japan… funky vehicles are needed in the game.

[TheFuzzieOne 3,340]

Now this is good Event tank material, not mass produced things like the AEC MKII or the extremely well known and unique Excelsior!

 

Event Vehicles should = Obscure modifications of vehicles, not restrict iconic vehicles to a tiny portion of no-lifers.

 

And this is a perfect one. It's super obscure, modification of something, not iconic, while being very unique.

[Admiral_Aruon 2,234]

go home irish tank. you're drunk. :P

 

+1 as a premium or preferably easier than normal event. what an insane idea, thank god for the one random irish captain who had just done a course on a swedish Rec. Rifle at the time an obsolete training tank had its head melted by a fire.

[TreuSchaferhund 1,017]

 

This would be a perfect event tank. It's weird and it should be rare. I love this as an event vehicle.

[gaelan@psn 1,885]

Never knew we modified a Comet like this

[Exiahhh 38]

+1 would make a nice event vehicle 

[Sparkbox 131]

Maybe not as it appears in the pictures, gloriously mad as it is, but version proposed in the writing with TWO recoiless rifles and a 'sloped splinter shield over the frontal arc of the turret' which would have happened if there was any money.

[Solarmod 1,148]

+1 for this, glad I checked before writing a suggestion :P

[Milocat 4,208]

I'm not sure where this would go in the game, but it would be a fun vehicle to see for sure!  +1.

[GoddePro 1,140]

this thing looks... bizarre 

+1 good derp

[eleks12 862]

+1