Your perfect mix

The first units started recieving them in January 1945, so they were definitely used for the liberation of Northern Germany and possibly even in the Ardennes counteroffensive.

 

Does anyone have an account of Comet combat usage in WWII (not doubting it, I just want to know how they performed, the M26 encounters are relatively famous despite the lateness and small numbers involved)?

But maddeningly nothing about how they did! Merlin are you there?

 

The Comet was delivered starting Dec '44, and in qty enough so that the 11th armored was "fully equipped" with Comets by war's end. Sounds like thier use was exclusively in Germany. One of the photos I remember (now I'm sorry I sold the book, as I could scan the photo to post) was a Comet dug in hull down overlooking a German river. A spotter with binoculars was scanning for targets. Haven't seen too many photos of these in service.

 

David Fletcher's "British Tanks of WWII 2: Holland & Germany 1944/1945" has a few pics of Comets in action. However, most of them do not involve much of a combat description as they were taken in Germany by the end of the war. The book mostly notes the tank's small size and high top speed, as told by pleasantly surprised crew members.

 

Heavy Tank - King Tiger (a real hard hitting, hard to kill brute)
Medium Tank - Comet (not officailly medium but with its super mobility, good gun and average armour it works very well here)
Rece - Daimler Armoured Car (very mobile and effective)
Personnel Carrier - Kangaroo (best protected APC of WW2)
Tank Destroyer - Jagdpanther (Panther mobility, big gun, low profile and decent armour in killer package)
Infantry Tank - Churchill Crocodile (both gun and flame thrower combined with heavy armour - great infantry support).

 

comets

Sorry, I missed the earlier questions re Comets in action (July), I was away, but will go into my files, I do know that regiments of 11th Armd.Div. were training on Comets when the Ardennes started.I do know that the 13/18Hussars and the 15/19th. were rushed from there back to their old (now stripped of much gear) Shermans and back to the Ardennes.
In January 45 I have these reports, "Back in Belgium Comet training and testing went on. At the range at Gravelines Steele Brownlie fired the Comet 77-gun at a captured Panther's front plate.'The shots did not penetrate so we knew that our new gun, however accurate, was still inferior to that of the opposition'.
Driver/mechanic Kenneth Kirkley, 15/19th Hussars, thought 'the new Comets were the 'Bees Knees' and the 77mm. was my passport home to Blighty, 11inches of glossy plate!Sheer luxury.'
The 23rd Hussars had the same reactions to the new tank: 'A vast improvement on the Shermans, possessing a higher speed, a lower silhouette, thicker armour and a very good gun, the 77 mm. We were amazed at its accuracy which compensated for its slightly lower penetrating power compared to a (Firefly) 17-pounder.
I hope you find this of interest, I'll go through some of the war diaries for more, but it seems that most of 11th.Armd. were equiped by March.