This article is about the British battle tank. For the Gaza Freedom Flotilla boat
Challenger 1
, see
Gaza Freedom Flotilla
.
Main battle tank
FV 4030 Challenger
|
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Type
| Main battle tank
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Place of origin
| United Kingdom
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In service
| 1983 ? 2001 (UK)
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Manufacturer
| Royal Ordnance Factory
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Unit cost
| $1.5 million (1987)
[1]
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No.
built
| 420
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Mass
| 62 tonnes. (Combat weight of 70 tonnes with additional armour modules)
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Length
| 11.5 metres (37 ft 9 in) (Gun forward)
|
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Width
| 3.51 metres (11 ft 6 in)
|
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Height
| 2.95 metres (9 ft 8 in)
|
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Crew
| 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
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|
Armour
| Chobham
, classified
|
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Main
armament
| Royal Ordnance L11A5
120 mm rifled gun
64 rounds
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Secondary
armament
| 7.62 mm
L8A2
, 7.62 mm L37A2 machine guns
4,000 rounds
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Engine
| Rolls-Royce CV12
26 litre
diesel
1,200 hp (895 kW)
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Power/weight
| 14.4 kW / tonne
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Transmission
| David Brown TN37 transmission (4 fwd, 3 rev.)
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Suspension
| Hydropneumatic (hydrogas)
|
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Operational
range
| 450 kilometres (280 mi) (on road)
|
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| 56 kilometres per hour (35 mph)
|
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The
FV4030/4 Challenger 1
is a British
main battle tank
(MBT) used by the
British Army
from 1983 to the mid-1990s, when it was superseded by the
Challenger 2
. It is also currently used by the
Royal Jordanian Army
as its main battle tank, after heavy modifications. The variants for the Jordanian military are to be upgraded using the unmanned
Falcon turret
.
History
The Challenger design by the former
Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment
(MVEE) near
Chobham
in Surrey originated in an
Iranian
order for an improved version of the
Chieftain
line of tanks in service around the world. These were the Chieftain Mk5(P)- FV4030/1, FV4030/2
Shir (Lion) 1
and 4030/3
Shir 2
. With the fall of the
Shah of Iran
and the collapse of the UK
MBT-80
project, the British Army became the customer and the tank was further developed by MVEE to meet Western European requirements. For a short time the tank was named "Cheviot" (the name of a
hill range
) before becoming "Challenger", a name reused from the
Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger
tank of World War II.
The most advanced aspect of the Challenger 1 design was its
Chobham armour
, which gave protection far superior to any monolithic
Rolled Homogeneous Armour
(RHA), then standard of western tank armour material. This armour was later adopted by other designs, including the American
M1 Abrams
. Additionally, the
hydropneumatic suspension
provided outstanding cross-country performance through the long suspension arm travel and controlled bump and rebound behaviour offered.
The Challenger was built by the
Royal Ordnance Factories
(ROF). Challenger 1 entered service with the British Army in 1983 and production ceased in 1990 at a cost of around £2 million each.
[2]
In 1986,
ROF Leeds
(and the Challenger production line) was acquired by
Vickers Defence Systems
(later
Alvis Vickers
). Jordan initially purchased 274 Challenger 1 tanks. Under an agreement signed in March 1999, another 288 surplus Challenger 1s were supplied to Jordan over a three-year period, which enabled the Jordanian Centurion fleet (known locally as Tariq) to be replaced.
[2]
The Ministry of Defence was keen to show off the capabilities of the Challenger 1 in the
Canadian Army Trophy
Competition (CAT '87), held at
Grafenwohr
,
West Germany
, in June 1987. The best performing team in preparatory competitions had been the 2nd
Royal Tank Regiment
, although its Challengers had not been fitted with
Thermal Observation and Gunnery Sight
(TOGS), which would put them at a disadvantage. The
Royal Hussars
had a squadron fitted with TOGS; however, they had been training at
BATUS
in Canada with Chieftains, instead of training with Challenger and TOGS for CAT '87. Twenty-two new Challengers with TOGS were specially diverted from the production line for the competition, resulting in teething problems.
[3]
At the competition itself, the Hussars managed some creditable scores
[4]
but overall, their three "platoons" were placed last in the league table.
[5]
In a statement to the
House of Commons
on 14 July,
Ian Stewart
, the
Minister of State for the Armed Forces
, said; "I do not believe that the performance of tanks in the artificial circumstances of a competition, such as the recent Canadian Army Trophy, is a proper indication of their capability in war."
[6]
Following poor results in 1985 with Chieftain, and in 1987 with Challenger, the British Army decided in December 1987 to withdraw indefinitely from the competition.
[7]
A requirement for a new MBT was later issued. Proposals put forward for the new specification included an improved Challenger from Vickers, the American M1 Abrams, the French
Leclerc
, and the German
Leopard 2
. The
Vickers Defence Systems
design, designated Challenger 2, was eventually selected. This tank is significantly more capable than its predecessor: based on the same basic MVEE-designed hull, it features a new turret based on the Vickers Private Venture Mk7 design and improved Chobham armour.
Withdrawals of British Army Challenger 1 began in 1998 and it had been completely replaced by Challenger 2 by 2001.
[2]
There was also a
Challenger Marksman
SPAAG
version, equipped with the Marksman turret.
Operational service
221 Challenger tanks
[8]
were deployed to Saudi Arabia for
Operation Granby
, the UK operation in the
Persian Gulf War
. In the original deployment, the
7th Armoured Brigade
included two armoured regiments, the
Queen's Royal Irish Hussars
and the
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
, both equipped with 57 of the latest Mark 3 version of the Challenger 1. They were modified for desert operations by a
REME
team and civilian contractors at the quayside in
Al Jubayl
,
Saudi Arabia
. This fit included additional
Chobham Armour
along the hull sides and
explosive reactive armour
(ERA) on the nose and front glacis plate. Modifications also included the provision of extra external fuel drums and a smoke generator.
There were major concerns about the reliability of the vehicle.
[9]
In addition there were serious worries about how a tank designed to perform in temperate climates would stand the rigours of desert warfare.
[9]
Before the commencement of the Gulf War deployment only 22% of Challenger 1's were operational because of faults and lack of spares.
[10]
On 22 November 1990, it was decided to add the
4th Mechanized Brigade
to the force, under the umbrella of
1st (UK) Armoured Division
. The new brigade had a single Challenger regiment,
14th/20th King's Hussars
, equipped with 43 Challenger 1 tanks and reinforced by a squadron of the
Life Guards
. They were equipped with the Mark 2 version of the tank, which was upgraded by armouring the storage bins for the 120 mm charges as well as the additional armour fitted to the Mark 3's.
During Operation Desert Shield it was decided that the
1st (UK) Armoured Division
would be placed under the command of the
US VII Corps
. This corps would form the armoured fist of the Coalition forces, tasked with destroying the bulk of the
Iraqi forces
.
[
citation needed
]
The forces of VII corps crossed the Saudi border into Iraq, and then crossed into Kuwait. The 1st (UK) Armoured Division was the easternmost unit in VII Corp's sector, its Challenger tanks forming the spearhead of the advance. The division advanced nearly 350 km within 97 hours, destroying the Iraqi 46th Mechanised Brigade, 52nd Armoured Brigade and elements of at least three infantry divisions belonging to the Iraqi 7th corps in a series of battles and engagements. They captured or destroyed about 120
[11]
tanks and a very large number of
armoured personnel carriers
, trucks, reconnaissance vehicles, etc.
[12]
The main threat to the Challenger was deemed to be the
Iraqi Republican Guard
's
T-72M tanks
; each British tank was provided with twelve L26A1 "Jericho"
depleted uranium
(DU) shells specifically for use against T-72Ms, but during the course of the Coalition's ground campaign none was encountered as the division was withdrawn beforehand.
[13]
In action, the
Global Positioning System
(GPS) and Thermal Observation and Gunnery System (TOGS) fitted to the Challengers proved to be decisive, allowing attacks to be made at night, in poor visibility and through smoke screens.
[14]
In total, British Challengers destroyed roughly 300 Iraqi tanks without suffering a single loss in combat.
[15]
Patrick Cordingley
, the commander of 7th Armoured Brigade, said afterwards that "Challenger is a tank built for combat and not competitions."
[16]
On 26 February 1991, a Challenger achieved the longest range confirmed kill of the war, destroying an Iraqi tank with an
armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot
(APFSDS) round fired over a distance of 4,700 metres (2.9 mi)?the longest tank-on-tank kill shot recorded.
[17]
[18]
Challengers were also used by the British Army in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
and Operation
Joint Guardian
, the NATO-led drive into Kosovo.
Operators
Current operators
Former operators
See also
Tanks of comparable role, performance and era
Sources
References
- ^
Hamilton, Archie.
"Challenger Tank (Cost)"
.
millbanksystems
. millbanksystems
. Retrieved
21 May
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
Classic Military Vehicle Magazine
, Issue 46, March 2005
- ^
Dunstan, Simon (1998).
Challenger Main Battle Tank 1982-97
. Osprey Publishing Ltd. p. 18.
ISBN
1-85532-485-7
.
- ^
Ron Mihalko - CAT '87 Scoreboard
- ^
Ron Mihalko - CAT '87 Teams
- ^
Hansard: House of Commons Debate 14 July 1987. Vol 119 c437W: Tank Gunnery (Standards)
- ^
Jane's Defence Weekly: Volume 12
, Jane's Publishing Company, 1989 (p.7)
- ^
"Archived copy"
. Archived from
the original
on 11 August 2011
. Retrieved
11 August
2011
.
CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
a
b
McManners p36
- ^
McManners p18
- ^
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/challenger1.htm
- ^
Conduct of the Persian Gulf War: final report to Congress
. United States. Dept. of Defense. 1992.
- ^
Dunstan (pp.37-39)
- ^
Dunstan (p.39)
- ^
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/challenger1.htm
- ^
GlobalSecurity.org
- ^
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYzaxW6zh3U&t=120s
- ^
Purbrick, Tim (11 March 2016).
"Desert Storm Part 24: Back to Germany"
.
The Official British Army Blog
. Retrieved
13 March
2016
.
It was a supreme technical achievement for man and machine. 4,700m, a shade under 3 miles, is more than three times the 1,200m battle range of the Challenger. The shot is written up in books, sometimes incorrectly, with one book saying it was a Depleted Uranium (DU) round, it wasn't, it was a normal service FIN round while another book said it was at longer range, it wasn't, it was 4,700m. I believe that it is the longest range direct fire kinetic round kill ever achieved by a tank on the battlefield.
- ^
http://www.janes.com/article/78095/jordan-restructures-its-armoured-formations
External links