The British FV4030/4 Challenger 1 was the main battle tank (MBT) of the British Army from 1983 until it was superseded by the Challenger 2. Diesel or Diesel fuel is a specific fractional distillate of fuel oil (mostly petroleum) that is used as fuel in a diesel engine invented by German engineer Rudolf Diesel. ... The US M1A1 Abrams tank is a typical modern main battle tank. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The Challenger 2 is the most recent main battle tank in service with the United Kingdom and Oman. ...

History

The Challenger was built by the Royal Ordnance Factories (ROF). In 1986 ROF Leeds (and the Challenger production line) were acquired by Vickers Defence Systems (later Alvis Vickers). The Challenger design by the former Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment(MVEE) near Chobham in Surrey was born of an Iranian order for an improved version of the stalwart 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 MBT80 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 actually named "Cheviot" before becomming Challenger,a recycled UK AFV name from WWII. Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs) was the collective name of the UK governments munitions factories in and after World War II. Until privatisation in 1987 they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply and later the Ministry of Defence. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Vickers plc was the remainder of the Vickers company after the privatisation of three of its four operating groups; aviation (50% share of British Aircraft Corporation in 1977), shipbuilding (Vickers Limited Shipbuilding Group in 1977) and steel. ... The Vickers corporation, founded as the Vickers company in 1828, was a British manufacturer, primarily of military equipment. ... The Chieftain was the Main battle tank of the United Kindom during the 1960s and 1970s. ... One of the worlds longest-lasting monarchies, the Iranian monarchy went through many transformations over the centuries, from the days of Persia to the creation of what is now modern day Iran. ...

The most revolutionary aspect of the Challenger 1 design was its Chobham armour which gave protection far superior to any monolithic Rolled Homogeneous Armour (RHA), which was the then standard of tank armour material. This armour has been adopted by others, most notably the American M1 Abrams. Additionally the Hydrogas suspension fitted provided outstanding cross country performance through the long suspension arm travel and controlled bump and rebound behaviour offered. Chobham armour is a composite armour developed at the British tank research centre on Chobham Common. ... RHA stands for Rolled Homogeneous Armour. ... The M1 Abrams main battle tank is the principal combat tank of the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps, with three main versions being deployed starting in 1980: the M1, M1A1, and M1A2. ...

Following a dire performance in the Canadian Army Trophy Competition in 1987, the requirement for a new MBT was issued. While the Challenger 1 scored the most direct hits of the competition, the poor fire control system and sights caused it to be the slowest firer and it was placed last in the league tables. 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 M1 Abrams main battle tank is the principal combat tank of the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps, with three main versions being deployed starting in 1980: the M1, M1A1, and M1A2. ... The Leclerc is a main battle tank built by GIAT Industries of France. ... The Leopard 2 is a German main battle tank built by the German company Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann, developed in the early 1970s and first entering service in 1979, replacing the earlier Leopard as the foremost MBT in the Bundeswehr. ...

In the end the Vickers Defence Systems design, designated Challenger 2 was selected. While the name was the same it was a more capable vehicle based on the same basic MVEE designed hull with a new turret based on the Vickers Private Venture Mk7 design, coupled with improved Chobham armour. Vickers Armstrong (Aircraft) company logo Vickers, founded as the Vickers Company in 1828, was a British manufacturer, primarily of military equipment, traditionally based in Barrow-in-Furness. ... The Challenger 2 is the most recent main battle tank in service with the United Kingdom and Oman. ...

Combat service

180 Challenger tanks were deployed to Saudi Arabia for the Persian Gulf War. The Challenger 1 claimed 300 kills against armoured vehicles for no losses. It also has the distinction of the longest range tank-to-tank kill in military history, destroying an Iraqi tank at a range of 2.5 miles (4 km). See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq and Gulf War (disambiguation) C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. ...

Operators

Issued first to The Royal Hussars (PWO)

• UK

14th/20th Kings Own Hussars

13th/8th Hussars

2nd Royal Tank Regiment

• Jordan operates the Challenger 1 as the 'al-Hussein tank', with various locally procured modifications.

The 2nd Royal Tank Regiment (2 RTR) is an armoured regiment of the British Army. ...

Specifications

• Crew: 4
• Weight: 62 tons
• Length: 11.5m (gun forward)
• Height: 2.95m
• Powerplant: Rolls-Royce CV12 diesel 1200 bhp
• Max Speed: 56km/h
• Main Gun: 120mm L11A5 with 44 rounds
• Secondary Guns: Two 7.62mm L7 GPMGs with 6,000 rounds
• Smoke Protection: Two 5-barrel L8 smoke dischargers

The L7 machine gun is a general-purpose machine gun used by the British Army. ...

Trivia

The Challenger 1 tank makes an appearance on one of the episodes of the brittish TV comedy show "Mr. Bean" in which Mr. Bean (interpreted by Rowan Atkinson) visits a military fair. He leaves his car in the place of an identical car which is to be used in a demonstration which consists on the tank rolling over the vehicle.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Challenger tank

• Globalsecurity.org
• Battletanks.com