Chieftain tank
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Chieftain Mk 3. |
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| Chieftain (FV4201) | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 4 |
| Length | 7.5 m (hull) |
| Width | 3.5 m |
| Height | 2.9 m |
| Weight | 55 t |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | Glacis: 120 mm (72º) Hull sides: 38 mm (10º) Turret: 195 (60º) |
| Main armament | 120 mm rifled (L11A5) |
| Secondary armament | 2 x L7 MG |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | Leyland L60 (diesel) 750 hp (560 kW) |
| Suspension | Horstmann |
| Road speed | 48 km/h |
| Power/weight | |
| Range | 500 km (road) |
The FV 4201 Chieftain was the Main battle tank of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s. It was one of the more competitive tanks of its time, having a powerful main gun and armour. The Chieftain also introduced a supine (lying backwards) driver position, enabling a heavily sloped and reduced height hull.
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[edit] Overview
The Chieftain was a radical evolutionary development of the successful Centurion line of tanks that had emerged after the Second World War. The British had learned during the war that their tanks often lacked sufficient protection and firepower compared to those fielded by the enemy, and that this had led to high casualty levels when faced with the superior German tanks of the time.
The Centurion was a capable vehicle, but was outclassed by the powerful Joseph Stalin IS-3 tank, introduced by the Soviet Union in the mid 1940s. The Conqueror tank was developed to specifically counter the IS-3 but it was far too expensive to produce in large numbers. Other western European countries were introducing designs focusing on mobility, but in British doctrine armor remained more important in order to minimize casualties.
Leyland, who had been involved in Centurion, had built their own prototypes of a new tank design in 1956, and these led to a War Office specification for a new tank. The design was accepted in the early 1960s. Chieftain was designed to be as well protected as possible and to be equipped with a powerful 120 mm rifled cannon. The heavy armour came at the price of reduced mobility, chiefly due to engine power limitations, which was perhaps the Chieftain's main drawback. The engine selected took the multi-fuel route and as introduced gave less than the planned output; improvements to the engine did not increase power to the desired value.
[edit] Design
The Chieftain design included a heavily sloped hull and turret. It had a mantleless turret, in order to take full advantage of reclining the vehicle up to ten degrees in a hull-down position. The driver lay semi-recumbent in the hull when his hatch was closed down which helped to reduce overall height. To the left side of the turret was a large infra-red searchlight in an armoured housing. The suspension was of the Horstmann bogie type, with large sideplates to protect the tracks and provide stand-off protection from hollow charge attack.
The engine is a two-stroke opposed piston design intended for multi-fuel use so it could run on petrol or diesel or anything in between. In practice the engine did not deliver the expected power, but improvements were introduced to address this. However, as the engine power improved the tank itself became heavier. The tanks was steering by conventional tillers braking one track or the other, and the gearbox was operated motorcycle-style with a kick up/kick down "peg" on the left and the accelerator on the right foot. In the turret the loader was on the left and the gunner on the right of the gun with the commander behind the gunner.
The main 120 mm gun was innovative, as it burnt away the cartridge, leaving nothing to be discarded. Other tank guns had to store the spent shell cartridge or eject them outside. It was said that the tank was built around this gun.
[edit] Service
Like its European competitors, the Chieftain found a large export market but largely in the Middle East; unlike the earlier Centurion, it was not adopted by any other NATO or Commonwealth countries.
The Chieftain proved itself capable in combat and able to be upgraded with enhancements both for overall improvement and to meet local requirements. The Chieftain tanks were continuously upgraded until the early 1990s when they were replaced by the Challenger series of tanks whose design was influenced by that of Chieftain. The final Chieftain version used by the British Army until 1995, incorporated "Stillbrew" armour named after Colonel Still and John Brewer from the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment (MVEE), the Improved Fire Control System (IFCS) and the Thermal Observation Gunnery Sight (TOGS).
The first Chieftain model was introduced in 1967. Chieftains were supplied to at least six countries, including Iran, Kuwait, Oman and Jordan. The largest foreign sale was to Iran, which took delivery of around 1,000 "Mk5(P)" before the 1979 revolution. Further planned deliveries of the more capable 4030 series were cancelled at that point. The tank's main combat experience was in the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88.
[edit] Specifications
- Crew: 4
- Combat Weight: 55 tons
- Overall Length: 10.8 m (gun forward)
- Hull Length: 7.5 m
- Height: 2.9 m
- Width: 3.5 m
- Powerplant: Leyland L60 (diesel) 750 hp
- Range: 500km
- Max Road Speed: 48 km/h
- Cross-Country Speed: 30 km/h
- Armour: turret front, 195 mm RHA (60°)
[edit] Armament
- 120 mm L11A5 rifled tank gun
- Rate of fire: 8 rounds per minute
- Elevation: -10 to +20 degree
- Laser rangefinder
- Coaxial L8A1 7.62 mm machine gun
- Cupola-mounted L37A1 7.62mm machine gun
Mark 1 and Mark 2 models had coaxial .50 cal. ranging machine guns prior to the introduction of the laser rangefinder.
[edit] Equipment
- Twin Clansman VRC 353 VHF Radio sets
- 1 C42 1 B47 Larkspur VHF radios
- 2 X 6-barrel smoke dischargers on turret
- Bulldozer blade (optional - fitted to one tank per squadron)
[edit] Variants
- Chieftain Mk 1
- 40 training vehicles for 1965/1966.
- Chieftain Mk 2
- First service model with 650 hp engine.
- Chieftain Mk 3
- Extra equipment fitted giving rise to several submarks.
- Chieftain Mk.5
- Final production variant, with upgrades to the powerplant and NBC protection system.
- Chieftain Mk.6-11
- Incremental upgrades to pre-Mk.5 vehicles.
- Chieftain Mk.12
- Mark 5 upgrade - addition of Improved Fire Control System (IFCS). Addition of ROMOR ("Stillbrew") spaced armour units.
- FV4205 AVLB
- Bridge-laying vehicle.
- FV4204 ARV/ARRV
- Armoured Recovery Vehicle, Armoured Recovery and Repair Vehicle.
- Chieftain Mineclearer
- Mine-clearing development.
- Chieftain Sabre
- Twin 30 mm AA turret.
- Khalid/Shir 1
- Jordanian / Iranian variant with running gear of the Challenger 1.
- Weapon Carriers
- The Chieftain chassis was modified to mount air defense weapons ("Marksman" 2 x 35 mm cannon) and a 155mm howitzer in various modifications.
- Shir 2
- Iranian variant. Visible external differences from the Chieftain Mk5 included a sloping rear hull, Removal of the Searchlight from the left turret area and storage baskets refitted, water channel removed from around drivers hatch on the glacis plate, modified light clusters also on the glacis plate, Larger sight housing on commanders cupola.
[edit] External links
| Modern (post WW2) UK armoured fighting vehicles |
|---|
| Wheeled vehicles |
| Ferret Scout Car | Fox Reconnaissance Vehicle | Saladin Armoured Car | Saracen APC |
| FV1611 "Pig" | Saxon | Mastiff PPV |
| Armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles |
| FV432 | Warrior | FV103 Spartan | Stormer | FV104 Samaritan | FV105 Sultan |
| Light tanks and anti-tank vehicles |
| FV101 Scorpion | FV107 Scimitar | Sabre | FV102 Striker | FV438 Swingfire |
| Self-propelled artillery |
| FV433 Abbot | AS-90 |
| Main battle tanks |
| Centurion | Conqueror | Chieftain | Challenger 1 | Challenger 2 |
| UK unarmoured or non-fighting vehicles |
