(Tim Neate)Ī Challenger 2 at the Bahna Land Forces Day in the Czech Republic in June 2006. ¹Ĭhallenger 2s of the 1st RTR demonstration squadron crossing an AVLB bridge during Exercise Sabre’s Thrust in 2000. The cancellation of one major weapons programme and the chequered career of another were major factors that extended the Chieftain’s career into the early 1990s – along with geopolitical factors that nobody could have predicted a decade earlier. The vehicle we know today as the Challenger 2 was actually developed as the Chieftain’s replacement, and it entered service over 15 years after the Chieftain’s designed replacement date. There was no smooth transition to a newer and much more powerful vehicle to replace the Chieftain after 1985. This 16-year gestation period was typical for the time but it exceeded its planned service life of approximately 20 years. The Chieftain’s development began in 1951, prototypes were built from 1959 and the first production vehicles entered service in 1967.

The Chieftain was Britain’s first Main Battle Tank (MBT) and, continuing a strong balance of firepower and protection, it became the first NATO MBT to mount a 120mm gun it also incorporated heavier armour than contemporary European tank designs. operational experience in the last years of the war had deeply influenced post-war tank design and, since the A41 Centurion of 1945, British tank design philosophy prioritized firepower, protection and mobility (in that order).

Fletcher) Introductionīritish tank design practice in the years after 1945 followed the lessons of six years of mortal combat against an enemy who took tank design and tank warfare to a high art form. We ask readers to understand this very appropriate constraint on our study of a current weapon system. While we have discussed many parameters of the Challenger 2’s technical development, we have also deliberately avoided discussion of factors that might affect the security of crews.

Our work has benefitted from the kind help of many who have known British tank and component design well and from soldiers who have participated in its design. Where documentary evidence exists we have noted sources but all gun performance data is approximate and unconfirmed. It is two amateur historians’ estimation of a complex story that stretches back to the late 1970s and it will continue to unfold over an exceptionally long service life. This book describes the history of the Challenger 2 up to the present day – and it goes to press just as the discussions about the Challenger 2’s future form begin to enter the stage where choices and decisions are made.

All british main battle tanks