The FV4030/4 Challenger 1 was the main battle tank (MBT) of the British Army from 1983 until it was superceded by the Challenger 2.

Overview

The Challenger design by Royal Ordnance Factories (later Alvis Vickers) was born of an Iranian order for an improved version of the stalwart Chieftain line of tanks in service around the world. With the fall of the Shah of Iran and the collapse of the Anglo German MBT-70 project, the British Army became the customer and further developed it.

The most revolutionary aspect of the Challenger 1 design was its Chobham armour which gave protection far superior to any rolled homogeneous armour (RHA), which was the standard of tank armour material. This armour has been adopted by others, most notably the american M1 Abrams.

180 Challenger tanks were deployed to Saudi Arabia for the Gulf War. The Challenger 1 claimed 300 kills against armoured vehicles for no losses. It also has the distinction of the longest tank-to-tank kill in military history, destroying an Iraqi tank at a range of 2.5 miles (3.2km).

Undoubtably, the Challenger returned the British to the forefront of world tank design.

Replacement

Following a dire performance in the Canadian Army Trophy Competition 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 tank and was placed last in the league tables. Proposals put forward included:

• M1 Abrams
• Leclerc
• Leopard 2

In the end the Vickers Defence Systems design, designated Challenger 2 was selected. While the name was the same it was effectively a new tank, with only 4% commonality and 150 improvements.

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 (machine gun)s with 6,000 rounds
• Smoke Protection: Two 5-barrel VIRSS dischargers