FREE CHIEFTAIN MAIN BATTLE TANK 1965-2003 PDF Simon Dunstan,Peter Sarson | 48 pages | 01 Oct 2003 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9781841767192 | English | United Kingdom The Untold Story of Chieftain Main Battle Tank | The Chieftain FV was the main battle tank of the United Kingdom during the s, s and s. A development of the Centurion and therefore a continuation of the Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003 cruiser series, sharing a substantial commonality of parts with both its predecessor and successor. It was the "most formidable main battle tank in the world" with, at the time of its introduction in the most powerful main gun and most effective armour of any tank yet made. Faster than the Centurion, able to maintain its speed longer than the Leopard 1 and out-gunning its contemporaries, the Chieftain was also the first tank to enhance its already superior armour with composite armour add-ons, beginning with Chobham developed in the UK. It remained in service until replaced by the Challenger 1. The Chieftain was an evolutionary development of the successful cruiser line of tanks that had emerged at the end of the Second World War. Leylandwho had been involved in the Centurion tank, had built their own prototypes of a new tank design inand these led to a War Office specification for a new tank. The General Staff specification drew on the experience of Centurion tanks in the Korean Waras well as that of the Conqueror tank. The tank was expected to be able to engage the enemy at long range and from defensive positions, be proof against medium artillery. To this end, the gun was to have a greater angle of depression than the Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003 degrees of Conqueror and better frontal armour. The tank was expected to achieve a firing rate of 10 rounds per minute in the first minute and six per minute for the following four. The first few prototypes were provided for troop trials fromthis identified a number of changes. Changes to address engine vibration and cooling resulted in redesign of the Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003 hull. This increased the design weight to nearly 50 tons and as such the Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003 which had been designed for 45 tons was strengthened. Track pads had to be fitted to protect roads from damage and the ground clearance increased. The design was accepted in the early s. Britain and Israel had collaborated on the development in its latter stages [11] with a view to Israel purchasing and domestically producing the vehicle. Two prototypes were delivered as part of a four-year trial. InNATO had specified that its forces should use multi-fuel engines. This was further hampered by the Horstmann coil spring suspensionwhich made it a challenge to drive cross country and provide the crew with a comfortable ride. Due to the cylinder linings being pressure fitted, coolant leaks within Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003 cylinder block were common, resulting in white smoke billowing from the exhaust. In the late s, engine design changed with the introduction of Belzona which was used to improve the Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003 seals. This meant better performance and an increased speed. However, cross-country performance remained limited. Several aspects of Chieftain design were trialled by the production of the FV "ton Centurion" with a reclined driver position and mantletless gun mounting. Chieftain display at the Bovington tank museum For security reasons, early prototypes had a canvas screen covering the mantlet and a sheet metal box mounted over the sloping glacis plate to disguise the configuration of the vehicle. The driver lay semi-recumbent in the hull when his hatch was closed down, which helped to reduce the profile of the forward glacis plate. The commander, gunner and loader were situated in the turret. To the left side of the turret was a large searchlight with infra-red capability in an armoured housing. The Leyland L60 engine is a two-stroke opposed piston design intended for multi-fuel use so that it could run on whatever fuel was available. Primary problems included, cylinder liner failure, fan drive problems and perpetual leaks due to vibration and badly routed pipework. However, as the engine power improved, the tank itself became heavier. The tank was steered by conventional tillers hydraulically actuating onto external brake discs. The discs worked via the epicyclic gearbox providing "regenerative" steering. 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 suspension was of the Horstmann bogie type, with large side plates to protect the tracks and provide stand-off protection from hollow charge attack. Detail of the mm L11A5 rifled gun. The main armament was the mm L11A5 rifled gun. This differed from most contemporary main tank armament as it used projectiles and charges that were loaded separately, as opposed to a single fixed round. The charges were encased in combustible bags. Other tank guns, such Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003 on the Conqueror, needed to store the spent shell cartridges or eject them outside. In the event of a hit penetrating the fighting compartment, the jacket would rupture, soaking the charges and preventing a catastrophic propellant explosion. This contains radios, ammunition, fire control equipment and has further stowage externally. The gun could fire a wide range of ammunition, but the most commonly loaded types were high explosive squash head HESHarmour-piercing discarding sabot APDSor practice round equivalents for both types. The Chieftain could store up to 64 projectiles though a maximum of 36 APDS, limited by the propellant stowage. The gun was fully stabilised, with a fully computerized integrated control system. The secondary armament consisted of a coaxial L8A1 7. This practice increases the rate of fire, but would be hazardous with one-piece ammunition. Chieftain had an NBC protection system, which Centurion lacked. The tank commander had a rotating cupola with nine vision blocks -giving all round view, plus the 7. The aiming systems were provided for both the gunner and the tank commander; they had 1x or 10x selectable magnification power, increasing to x15 in the Mk5 and beyond, and they were replaceable with IR vision systems for night operations 3x magnification power. The commander could rotate his cupola to bring Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003 sight onto a target and then engage the mechanism that brought the turret round on to the correct bearing so that the gunner could complete the aiming. The commander's controls had Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003 capability on those of the gunner. The left side of the turret had a large searchlight with an electrically controlled infra-red filter inside an armoured box, with a relatively long range — up to 1—1. This allowed engagements at much longer ranges, and also could be linked to the fire control system, allowing more rapid engagements and changes of target. The upgrade was not finished until the end ofwhen some examples but not the majority had the IR searchlight Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003 with TOGS. These became the Mark 13 version. JuniWest Berlin18 June Chieftain proved Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003 capable in combat and able to be upgraded with enhancements, both for overall improvement and to meet local requirements. The marque was continuously upgraded until the early s, when it was replaced by Challenger 1. Ex-Iranian Chieftain Mk. Chieftain target hulks at Lulworth Ranges The first model was introduced in Chieftain was supplied to at least six countries, including Iran, Kuwait, Oman and Jordan. An agreement for sales to Israel and local production was cancelled by the British Government in[20] despite considerable Israeli technical and tactical input into the development of the tank, especially the capacity to operate successfully in desert environments, and the provision for the tank to make good use of hull-down positioning. Two examples were delivered to and extensively trialled by the Israeli Armoured Corps. This experience spurred the creation of the indigenous Israeli Merkavathe development programme of which was led by General Israel Talwho had worked closely with the British in the Anglo-Israeli Chieftain project. It was in the Middle East that the Chieftain was to see all of its operational experience. First, it was used extensively by Iran during the Iran—Iraq War of —88, including the largest tank battle of the warwith mixed results as many suffered from chronic engine problems. Kuwait had Chieftans on the eve of the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait. Thirty-seven Chieftans of the Kuwaiti 35th Armored Brigade fought at the Battle of the Bridges against elements of the Iraqi Hammurabi and Medina divisions before withdrawing over the Saudi border [23] None of the brigade's tanks were lost in the battle, and the 35th Armored Brigade known as Al-Fatah became part of Joint Command Forces East during the Gulf War and was able to Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003 into Kuwait undefeated. The rest of the Kuwaiti Chieftains were either lost or captured. After the liberation of Kuwait, the ageing Chieftans were replaced by the Yugoslav M Mark 1 and Mark 2 models had a coaxial Browning. Sign In Don't have an account? Contents [ show ]. Retrieved 21 May Retrieved Armored Corps Magazine. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. World of Tanks. Aug 26, BBC News. September—October Armor magazine. Army Armor Center. FV Abbot AS UK unarmoured or non-fighting vehicles. Cold War tanks. Categories :. Cancel Save. Iran—Iraq WarGulf War. Leyland Motors. TN 12 [2].