OSPRI Y

New Vanguard c

Chieftain Main Battle

Tank 1965-2003

S,mon Dunstan· Illustrated by Pete'" Sarson

 CONTENTS
BIBLIOGRAPHY

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE 15

SIMON DUNSTAN;" .....II·
..1.b1loh.-l.uthor,filmm.ker CHIEFTAIN MARK 5
.ndphot~I,,"'.II.1d
oIml(~.ryhl.t<lry, -";lh ...er.1
CHIEFTAIN VEHICLES AND VARIANTS 19
I~'" .I... d~ pub/;,,1>e<I by

Osprey.'" OI>KI.II """'.

° FV4201 proIOI}l"'"
oubIaclol.rmourad rr•••, o\larkl
.Iield.bout-..hlchhaho. o,\lark2
_"_~i"lllorl-..<Jd"'_, ·Mark3
HI._.IIaft""••rodlopico
·Mark4
.""haohalicople<".nd
""""ured ....rr... I"Vlat".m, ° !l-lark5and I.larkVP
"'.Ch.II_MDT.ThO ° Marko
Br~iohGu.rds.nd.rmourod " ~1ark 7
....rr... lIIKo.... Si""""li••• " ~lark 8
• ~larl Y
"Mark 10
• Mark II
• ~1;lrk I.~
" FV4202
" FV·1203 AVRE
° FV4204ARV
° FV4205AVI.R
° Thf"d""'f"l"p"'''111 ofth" LUOengine
° TOI."m Pol"
CHIEFTAIN SPECIAL PURPOSE VARIANTS 37
• FV4204 Chi"fT"ill AIl"(Jur~d R"eo\'ery Vehick
PETEJlSARSONho.produo>e<! ° FV4205 Chi"ft:lill AIl"ound Vehiek Launehf"d Bridg" (AVLIl)
g.. phiccutllw.....
l<>r
"Chi"f1ain ArlllOlHed Vehicle Royal Engin""'" (CHAVRE)
m• ...,.rmourodYehicl.
pubIiClltlon.,.ndl.rog._
COLOUR PLATE COMMENTARY 44
, ..atilluslnlto.. olmllilary
..hlc:.... Pat.rlivas .....
IND~ ~
_In_I,UK.
 OSPREY
New Vanguard· 80 PUBLISHING

Chieftain Main Battle

Tank 1965-2003

Simon Dunstan· Illustrated by Peter Sarson

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
----
hghti'lg \,h'r/u, R.\ICS ShriH:nham, B,... ..st:ys.
london, W91
The Grief/IIi" Tmlk. Simon Dunstan. Ann~ and
ArmourPrcss.1989
Ut~fl,C""»"K.,Fum.l ..nAl1an
Publwung.1979
CJo,j'ic.irt. Rob Grillill. Tl~ C.roo.uod PH'!». 2001
Modtm lJallV Tn...... :'olichad ~onnan.
f>mfik.19i8
n .... aJchil"l:' ofThr T;",],; :'olllscum. H.minglnn.
DOrYl. UK
Tl,c archil'e, of Mik" V"lnll.
 CHIEFTAIN MAIN BATTLE TANK
1965-2003

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

A
hl",Ul/;h II... Knu$lIIIl'("llI00 tile I.all],. .uKI,.......I illl) Idlllll:: df<"Cl. ill
ihc fin.1I "tt.. ,!."!''''
('If th.. C.real \\ar. (unhe> <I,",,,"loplll<"'" "'lher.-d
on the 'Ill<: 1II lho: ,..,..rn; of ~-....,. austtnl' anll ,h,' ,olllllCllIlJl:
tkln.lIlfl. ofpoli<'ong a ","OrId,,'d., emp;"", It was tit.. et ("3tC'd l~nnans .. ho
sa"- tlle full PO't'"ti..1 ,,(,1>(' Ian" and. ";I.h tlw Ii..., tOI" r',f.\dolfHirJ.....
,h.. concept 01 lllilD..llt.'lIi ".t, ""nnn'd ";th OO<lSt<l.tll'R COllscqU~"'ICe-. III
,h......uh noar< of\\orld War II, the Pan""", "flh.. rriumph;ulI \\chnnachl
''''-1'1 all l...fort"Il'l"lIl. '['m)lIghoUi lhe ""dr, Briti,h 1;1ll]"<I~gn$laggcd
TheCl>loftMnw..
tn.>e lr1taln.. n..,
.... MBT.II behind thei, GenU,1ll <,,,,,,,h·'l'<~""'n ,C"rm~ ollm.'fX/"-..:r ,md ,1I1nom-pro-
~lH>th"'_Io....... ,....t'Ot1_ \lo,-co\C"r. UlU>r ,,,Ifen.. l frflll1 chroniC" rn<.'ehallrG,1 ullI'eli"b,li"
c l _ . <rI1... ~ • ...-t.cl by n,e s,t"",io11 ,,~,~ ex~ccrb~l(X/ lr.' ha'lnl{ diff"''''"l <"las...... 01 l~nks lor
tlIeC... tu _ _ 'UMTJnkand
,nfanu} supporl :111<\ ,)ff,'Il""C opC"ral,ons, "hieh "1",l11d..,...d ... anr
Ih. Conqu...... H... oy Tlonkwhlc:ll
rcwurCM and I1lilil,U<:d "K"""r ,I coh.. renr ;,rrnOlll'l'(1 docll'ille. By 1944
....... lt1/aC1ol'h._dW.rll
poliqol-"'I'WOdl••,...,
F,eld ~la",hal ~10111g01llCI"\ and <>tIle,,, w.. r.. ,"h'X:'I1;ng lhc concepl of"
tv_of
lIni,.."",,1 T'llIk 10 r..pl.lCC the disc:rC"dited 1,,1,"111"\ allli em,,,,r c1aSM'"Sol
C_ _ lnf ...", ' "
'anks, bUllhi, ,<I....,"'.", 1I001",,,,,,,~'d Ilillilafierlhc "<II h"d"IlII..,1.
d
~
_ " ' _ _r.llon.
Th.. rI"slgn of Ihe K)o(,uled UII,,,,,,,,,1 Tanl ~11 III W-lij under Ihe
_lU-""'_ .... n dcsigll,"iollA.Fijll'las,hcl'inalex;lJllplcof'heCll" ....rr!""oflanls.lhe
---~
_ _ _ """""tIM
-.,.-,-~-
Centurion. " .... c11lt'olnj.l ....,...,icc ...-ilh ,he Brili.shAnn\ C..... " ..... \',lIlguam
68: CI"l/U>llm lllnomaf I;INI< J9-I1--20(1). 110....("\"('r. d""c1opmelll of .h.-
IUoTO"-'''''_.-.s- \I""
.-\15 " ..., aud lhe l n;,"('nal coneepl "..." ",,'ereh' romprorniscd ... hen
it proved too difficult t<> modify th" d",ih'n for special'JluqlOsc tasks sud,
as alllJlhibitlLL,assaultofmineswcrping, The A45 "'<lS abandoned in 1941'.
in favour of further d<:'\'e1opm~'" of th~ C"l1Iurlon. lnmicalh, th" lattn
,,·as ahl" to be adapted ttl most of the roles envisaged lor the Universal
concept and it proved to be theolHMandingT:lllk ofit'J);"nenuion,Y"I. the
Uni"ersalconcepti,sp""ifica",litwasnotwoc' n:alisl'lilorsomevcars
until th" em"rgence oftlle lirsl tnle ~lain Ualllc Tank (i\1KT) for th"
llritishArmy-theChieftain

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

rhe den~lopll1en1 ofa Sll(ce'SOrlO th" C"'11Iurloul"'Kan in 19!'lundcrl.he
d"'ignation \1"dilUlI GUll Tank No.2. Followiu/; the tunnoil of lank den+ Alundamtlntotd. .ignllUtu.. of
th.C_tnwufhellStlol
opment during World War II, the designers weI''' giw:,n fr.." r"in to "xpl"r" 1wO-pie¢e."'"'unltlonfo< ........
n..w 1t'chnologi'" ,,;1ho\11. th" um'WIlt dcm<luus uf tbe Army tu lield the eIIicientstow_.nd oI
luest untested models to counter the S\l]X"rior ~ITll'l11 Pan7~"" that had handting tnsid..... fighting
exacted such a fearful toll of AIIi"dlanh from North Afric., to :\fonhwest compsr1",enl.Qnth.t." ..
• 105",,,, AnnourPien:ing
Europe. The 1hft'al W"do' now posed by ule 1II,,,,,,,d .1l1ll0ureU forces of the
DIocsn:ltngllsbol\APDSj ..... nd
Smiet Union and ilS Warsaw I'act clicnt state'. Th.. 5",i"1 hloc w", l'CJuipp,,<l oI .... WOf1<If• .-...L7t.nk
with thou!.~nd, of effect;"" m"dilUn tanks such <IS Ull' T-3"1/85 s"pponed gun_cornparedlo ....
by hUlld,~ds of hea,}' tauks including thc 1S-3 with its pow~rflll 122mm 12Orn",APDSprojeclit•• nd
main amlament. To count..r "'ch nurnht:',.,.. th" W"",,,m ..\lIi"s Jllllbucd a It. . . .oc..tedcornbusttbt.
co_propet..ntc...."..Th.
5Iral"IO' of quality ove, quantity, but in u,e early lY50s the only NATO
Cornbu.ttble C.r1ridge C...
countries manulactu,ing tanks in an)' numbe~ "''''e Flritain a"olh" USA Is ",uchIlghl.,lhsn.
Accordingly, the two nalio", <:o-opera1ed ill lIlall} bceL' oftauk design co"".nIion.tbre.. c n<lso
illdndi,,!:adcsirel(,raslandard main affilanlCllt. ·IOthisend,priori1yfor "'''''''wetghtts rr.
th~ .\1cditun Gun Ta.nk :'\0. 2"", givt'n to fir"pow..r
"'''' annour pro1ectiou or mobility. Mobilitywas nOI
m:/:iL'cted, ho"c,w, It had to be at least as good as
for the Centurion, "i1h 1h" ~mph:~,i, Oil h:mlefiehl
agility mUlCr Iha" a high tOP speed. The gun!
armOur combination would ht:' d"'''ITllin"d hv th"
ov,.,-all w~i/:htofule "chide, whicb thc Gencral St.1JJ
reijuired tOOC lc5Sthan 45 tOns. R"dicalinn",ouions
would be n"ed...--l to m""lsnch aw"ig-ht limita",l
u,e", were addressed in a wide-ranging research
process known as the O:mc.ept Study Programm"
Al Ul" 011'-"'1. ule US T-101 105mm gun tiling
IIVAP, AP and I !EAT rounds W<loS profXlStXl togeth..r
with a 1000in. mneT. ring In allow a wdl--slop"d "bci.,
pbtel()rweateranUollrprotcrtionm-c1"lhefron1.11
aspccl.llo"'t-'\-c1".th~'I:l04"'asama.,;,_,i\
... " ...aponand
th"handlingalld srowaK" ofit, amllluuitio"",iu,in
tllC lighting wtllp3rtmen( posed inSUmlO\llllahle
problt:'m' "h"n 'l,iug- uonna! ",w-piece rounds
"iu,l"..,ssshell c""ings. 'Il,e solution "'<loS to pfO\id~
an automatic loader but this was d....med In ht:'

1953.afr"rcon"'hationht:'1weellth"weapolls
<Jesi!Q,en; at ule Anllamellt Research and Dc\-cl-

ThoLl1 . .rie.l2Omm_
Iankg... wne~of"rt"ll
.""rle\yolprolectll.....
iD_edw~h'"""..ntoright:
I.23.IllAPFSDS·TlArmour
PIor<I"llFln_IIMdDlocflrd;"lI
Sollot_rl:L1M4APDS-T
","","",Pier<:ingOioc:.rdi"ll
_~;L31HESH(Hlgh
~Sq""ohH ...d};HEAT
fH.,&plooiveAnti-TIInkjlor
Iomgn ..I..;L34_.;
1II~_Canll'l"­
lhIalll'lMinglfl"ndilh
ond·~""",d.ln
"'_,IheI'I_.. p_tIe.
_tor ",n....,.t,.;n;"".
oprnelll [siablishllleni
(ARnE) al Fon Halsl..ad
;UJulh,' lank ul.,;igw.:l's al
the Fighting V.. hide,
Rescarch anu Developmenl
F.st;.bli,hmenT (FVRnE)
al Chensey in SUlTq',
il was decided to inves-
tigate tl", feasibility of
li'1\lirl propellanT gu"S
TIlis t<:dlIlOlogy ofIeteu
'ie"eral signifieanl Iheo--
retical ~(h-.JJllages, including
simpleranununilionhand·
liug,:.LS the loader h~d only
{()m~"hanrll"lh"proj.-etil .. allrlnOltlwshelicasing,andamarkediner=
in muzzle 'docil)': lit<" higher the muule vel,xit}'. Ihe greater the annour
p""err.l.tion. The pmje-ct demanded a considerable amOUnl of de,·cJ·
Opllll'llt ,,,,d teStill!: of gUllinMallations "ith th.. complex feed 'I)~'em for
the mbti1c liquidpropclJanl, btll the design leam ,,-a>, minuscule "iLlt
inadequate resources alld L1,e u",cepl Gilne t<l naught, primarily hecallst:
the li'1uirl propcllant l-escl"\'oir grew to overl) I:lrge pl'Oportious in ordel
lo"-iLl"lalldLl",,,ece""-lI),l'ressur,,,,forlhe'<y'lwmtnfunetion
much uscful ilaL.l was aeeumulaled ,,-hich bt:uditl'U
successfully
in a lank was
ctrlied, Tht' " ..ight oftl... metal c~S<'s was sa"cd and no pl'o"isioll had to
Ix maue 10 coU,'n th" 'p<:1lI case, imid" l.llt' turret for ,ul_quem
di'lp0'lal. In addition, the ha7<lrd of noxious fumes Irom the spcmcascs
was eli",iual"d. In ""'I"nce, til" loader ra"mlt'rl a proj..nil .., I><> il AI' or
HE. into the b~ech followed by lhe baggeu propellant charge. A venl
lul>e primlT L1lell il{lli...rl Lilt' charg.., which w,,", tolally consumr-d in ,h..
suhsequem explosion. Trials uemon,mneu thai L1.e u'" of Iwo-piece
,ulHuuniti"" did notmarkt'rlly r..duce Ihe rate of fire from lhe desired six
rou"rlsan1inUle.TherewerehO\,e,'n"",-crl'll'scly"tioll,c<Hlcen.in!: the
risk ofcal:l'Itrophi(" "",,,,unition fires iflh", charges in lheir
AJIUllllllilion lin.,; llad lJeell die Gll~"" of ",al1Y f"t"liti"" dUling Wodrl
War II, particularly in t.lnks thai Slowed lheir ammullitiou in dll' lurret As
the highl";l p<lll ofdll' tank, the tUITet " ...., IllO'lt likely In I><> hi' hydi",.-J
fi ..e weapon' :",d. if pt'nelt<lled, rounds Slowed inside ",-el"C likely to
bt: i,;nitl'd, will. rr..w. Many Allied lank designs
,uffe~frol11thjsfauhbul M1Sh"l1mm"'dSlHo"'l'l'OneLilaIlmost
t<l <Ulllnu"ition fin"" pal1jcula.. ~· Ihe pt'lrokngined \<lriants used bv the
Kritish. II W<lS a Ics~t1 L11C) took 10 hean <Uld die d"'i!o\ll of die ulllurioll
"",ured d"'t all Ill,,;n armam... nt rounds were Slowed Ixlo,," lhe IC\d of the
tunell;ng,,,-hereLlIC)·"WC!e5Slikdytobci!.'l,itediftheUllTetwa.'ll',,netr"ted 5
 I'his melhod was continued in l.he Cclllu,;on's successor bUI. becausc
of UIt: baKKoo charge concept. more dlicient and safer slowage of ammu-
nition was possible. To allay lhe fears of ammunition lires fUl'l.her. tlle
bagged charges were slowed below Ihe lUn-el ring in waterjackelS which. if
penelrated by red hot fragmen15. douse<:l the bagged charge in aWaler/
glycol mixture tllal eiuler precluded or delayed ignition of the cordite
charges. 1 "Ille nalure of two-piece ammunition allowed AP rounds (which
have no explosive coment) to bc stowed around Ule walls of the tUl'fCl and
inoulSideslowagebinsforrapidreplcnishmenl.onthebatudicidwhilcaII
propellant charges and IlE projcctiles were stowed in thc hull. Con;;e.-
qucmly, although the use of two-piece ammunition has been proven 10
enhance crcv.'safety. its main advantage ",-as morc efficient stowage and
therefore more rounds carried for a given calibre of main annarnent,
Despitcthemuch larger calibre. theChich,'lin/llalk 5 ",-as able to carT}'64
120mm rounds as against 65 20-pdr, (83.4mm) of the Cenlurion "lark 5
The dC'-e1opment of lhe bagged charge concept ,,;th a gun of 105mm
c;i1ibre began in 1954, t\l this time. the Study Concept Programme w.tS
investigating numerous inno\'atin: design an:nues: including t\FVs anned
with guided missiles ora combination weapon firing rree nighl rockets and
a 10w\'e1ocity gun (later to come to fruition in the foml of the l52mm Shil-
lelagh ""eapon system of the M-551 Sheridan); a fixed gun vehicle
with a variablc suspension (later to see fruition as the Swedish Stn', 103
5-Tank); a lank "';th an oscillating tUITet and automatic loading system
(later to 'See fnlition as the French A\rx-13); conpled \'ehic1es ,,;th the
automotive train in thc front section and the fighting compartment in the
rear (laler to see fTUition as the All-Terrain Vehicle Rand';lgn R\'. 2(6) and
small air-portable one-and two--man ranks, One such desiW' w;"S the FV4401
Project Prodigal anne.--l ,,;(1, cxtcmally mOllnt~rl l\\;" l2(}mm rl"Coill"",
ritles fed by rot'T}' mag;l1ines e;l(h holding seven rOllnd~ of HF.5H amnm-
"ilion.TI'e Gene",l Smff",-.tS much concerned during the 1950s with t.he
concepl of strategic air-portability to mm'C ITOOp:s anri cqnipmem hy airrr.ul
to mttt th.. commitments ofa f"r-flung empire embroikd i" minor w:m;
anrtinsUITe<'tions.lnlheevent, Projl:'CIProdigal nC'o-..r saw the lighl of day
hUIlhe idea latn emerged in the guise of th .. CVR(T) - ('.omhal V..hide
Rennmai">;;,,,c.. (Tr.«;kcl) - f"mily of air-portahle AFVs 'Inch a., the
SO"1'i"", S<;im;t,r, SIrikcr, Sp;ntan, Samson and Samaritan
Not"ilhst,nding this requirt'mt'nt for air-portahility, in 19.''>4 t.he
Gener,,1 Staffreiter,ued it, h..li..fi" a ronvemionalfo"r-man tal1kwitha
fully rotating IUrrel, Inn ";Ih a greater gUll!allno"r onnhillatiollihan
I1ml of the Cenluriol1 10 cnuna:r tl", prepon<1er"11l:e of Sm;el hea,)'
lanh ",a.~",d along t.he hm~r Cellnan Ik>rrler.TI,i, re'l"iremt:nt "-"'0"'-
<:ulTt:nl1y heing addressed by t.he dC"<:Iop"'t:lIt of tht: FV'J14 Conqueror
Hea"y Tank, which "-,\,, t.1".la"t "e"ig" "flhe Cni"ersal Tank program",e
that had he..n iniliatt:d in 1946. The Conqueror ",""s sd",duled to e11ler
sen;<:e in 1956, hut<>ulyin limited llumhe,"", wilh ,m",utacture tocea.", in
19.~i after the pnxluctioll of"<>,,,e 20() 1I,o<l<:ls. It\ p"'lxlSe wa., 10 Ix,lsler
t.he CemllriOI1 annoured reb';ment, ,,;t.h l"ng-r"ng" tirt:powt:r thanks to

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ius US de,igned 120mm main allnan",m and s..>phisticmed fire control
Sy:slCnl, TI,e ecllturion was still armed with the 2(}.pdr. gun. By 110W, it
was pro\ided "ith highly effective ,\POS ammun;T;on, Inl! evell >(, U,,,
Tank wd.,likely to I",,,,nlle oh",lete I",fore lOll;:.
In the llleamime, the British and Americans had id..m.ifi ..d The
requirement for a tank gun cap;,ble of defeaTing 120m", of rolled
homogenous (RHGl 'l.. e1 amumr "ilh an indination of 60 degrees at
a r.m;:e of 2,000 rdn[,;. Ajuim as,,".:ssment by ARO!:': and ~VRlJt:: was com-
pleted by April 1956 and recommended a IZOmm main armament with
bagg""- charge ammunition. Two lIlonth, latCf, the concept was embodied
in a vehide with a new Rolls-Royce 9O-degree V-8 el1gine, inrorporatinj!; an
auxiliatTenginein the Vee, and an aUlomalicgearbox. !kside the baggcd
charge concept, it" most radical feature waS to haw the drin:r in a
l'C<:lininj!; POSitiOll when du>cd down; by this means the vehiel.. h~ight
could be reduced and therefore o\'Crall vehiel~ weighl, which was
estim"wd to hi" approximately 4i tot", kept under control. It was still
hoped that this could be reduced by two lOllS during den:lopmcnT to me"T
the original General Staffwcight requiremenT
t\tthis time l.eyland III0TOrs"-d.' appointed as u,e main design eOIl-
trdclOr for the n",,' tank that ",I); now designated ~'V4201 instead of
Medium Gun "l;mk No.2. The company was hea\ily comminerl to the
den:\opment of the imprO\'erl mo.-lelsofthe Centurion, the Mark i and 'I,
wl,id, had priority to meet thc 1'C'luil'ClIlellts of the British Army and
o\n>ea5 eustomcrs. As the O\erall concept of FY4201 had noT heen
fmaliscd as yet, detailed design work""s Iimil",d 10 u,e ,nsl",,,,ioll ullilS,
which were to he similar to u">sc of CelllUlioll but suitable for a tank
wei!!I,i,,!! 45 lOnS, Other sllspcmion systems were considered, s"ch as
hi'dfOi:as and torsion bars, bur were r..j .. ned ...' the formel' ,,-"" tOO
c<lmplex and the latter inere,..",,1 vehide hei!!ht to an unaccepLlble
de!!ree, \Iea"while, three .'chicks wne produccd to pl"O\·e the feasibility
of the dlivcr'sreelining position and the new lUlTet "ilhoUT an extemal
mal1tlet for the main annam.. l1t. Ba.,erl e",'elllially "n existin!! Centurion
com!,,,nents, u,eywel'Cde"i!!""tedrV4:!02bm\,erekno"n asthe '4(}.lOn
Cemu,;on' although they weighed nearer 42 tons once complelerl
There now followed " short hian" in the de\'Clop",elll proCt:" "s
Britain ami America tried to incOlpor.tte imnch",,!o:eabk assemblies in
their respceti\'e tank designs. The US !"-nn)' did not concur";th th.. FI,itish
findings for a 120mm main annament and pr..f"'lTed a sTlloothbore
gun of 90mm "alihre ill a t:.lnk dassified as T-95 ,,!though a sister vehicle.
the T-96, armcd with a 105mm rilled gun ,,<IS also under dewlopm ..nt
Uke t\'4201, the f.-95/96 "<IS to weigh 45 tons, In the evem, the Blitish
wer.. not permade" hy The p"rc"iwd adv:mtaKcs of tI,e smoothbore
weapon and the Amcricans "ever took to the bagged charge concept
Ne\'Crthcless, milch time and effon was expended to mak"lhe l1lrrets
ofFV4201 and T-'l.~ imerchangeahle on the respective hulls. "ltIlOugh to
whatpulpUscremaillsamystel)'.
By now, the hull design of~V4ZOI ,,<IS well ad\<tnced and married to the
newstlspcnsion units. Various configurations for the\ital frontal area of
lhe hnll w..re romid",r""-, mainly based on Smiel desiwlS. Atlio;t a complex
sloping ofwcldcd plates similar to the 15-3 was tried but then it was decider!
to take a step back\\<trds. Whcn the Rritish took OVt'"f their se<,tor of Berli n
after the Smiet occupation in 1'l4.~, theyl'lllml "" ileuI); oIany miliLl1)' 7
SlgniflC3nre until olle wlbpsed apartmo:nt block. was cleared to fl:\",al a IS-
2 heal) Gml... blSlead or "",Ided pIal"". il featured a C:I$I hull from ....;tll
....·dhlopc..d annour and this WoCS copied for t\'4201. Similarh. l1K' tunTt
lrom of t\ -1201 as .. II~I(: caMing hich. afler .. cOOLUlg po:riocI of al
\nsl; 12 mOIlths, -as ........ kicd togo:tho:r il.l. the roof and lho: Tear tlllTCl
~tiolillf rnIkd pblC' armour
n .... tks.lgn of tho: 111m.-! h.ocl ..also undergone alter.won follO'oOoing
a ,'C'\ued U~ Requin:ll"mt m :"(»I.... m~r L9f;i for ..n incn'a'iC in glln d ....
I'illion and dc:pn:Woli from +15 <kgro:o::!; and_i.:; do:-grca 10 +20 and -10
rropectin:h. TIUs n~""'o:rl a t..rw:r turn.-l., which in~l ...bI} mealll a.n
incrca.'iC III ........ ighl......hich .... ,~ compounded b)' a II"'" U""r Require",.. nl ""_~01~
for lllr~red (lR) nillltt·Ji~hung and \isi"" t:<luiprnem ....ith a 22-ill _oI ......
(P1_l _ c;Ioololll~
_ IIlJ-...,
se;m:hlight/IR pn!ienOf in an arm""n.." !Lou...illl! ou the 'lido: of the 1lI1l"t:1
1NO 10 II-. FIghtIng_'"
F\lnh"nlloJ'e. tht: Ann) 110W rl ..."mnded an increa.Sl: in anno".. thickrlC'SIJ
_r<:h_~'
011 ho\h the \UJTel fronral 11'1''''(1 Hlld glacis plalt'. F.xp..liellcc in KorC'a had bt_mMlI.t Ch.,,_1n
sho"·nlhaltanhn",,..kUlll"t::i!lcrprOlexl;onagaillstSlrikcsfromme<!iI1t1l (W'-WW1 _
.......,.AfurtMrollc_
art1l10:1"\' shells. AlulOugh th~ <lid not 'K>cess..u il) ~n"'lr:Ite u,e tanl's
;ll1lH'ur. U'l'" could Gluse w('ld kaliL' 10 fail with cOll<t'qU"'1ll. ,lu,"'IlC to the .10
_ 1"1_""""-'"1. _
OODA02 ..._~W""""
iUI ..lior• .'lO monolithic Ol't «<non." for the hull amllllrrd ......... n· prcfenTd.
U, 1l0\<l t.h~ ....... ighl ofF\'I20I ....,.rWng in~nr..hh but ...-orsc "'"a'llOoom..
In hil .. L95i l.he sGlJld.tnbS<luon cnrnminn: ill :>'Al'O de..... lIDinm tlLtt
. _~- ........
---_.-'"
_e.,....-.."-
""",-11-._01",....,..
an fi!(tIl;IlK .dlicks ...ithin th.. :.oIlia..nce should bo: JXl"'",ro:d b> ~'ngincs ..-TJIIo ......
C".lpil.bk· of running ()II .....itl" ,cariel\ of f\lds fTc"n 'iLUKbrd diesd or
l.cro5cnc: to pctrnl 01" <\ulIIt:SOC healing oil. This d.....i>.ion ......., 10 ha\-..: f...-
f('3(hmg COfl'Or<)....IICt':$ for .'4201. Th", ·mulu.fucl poIic\" had oll,iOln
;lIIroiCDuns .. heniJI. al Iho:: (lick of a _~Ich in th<' dm;ng comparunelll,
mihlMV lehicks could refud frolll ':aOoll5 faciltti" ocrUiSl> Eu~ ~ it
from a comrrwIT;all'et.rul ~1.<\lIOn Ol" an apanmeUI block oilstol'ilge tank,
"'. . .e-..-_
_ol'7k., _ _

..........."._
-"'.-,.
_ _ ThIo_
.........
_ _ c-.y
.
.... __.
----
-.

lnJanu;uy 19:>8,10 collJorm "llh thi.sp..lin. il ....asdcc:idedloinst:llla"ew

mobIIIt\l'''''' .... _ _
t'tlb"n... fur FY'l201 and a G..m,an cumprt'SSion·ignilion, upp..........·plston
tl""ij(tI uerived from aJlIllkers.Jl1ll1o alialion .... t,gin ... ". World War II Mllnl:_oI~_lnchlll

\'inI.<1g:e ...-as chOSC"n for t'nnhcl undopm.... nt IL' a mlllti·fuel lank powrr. lhe_I"-lgh.<>Ilhe_•
plant. Not only ditl this CHIS<: a further tlela) in the FV'I201 devdopmellt • 11ht..t.p,_
- ..n-d ....... l'l'ortt.""
_
~ p t " " . __ ~ .

<)..-1 .. l...c.nL<;e tile engine comp"rtmem had 10 be compl.. lel)' retiL",illned.

bII\ .. ......- _ _
il ..Iso ,,(lded a fll1'h....r Ion tn Ill" ....,iKLII- "hkh "';I.<IH"'· estimated 10 ~
llC"dnng 50 tons. ~"'_-.

-...OMnpIotIoIoIOl_lIloyai
~F""IO<)'I\_
.. lM4.. 0tDeM ..... _
~modaI(G2).ndw . .
.... o1two-.h"'......
_RoopubIk:.l-..~1n
n.o_
The COllllJitC' t..... o·!'Irt)ke. HTtically-<'ppo:sc<:\ pillIon l"lolll ...... n.. emoo
to '-'" l>e'it .nitro to lite muhi.fuel requi"'TIIem ....,I':lU~ it lI.ill fe....er
mO\ing par\.'l lu,' K'cal"r ,diabilil> ann '.'ould be e~er I" IIrnir" and
haw good rold ~ul'\jl\g th.m..:t.. ristics _ a sigltific-.ulI ron$idcr,auon "h,,1t
opo:r:lIing 0I1lh" ;\m,h C.conan Plains in th" depths 01 "liller, It;,; ollious
th.. l "-II ''''''lion etlgutc dOIl{1lffl foropcratiltll: ilt th" rold ennronmem of
high altitude should bc (Qltsiderrcl 'lU,ubIc lur itUlall'uioo III the
anllournl cmdopc of a t;tok ..ngine rOutpalUn"OI. I~gr~tcd lh" L60,
d",~lopltlcl1l ofthc mulU-luel eltgiltc prorttdl-d dlUlltK 19:'>8 al l.nland
:\!()(OO and" <mgle C\IItKlcr 1('Sl-bcd modd " .... nlnning bo the end ~
th.. 'TM. frotlt the ott~l. the Ru.al Armournl <.:orps (R.4,n h..1d 5Or\~
felCn-.. rion~ alloul lhe 1..60 "ogine bm Ihe poIiticiaos :lind their milian
~ntific ...:tn......... bn~cd tI.."., -.ir. II PIU\'CtI 10 be a rO$lh dccWOl'.
Bri&lin·. NArO IXlllI'''rs quirkh realiS<.-d that 1M mulU-lud WItC"1'1 "'<IS
impractic-..b1e and aoondoncd the idea. t:arh of Ihe lank1lrodur;ltg
couno-iro; :>doplo.-d .wnrlarrl dincl eltgilt"" that PrQ\oo tdwble and
dfecti'-e.Onh th .. fI,rill~h()IIUnuedlop"rslletJtC",,,1ti.fll..lroncepl .....ill,
an II"-'Uil.lble elll(illc "lIIil il "'as 100 late. Ironically. the L60 Cllgin.. n("\~r
ran 011 a...· ",h.. r f"c! th.l"di""",1
Th.. Gc-Il<:r,d Slaff k"t..d :, romoli<bted and dCl.lilcd !l"i,I.- uf th.. rh~r.
actc,-;"ucs it rt'<"jll'rcd 101' 1'\'1201 on :!l AllgtlSt 19.>;R. 111 CS5C1l(e. tllis
d"mandl"d~l.llIkthal rOlnbincd Ihc fi,-cpu.....roflhe Co'I<lu,·t...r"ith Ihe
mobilily of tll .. Ccnll"ioll ,,,,d ~n ~rlllOllr tUllfi!l"r."ion Ihat pn:"'idet!
th .. maximullI pn,tertion "ilhill" "'''i!:ht limit th~I'~lt",j"<:duI4,, lOllS. Arl

-"..........,..-._-
• _ _llot. .t

--.,1Il1o _ _
intec,,""" in tOP speed 10 2iimph "'~s also TCtlui,..,d "ith a ran;;e of 300
miles ~t a <"U1l.tllll 13mpll rcUcHin;; th.. n~-d for gl'l';'lcr IIiSpt'rsion on Ihe

_ ---- -
llud"ar hattleliekl. In the ",m.. montl,. '"lCke~\onSlfOng ,ll ;.<""......, tl..
_"_tNt, upon Trne l.>t.-t;."n.. th.. main (OIlU:lClOr for the desi!;11 ofdt.. nUT..' and fOl

----...-
..... __
..,-""' -1InnIy lIIstallauon of tile .........pUll'. \Icall...hik. Ill-.-clop""..nl oflhe l.6O"ngin..
-.-
........ .......
.
Contilll....-d ..I l..r\i.10d Moton, and Koole< LilllilC't1. C,{'lKlI!Tt"ntl., Self·
Changing le.. A Lillli'<*O "'<IS l."lSU-U "ith Ih.. ddlglI 01 th.. gt""rtx>"

-----
--~-.....-.

...... ---.
...
for FYI201 and the 1":\12 «mi-<alltomauc 'hOl:-1Ihif!' tr.msm;~oll " .....
adoptro, 00.....1 01:, th.. 1"-110 IrdlblnMion Ihat had u"I{I,talh b.-rn
dc'.doped for Iht'abandotted F\':'lOO lighllaflkllCno.. The fir$! T:-lI~ mu""

--
-..---
_-~
Ill;...... "O\!;cOIupieted alld ... ,~ed IO<hTla-lTK)lll]oC!cr lC>ls 1II :\Ia«:h 1%9.
In the QID(' month... m....ling "as com-t..,1C<1 al F\lUll:. U>I.'","", In
:ocn:pI the dc>.igll llhhc ,,"l,)(,)dn, mock-upofF\4201. hnital ~"ti.<tic<rom·
prNdahcightof7ftIOin.,a
hull Ienl¢t uf 22f1 ~n~ and
"Jo:">lmdcleal';lJl(eofl7in
lbe unL "'as 10 r:lJ1'I 6()
mllnclsofalillnUIIHtOn and
250 Imperial g:tllo'l$offuel.
"llhanengillel".,...loping
iOObhp a' a (ranl.>haft
,pt'('d of :!.IOO'l"" gi\ing a
po",,,r-IO'w..ighl r"li" of
l["t>bhp pet Ion. o.'l.'"rall
""ighT "~l' (alCtd.ttl'd to h..
100.000 f>OulltL<, ·n,~ design
",ISa,'r"ptcdin pt';ncil'l..
btll. """I"·...,,. fllrth"rmodi- 9
 fications and alterations were requested causingliml,er,kla}':I although the
production of six prototypes (PI-PI;) ""1.' authori....,d. In June 1959, six
further protOt)pcs orn'1201 (WI-\Wi) were ordered for troop trials "ith
manufacture shared between Vicke,-"..Arrnstrong and the Royal Ordnance
Factol)' at Lce,k A lint/,er two "ehides were to be built for trials by West
C:enn:lJJy I,-,Il,,,,;ng a bilater~1 agreement to test each counuy's tanks;
Brit:.,in received two Leopard Is for asscssment. 2 In Scpl,,]((l>el~ tl", TN12
gearhox successfully complet..-.:l its initial uials and ""I.~ ",anied with the lin;!
low powered ,..,rsion of the LGO enpne in a te,;t rig I,ull. 11",y were sui>-
j'Xted toa limited amoulllofmnninl(at Lcylalld/T.]ohm; prior to the rig's
apJXal<lnce at the Director of the Royal AJm<lu,,,d Corp'. (DRAC) con-
ference in December. Protot}}'" PI \\"<1.' ddi''''red to rVRDE inJanual)' 1960
",ith P'l in April. notl1 of the,;e were purdy automotive models \\;th a
circular sU,,.,n;mt<;lUre in place of the t\lTTet, knO\nl as the 'Windsor Tunoct'
I,.,Lau", of it,; similarity in shaJX to the Round Tower at Windsor Castle.
Rnnning trials began in earnestdtuing the early p..1.rlofI9ii(J,hutonly
on roads and \\ith the engine spced gO\'erncd to 1,8()()'lllll. Aue",!,I., to
nm the engine on a v,uiety of fuels prayed "xtr"n",ly problem,<1iral and
REML craftsmen oI"5:\-IA(; (Mainwnance Assessment Group) discoyered
that it would take at It:a.'' eight honn; to modify the feed system for
ditrerel1t fuel" an 01";0115 impossibility in the (ield under combat
c",,,lit;ol1s. 11'e multi-fuel concept was fatally flawed from the ouoct
hut dw die "-oi'l cast and FV420 I was now lumbered with an <:Jlgi"" who",
JXrformance was woefully inadequate and p,'inl( cause for grave "",u'em
ManyfailuresocculTedduetoexcessiveenj{ine"ilmn;onamjinthegear
train octween the top and hottom ,:r~l1kshafl". Problems \\ocre also
encountered with u"erl,eating of the gearbox ;md the hydraulic fan
dri"es. In time, these problems were ameliorated by various measures,
,uch as reducing the <Tanbhaft sp<:'ed to 2,1OOrpm from the intended
2.400rpm amj mo,;ng the exhanst silencers into an anllour<:d hox
anarhed 10 the rear hull. All these modifications add<:d Ul tire over~1l
weight of the \"l."hicle, which had now riscn to a1mo,tfj.() tollS. This in turn
meant that the suspension unit~, wlrich had oribrinally Iwen designed fo,
a vehicle weighing 15 tons, had to I,., "trengthel1f',1 cAlllsingyet a furthe,
increase in weight, a,did tlreded,iorl to lit rubber p;lds to the tracks to
corllonn \\ith (;"'nnan requirements to limit the damage to roads during
exerd:;es by the British AJmy of the Rhine (BAOR). With all engine
OUlput ofjust 5OObhp, this g<!,'e a powcHo-weiglrt mtio of ollly lOhhl' per
ton or less than two thircls of the Gcneral Swllr"quiremenL
The continual stoppages in the dcvclopmellt due 10 enbrine
and otherfaiJurcs meant that itw.!s irnlx"sible the othe,
componcltls. For instance, hy Oewlwr 1960 only three gearboxes had
completed more than fiOO miles "ith "ery little CroS&COWlU-y rtrnning
wherr the tTdnsmission is really put to the test "ith multiple gearshifi., at
different lo;,ds. Q\'Cr the next }..,ar, as the first new engines with irrcrea.<ed
power of 550bhp appear..-.:l, problems "itll tile gearbox becarne apparent,
particularly "ith tile elccuical control "o\<:noid" and 11'" input shafts. These
problems witlt tlte mUl~11lission \\"uld have I,.,en discovered much earlier
had it not been for the tronhl", \\;th tIl( 1.60 engine that greatly limited the

'"""",,ionoilhe Chleftll" M.rll
lbag-."'M.,.I~• .tROF
1Wrl_1,,~_ .......t
-"'Armot"'''lI.tEIe_
"'N_c•• tIe,.on~.... d.opIt.
.....U lnyp"'b...... w1thth.
UIO l1'I12 1 1 _ "
~.umpIeoof_M_l
-.b.llt 'w1'h·"·"I1 I...
oi j
..\pIIt t 585bhp th.~
. . . ""Iy._lortr.i"I"1I
tlldl~..... n..ChlelUl,,~....
<allbeidarrtiUedbythe.plit
IuIlc.... ""Ih.comm.ndo'..
No.tlCUPOIa.oImlla,'olhOH
... lM. ""'..... of c.rt"'........
length of automoti", trials. Accordingly. there was
no tim.. ro pt'rmir a pro!",r n..-t.:",ib'll of tht' pro!>-
ICllmtic asscmbli~'S. as it "'.IS only possible 10 Iilke
ad hoc interim measures in order ro keep rhe
proWtJ'P'-"" runuinK and thc dt'",lop"'t'Ill <-ydc ill
train. This did notaugur ...."Cll for the ftllllre.
While PrQlotypes PI and P2 continued their
di/limlt testing r"Kim", P3 ",as ddi""...:d to RARDE
Cherlsey in April 1960 wh<:'re rrials of the gun
control "'Iuipment were undenakell. For his task
of target acquisition thecon1ll1anderwasprO\ided
v.ith axlOhinocularr",risrope,while r.h"gunllt'r
had a x8 monocular siKht linked to the main
armamenr in both alimurh and el"',lIion v.ith an
optical link ["'tween the two sights. The rangt' 10
target was established ballistic.'lly by a .5O-cal. ranging gun mounted
par.ulelu>themain annameuLAlthough ahy<lr.mlicgun control system
for tUll"C1 tra,'crsc and gun de,,,tioll, m. Javoun:d by tI,C Americans and
Germans, was considered. an improved \"Crsion of the lried and rested
ele<:tr\>-rnechanical equipment. a, med on the ('..emurion, \-\",,"' adopted for
~V4tOl despite ilSgreau:rbulkalld slowcrrcaction time bccauseBritish
amhorities consid"r"d high pn,s.'l,r" hydraulic linMl to he hKl dangerous
iusidctllcturrcl.
Firing trials by FVRDEofthe LII 120111m gun mounled in W3 began
t in ~lay 1961 at Ult' Kirkcudhrighlgunnery r..nges in Scotland and later
in ti,e ~'ear h~' the RAe al Llllvwnb in Dorset. Despite serious reservations
",irh the commander', cupola and its machine-gun monnting, Ihese
proved hig!llysalislaClOl)·. in complete eonU".tS1 to those devoted to the
tank's automoti,"" perfonnance. In",;!.,bly, there ...."Cre a number of
defecL., not. lea., of which ....-"". ti,e nt'ct'''ity to replace uleoriKinal M8S
ranging gun wilh ti,e 1>12 Browning. The ranging gun system' "''as always
seen as an interim measure pending rhe introduction ofa fully integrated
la.",,. nmgetinder tI,eu under development. Firing ulI"c'Hound !lurs" of
lracerammunition that ignited on striking a hard target, the rangin ggun
haclrol"'preciselyalib"'ed ....i thulemainannamenttobeofl''''.Qnce
eorrcetlysighled,it"'"dSasilllple,eost-cllieiemandrobustsyst"mtllalhad
thead\<mtageofautomaricallyfactoringinsuchvariablcsasrnmnionrilt
and crossv.ind,. hut in Illt' t'arly days \\-"dS only dfecti\"t' out to a r.mgt' 01
I,[,()() yards which ralhernegatedthelong-rangeC<lpabilityofthe 120mm
main annament. PrototH"'s P3 and Pol aho conduct",1 firing lrial, at
Kirkcudbright. including the Ill. night"lighting equipment, during l%2
Throughout this period, the protol)pe vehidell were constantly being
T!l'Klified or ,.""urked to tl,e latest standards. TI,.,.,. were tI,ell sent ou
dilfercm trials"ith either ~VRDI': or scnice personneL Bl' now. it was decided
to d'''pateh two FV4201 vehidMl, now nam",1 Chieftain, to RAOR for troop
u'ials witll operational unilSintllelicld.'llletv.ounilSconeellledwerctlle 1st
and 5th Royal Tank Re-giments (RTR). stationed at Hohne and Fallingl:>o!itel
3.Tho-.g.5O-eol....,.",,'P' ... . - ...... __
."'tho~.-.l _ _ "' .... ~
; , " " " ' _ .......... ~ _ ' P ' · " " ' ~ " '.._ _ "'-_St lo'BE, .... _ ' "
""R,t,CGu'Iroo<yI""'ll .. ~."."""",...,""""""_~_.". """.,""' ..
"'""Stan_"""'OI""'~~_OI ...."'""" .."""""""...
~""'''''IJI'IQ'P'·
,"',spe"tin,ly. Onring I%2 selected crno.'S were sent from Genllall}' U> Alin.oICItI.tt.I... M.rlc2of
FVROF., &"inb'1on ;1l1d Lul"urth for initial £-lmiliaJisation and tmining, In th.41h17t1t Royal D<agoon
late Deremht-r WI and \\'3 am\-ed in Germany und"r conditions oj' great Quardo pre,>..... 10 mowe off
during a .....'nlng •••rclse III
",net)',,;th Olle going to e<lrh regiment. The uials were to laSt thn:t' 1!tortlhs. Soltlluinw••ta.nnany;n
FirsJ impressions were good, In the harsh winter conditiollS the rubher 196Il,TIt.mai"t<l-er'ltitying
track pa,l, of the <:hi.-ftain were a nm~iderab1e aid to mobility on the it) ditl...ncefrom!"-Marlcl
mads 'LS against thest..e1 tr,lrks of the Centurion that skidded and slid " ith l.th._=ntnI_rotaling

I«ay ahandon. How..,""r, t.he same "in try conditions soon rncakd tht· worst comma"d.... No.15
Marlc 1 cUl'Ola wltlt It.
a.sf>Cd ofChidiain a., far ;1, its crt"''S were concerned - which was to be a"
.ingl._p;ec.ltatc".
issue IlnuughOl't its can'"r-lhe brkofan internal heater, Ihe ,'ictimol
one of the pere""i"l weigh! ,a,;ng mt'a'llres, Furthermore, whell the
sprin~ ilIa" callie, tI,e C"nturioll ''-.is hener able to negotiate the lIluddy'
conditionsthanthen,ieft,ill dn.. to tht'!arr..r's low ground clearance of
17in. This ,,"...s suhsc'luemly rai~t'd to 22in, by substitll1illg Centurion road
wheds aml modi!)-ing the "''''pension but "ith an overall inCl-ease ul
,chick hci!o(ht or just an ill,.h. Automoti\'e1y, the tanks performed
adequatc1} altI,ou~h there we,.., "ever.il g..arbox failures and its limited
power OUlput meant it had only cmllparahl.. en~-eountry mobility to
the Centuriuu .\-Iark 7 agai,,,t whirh it ''-.is paired for trials purposes.
As to gunnel"), ,".i,-iou., ddi";en"i.,,, ht'camt' app~rent> not leaS! of which
was tl", wurklo...d I"r the loader/radio operator who had to maintain and
sen'e three weapons "ud the radio, ...., "..,11 ...., prmiding the crew willl hot
drinks and meals hum tIlL" BV or boiling w""",lmo'l11t-:d behind the main
armament But worSl of all "'dS au electro-",..,.haui"al dC\ice for ramming
theprojecweinlothebn,,,chth,,t,,"...'tOlallyunreliabkandarealhazard
to the loader himsclf. 11,,, RTR 'tanki",,' <juickly dC\ised an alternati\'C
means to seat tIle projectile hy using tilt' Comhustible Cartridge C'lSC
(CCC} ilSClf as a "mUm,r, O"spite ollieial di,appro,,,!. this beGlme the
smndard method of Io.lding. The co"'plex e1enro--mt'chanieal de\ice was
discarded and was not littcd to pmdunim, "..hides. Th-: culmination of
the uials was a 72·hour 'e1oscd..d ",,,,,· ext'n:i,,· whereby a 3RTR crew
manned a Chieftain lor" tI,ree·<!a} period "itholH opt"ning any hatches at
all while a rcscn'e crew ,..,fuelled and sen;ee<1 1.1,.. \'ehiek from the outside
[achda)',thetankhad to undcrtakeatlea." wn hour<ofmotonngOI'eraII
manner of terrain, while all equipme11l,uch a.,r."lios and gun stabiliseI'
were operating, in order to test cl'cl"),tI,iug fully. The t'x~rcisc ",nded with a
comprchensi,-e shoot on Holllle Rallge 7A "'1h ,,11 ;lmmunition being
expended in an org), ofdesLructioll bel<>r" all ;ludicl1e(" of high-ranking
officers and RACpersonnel.
Althoughgenerallysllccesslul. tI,,,trial,demollstr.iwd thar there were
still many faults to be rectified befor.., series produnion could begin.

AClWIIlllnM.tI<2ol1he3rd
~_kRegimenlcloums
~I"'muddurlng_
~1"-"F.lllng_"ln
_GemI.o~lnApriI'9&2.
_ t h o ... in m.n1is_
_oloI ~ 7,62m mschln.
lIlI"ondolthocomm• ....son
....... lothoL.37A27.62mm
....,hi"'v"",On_sldeol
_Is copobl.01
dlolulTOlls.No.Vdi""""rver
IIring01.
~oI_lOC_"",
_ornokooc:...... nd
dlo_trorn.""""~ob _
_K_ko ..... e-rlmongtree.
",_vro..,d.Likolhofim
Ch_nmodol,_Mofk2ho.
IwOjefryclnhoklet's""f....
...."'·_oidoolt.... lu_t.
D..spit.. ,h.. d .. ma"d, of
llutIlyilllhehighcoTllTlland
who wi,hed for the new
~lain Battl.. Tank (MBT) as
soon as possible, funh .. r
"t'v..loprn .. m, panicularly
oflhe engi""and trans-
mISSIon, was nt'r",-',a,/'
N.."erthel...., ,he Chieftain
wasaccept"d forsef\;ce on
I Ma" 1%3 wallow pn....
ducliontoslal'l,bmo\"Cr
the next two y",u'S only an
..xtra 35bl,p uHlld be
squeezed om of the 1,60
,,"~n .. h..fore it "'1nipp..d
lhe Chicltain :\lark I of
which 40 were built-in fan
th.. r.. ""I.,on.. pw-prodnnion morleland39t(}th .. ~1ark I 'I>ecificatioll.
Ddive,ie, were made octwccn lIlid-1Yfi5 and 1966 with 26 being
manufactured by th" Royal Ordnanre Farlo,/' L.... d, and 14 hy
\,ick..n;-Anllsu'ollK. III the neill, tI,e Mark 1 wa, ollly u>l:d for troop trials
and training; one of the first Cohi .. ft"ins to an;"e at th .. Srhool of
~1 ..chanic31 and F.1enrical F."b,.;n....'" (SE~IE) Bordoll " ..., '" under·
powered that it w= incapable of dilllbillll OntO a tank transporter. The
flrsl proper Chieftain model, the \lark 2. was d.. li\~r .." to th .. Briti.,h
Army from ROF L .... d, on 18 April l!l66. Th" fir't alllloured regilllt:lll 10
lx' equipped with lhe nt:w i\IBT .... as the 11th Ilussars (Prince Alben',
0\\11) - Th .. Ch"""Il'irhr, - which r.. c.. i,-..d i,,, liTht six Chi..ftains in
k !'\m·"lIlberl!l66.
In Ihes,llllelllOnlh,adelegationfrolllthelsracllkfenseForces(lDF}
arriv..d ill Flri",in to ,mdvthe n,i..ftaiu, For , ..a,,, th .. 1DFhad beell
forced to acquire tauk>.frolll a wide "ariely of sources, be they East or
\\,~,t. A, a r"",It, t.h .. hr.,eli Annoured r,orp' W""" d.. termined to produce
ib Own baltIe lank,followinK a deci,ion in February 1%4,soastoensu re
a continuity of supply. At flrl;t the Israelis ";sh..dto as,..mhl .. lhe Frenrh
AMX-30 tank in hr.,d a" hithert", th.. French had beeu tI,,, lllo'lrdiablc
supplier of weapons 10 Isradh'om lhe West The intcmion was ror the
hraelis to """,,mhl.. th .. rh,~~,is l"""lIy ,,;th th.. lUlT"~' being- imported
huUl France. By lh;,; li"'t: the Ccnllllion was in widespread sc,.,..ice Wilh
the !OF and the Israeli Annou ..ed Corps, under th .. dynalllir l..ad"Thhip
of Major-C.." ..r,,1 [,r"e1 Tal. w·..., more indin..d to the British school of
tauk de,ig:n n,tI,n lhan lhe French bclicfin high mobility al the expense
of armour prOleoion, After protrarl.. <\ disru"ions. whil .. th .. For..i!,,.,, a",1
Commonw..alth Offic.. ditI,ered Ii,r fe"r of ofknding: Arab opinion, the
British agreed 1.0 sell Chieftain to the llW inclnding setting up " pro-
<!ueti"u lin .. ill hr.,el.lnilially,lhe'attk."muldb.. as",,,,bledin [w"d from
kibsupphed hum Blitain befOre/ull proouClioll w<lSundertaken in the
COUllt,/·. In retum. the Israelis agre"d to ,hare d,.,.·.. lopm'>llt cm~, "u"
p""id.. their l'articuhr experti,,, in "pel~,tiu!\ lauk>. ill ul"SCn conditions
li-mChieftains.\1ark 2arri\Tdin I,rad ror \ ..i"ls "ith the IOFin ..arl}'
196i, hmwit.hin month, th ......ginn w<l.'plung-.." into ",mfliu with the
outbreak of the Six Day War in June. The nen'ous Foreign Omce cabled
Tel Aviv and demanded that the Chieftain' bt, moved from the border
region~ of the :\egev I)es.crt willl Egypt fur !Car of Ardh a<:Cl~'lations of col-
It",ioll "ith the Isrdeli~. The Israelis s.clll a laconic reply. '1la"e "0 fea", we
ha\'(~ mO\'ed LIlt: bonlel1l.' After eXI,ensi,,' lesting, the IWO Chieftains weTe
replaced by new models and L1Ie desel1 uials continued. pro'iding a
wealth of data on operating in hot climates. On 170<:!o!wr 19fi8Ihe
I,r.leli go\'emmenr made an official request to Blitain 10 purchase the
Chieftain. III April 1969 anod"'r [,ra.-Ii d.-legation alTived in Britain to
sludy production methods at ROr Leeds and Vickel1i-Arrnstrong, bUI the
British gov.-mment was in a quandary "ith LIte ~Iinistry of Defence in
f""our of the deal and 11u: roreign Office increasingly op[X'SCd to iIfi,r
political reasons. The diplomat' pre'-diled and in December 1969 Britain
officially informed Israel that irs n''luc,t tu prod lICe C.hieftain was r.. ruscd
MajorGen...tt...... 'T.tik'TM
In Ihe same month both Chieft.1ins were retumed 10 Britain. Ne"er-
.tond.with.Sritlol>ot'IIcer
thde,,", the Blitish leamt a considnable amount from the Israeli trials and In"""'ot_ot~fou,

incorporated lllunerous impro\'elllcrrts into produ<:Iion monels. such as C_tnoM.or1<2._.dby

cupola periscopes angled to reduce solar reflectio"s, With stunning th. I......U Armour-.lCorpo
_nlH7.ndlHg.
d"plicity, Britain then offered thes.c Qlieftain mooeh to "e,..,rdl Ardh
Although II-. 1f;,. .11ow1.ho<l
puwef5, including Lih}"" and Irdn - such is rrolpolilik tom.nulactu.. _Chieltoin
Ille next majorwliam. tile Chieftain ~Iark .1, first rolled off the pro- und.,IIcenc.,_SrlIl'"
ductiOl1 lineal ROF Lceds on 16 Scptembcr 1969. Il leatured an imprm'Cd ~
__ m _ ••1 t _ t tl)'reIuMd
_10
life L60 IIlark 5A engine of 6rJOhhp and many other enhalln'l1lCnt~, hen
SO, U1C Chiehai" remained lInderpO\....·red for a tank now weighing 53 IOns theUI(,G<InenIITMwuth.
leodinglightbehindl..-..
and e"en more won)ing-lr the L60 "ngine ""s increasingly plagued
n,..lnd"'-l)'produc'"
"ilh problems ofreli~biljty. 1t ...'aS apparem tlmtd'e attempts 10 incre<lSC MlIT_th.M_.
eng-ine outplll had resulted in reduced reliability. rurd,ermore, fTheT_MuMum)
whenewr One problem was
partially solved. another
component within the
power Irdin bt-gan to suffer
repealed breakages. There
were four main aspeCts 01
~ngine failure: cracking of
tile qlinder line,,; failure of
the C)'lillder lip seals; pi.ton
fire ring breakages; and
cracking of the rear gear
Case'. All these prohl~ms
were e"emllally re"ol\..,d
bm not before Chieftain's
r"puI:Hion had been irrc-
dcernabl)' "ompromis.cd
The lin;\ engine modifi-
canon progralllme was
k110"11 as TOlem Pole and
wa., combined "ilh other
imprO\'emcnrslOuTW",leall
prC\;ous lllarks of Chieflain
to Ihe same stand,lrd as the
linal prodnction ,..,hide ror
the British Anny, d,,, Mark .~.
 This version subsequenlly
inwrpor,ued Il,e 11iOM"r~
&\ engine of 750bhp al
2.2~lpmboi,il1!!atopspeed
of 30mph (48km/h) "irha
road range of 310 milc,
(500k.lll). TI,e M;rr~ 5 "':ll'
the definili\'e Chidlain
model. II weigiled 54.8 tons
which ,,-..., "Imo" ten rons
grealerthan Iheoriginal
Gct\l"ntl Staff requirement,
an increa", of aimOSI 25
percent.
TI,e problem., of engine
reliahiliry be£ame so bad
Ihat an imcsligation ".,,,
undenaken hy the Expen-
_~ChIefIaInftrat_ diture Colllmiuec anu the Defence and Exrernal Affairs SuJ.>.Committee
-'_"'-...,urring of Ihe Hutl.'iC of Commons and their lindings "ere published in 1978-
_ _ 1ai1u.... 1n_-'Y
li'100,~ChIeItainwall
(Tk Chujtllin 'Iank /c'ngiM- HMSO London 23 .\Iay 1978). Its conc1usioIl.';
_ _ bJ_angIno were damning - "The I"'rformance of Ihe Qlicflain', gun and rAnge-
pr-.o _ _ ._UOnt lindingeqllipmentisfrrslc1ass.[tisthcreforeal1themoreunsatisfaClory
Tho _ _ ., _ _
_l'OOof_~_lnt""_. thaI the Lln~ should have bcellietdo"n by its engine in the past. [t is dif-
licull IOfee1 confident aooul Ihe future pcrfollnanee of the engine in the
.. ChM1'lHI..... UO""ofllh.
_-.;~IItttIoh ... nnYs lighlofrhesubscquemlyullflllfil1ed"-,,sllrancMgi\"Cn by the Millistryuf
oonlrI>ulIontoMATD-.I\I Defence... \Ve "ish to a.,sure the Ilouse Ihal Ille present pr"K'"dJllme of
C<IIII~.FoIIowlnV_ cngine modification", asil has bcen explailled and demon"rrared to us,
~of_Sun'*­ appears 10 be meeling "ith SUCCI's., so far... Nevertheless, despite the""
_ _,ralilll>il/tJlml'fO"'"d
Wdcolllcimpr",..,ment,.wecannOla\'oidobseningineonch"ion that rh e
__ ,....,.-.Fo.
butllMtotpt ...... lil1ool4,DDO
.'laga of rhe Chieftain lank i.- not "ne which r...nects well on the Minist!), of
__ tIHIL50_p.-to Ilefenee, eWll a1lo"ing for "n elemenlofshccrlladluekin theprnblem'
....- 1"'_
produd.... c _ o I .... _ t
ontIHI _ _ ,n.. __
whid, ha'" dogged rhe engine. h i.- unly right to point our, moreo"er,
that, """uming the prc:scnt progr.nnme of modif'c.'l;ons l"CpreSCnl'. Il,e

-------Iong
. . . . . . . hood •• -.ydlstincthM
__ WalI.~

_ _IIt\l. ... _lUIo'tIny

final inslalmellt, it "ill he well o'."r halfway through Il,e Chieftain', anive
life bcfor... ir hasan engine to makh it" other undOllhred as5ClS."

TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE

...,........._1n1$ll3
_ _.. I_tionof

tIIt_c..nkoMlt,_
CHIEFTAIN MARK 5
~irM:_t""
.....-,oI_ .. g1.... 1ly
tho_oI_l_uetlonoi nrc design of any tan~ is cs.scntiall~' a compromise herwe..n three funda-
~,~ln ....II_ity m .. nral bur m\ltuall~' cOllflietinl'( fanor, _ firepower, mobility and
_1n~_of80pW".,t
protection, TIre key function of a tan~ is 10 defeat eneIllY almonr '10 hea\)'
.... _blybett.. thanib
_.During_Out1_
_ _'-'
1n'"',~ClI
lirep<,,,,,ri,theprimaryrcquircmcllifurthedesigner. But Ihe hea\ierllie
w""'pon, the larger the turret mUSl he to house it and its associated ammu-
_ _nmof_Roy" nition, ",hid, in tum requires a larger hull to 'lCcommodalf' ir. The largcr
EngIn...-o.ndREME ..._ the hull and 1U1l"Ct, Il,C hea,ier they must be uthcy arc to incorporAte
""' _ _ M U n _
adequate anuuur protection but armOUr is "cry hea\)' and thus added
_f-"lI... of3.792km; am,our re'luires an engine of much wearer horsepower 10 achine
.... oIC1w1I'-.......
adequale mollilily. TI,e greater the horsepower, IlIC larger Il,e engine bur
Thi,intUl11requir~alargefhulltohouSelhcbiggerc"Wlle"l,ich"""nlS
llJon:wcighta"d,,,itg,,e'ot,inexorahly
·\lthough theolll'iCT.tlw
Cl,ichaiu a four-man crew and a
tnt. . lg70S_Chieftain .....
p1ag.....by.ngt ttabttlty
~ •. tna o1 tII....
in...stige_reportpublished
on 23 May 1975 .... Housoo.'
Cernmons,-.a,nl<:a1Aflal...
SUb-Cern..,ltt. . .,.,....,.ut\ed,
'f"-
perl""""n.,.ol .... Chiel\oin'l
gun and ,ange·llndingequip_
Is II.... class.. It Is _ _ ...
.... mo.. un...ti<lll<:tory
tIInksl>ouklha•• been Iet_ 1ho

bylle.ngin.lnth.p"s'.'7ho
~''''''''UO.ng''''
_.ncerbete<lbylhe
inadeqUll"~ionol
...... pal't$andrepl...,.., lt
po_pi...... Neverthel .
wt>enCI>ieltainsw... usedan
a "'llula<bMl., ouch M'hosoo
at BATUS [n canada, th.~ ..........
tob• ..,ueI. .........liabl••hIIn
..-ntlI'I.T_Chieftoin . .
und.'lI0lngroutl... mato>."".....
",th.BATUSwork.IIopiprio<
to anellllr<:i. . on .... Cal>adilln

engine
The

of the hull with the tuITet

SlL'pcndedo" a hall race to
allow 3tiO-degree WL1UOll.
The other three crew
Ulemoc,sarehouscdinu,e
llllTeT,withthecommande'
audgllllllerscatcdtothe
righT of The main arma-
Hle"t and the loader/"'dio
operator toilS leh. The com-
Illander i., provide" with a
No. I" Mark 2 cupola ulat
can be tra\"~r'lt''' Through
36() degrees. It provide'S ~n-
 round c1;r~1 ,i.iun lhrough ";,,.. AtY No. 40 M.. rk 2 obscm,lion
peri>wpc:s .md a $ingle An' 1\0. 37 ~"'T1" -t >ighling PCn5OOp<'. On Ihe
~Ieriur of thl' cupola i.< a 5j)()Ilight and an L'iAI 7.6:.'1ll1ll ma~hil\e KUn.
11,., gnnncr is ,..,at~ h" ..."rcloflhc commander ;",d h.. h:u IWO I'riman
sighlS, Ille p"'Ncopie An' No. 59 "'hich pt"OlrWk$ through lh.. roof and
,h., ruR"("1 'isiun An No. 70 IeIMCopic "ghL AI night lx"h Ihe gtllllln"and
ronlltldl,<kTClln"CpLu:('I~irda,"lim.,sighl:!> ..ithinfr:rred(lR),~rs>on.>.
Mounl~ on III.. Id"t--hand ~ oflh., IUJT('I i.. a 21." cumhln..d .. hi", light
and IR pruiKlO<" apal..... of idcntif">;ng tal"gCl> 0111 10 a ranK"'" of 1.OOlhn
in the lR mode. n.., Chieflain can "ho be fium ..,th all IR rlt-Tffl(lf".u-.."
u,., roof tbal gRle5 an aUfhhk- and ,lsuaI ....miuK " .....n an IR _'n:l' is
illwninaung lhe tank. The IoadM" is ptU\mm "ilh a !<ingk- rl)MUng
pmKopt'" Af\' Nn. 30 ~brt I and a I"u-pit"c:., hatch in Ihe roof.
11,., loader abo an.< <1$ Ihe ...a dio opcralOr and Ihe ba.<ir ..quipmeUl
for this fun,lion initL;llh comprised !h" Larhpur C42 and 11<1.7 .>CL< ..ilh
iUlcgral iUl.. rCOtlllllUniralions for all Ihe t'l..,... m..mbocT>; th .. l.arl..spur
...... latl'r su""n<r-<Ied b) th .. f:lansman r.mgl' of mdin eqluplllenL As
10adu, h., ..... n~atld ma;"",i". th.. mail] anuam.. nl, tI,C' L2JAI'''nging
gun and II,,' lA\1 co-.t"ial 7.62Jlllll marh,"c Kun hr prO\"ldilljl; a
rnn~lanl flow of ;Ullluull;tion ,III,} d ..aring am 'Ioppagcs 0' tllisfirn ,h..,
llJighto("Cur.
TIIlo_ofphotO\l .. ~hl Thc LII l2f)mlll high...,..locil\ riflcrlWllk IIUll;s fined with:l fun1("

--
dopIcllthllnWor!o'OIIIIlI CXu"n')f hall 1'.1'r d"wn the harrel whid, i, alw Wt""pp.",1 il1 a lhellnal
P'O.hlO!lonm_Chl.rtoln ,1"FI"Ctolllinimisctli"I"rtinnofthcU1""andthcr.. fnrel~"f;\("r\l"tc}
_~pn>ducodl""_len
allollg r.lllges till.. to dilk'clltial heating or cooliu!!. TI, .. s"n has a
A:A _ _ ,ho-,," ,·.. nicalh·,liding breedl hinck, "hich npc"sautOlml1icall> "ftc,firi"g.
"--""Melno_ Alter pbring th,' pl'llft'rlile ill Ih.. hreuh, the loader ralllS il hOllle ..i,h

__
_"'--'_11
l1li-.-..
_ _ _.....
"'
II_- on
IPI _ _

... .....-
Ihe hagged ,1I"'lle and c10!1t:> Ihe breuh. He Ihclllri!", a ... ret, s...itch and
Ihe ....,"pon is rc-"d, tn fire or ",..ans of an d('Crri~lh initiat..d '"m tub....
Th., gunller b'" the ..·cal....." on U,,, target foll""ing dirutio'" from
the .....hick cOllmo;uld..r l"he Filthling \'chid., Cun <':outml t.q"ipmctll

---
----
..._ot __ ",,- {F\'C.c.t:j No. i ~larl. <I. plU,;<!n ,-an""" moda of oper.llion Itlcludlllg
full stauili",lion 10 aU..... OlCCl1r<lle firing 0" the IIKJ\~
"Ilw.- r."'gc W l"rgl', 1$ .... lahlished b> finng tlt..... .-n.. md Ou,,;t,, 01
tI,,, .5O-cal ranKing gun
,,~ng four prrcklenninnl
gr.tk"l.. nl;lIb in Ihe
gunner", si/o;llI" \\'tll(h,.."r
bun,t Mrike' Ihe tlrgcl
;ndiralC'l; which ",,,ill
annaJncllt grallc"l., mark
m'l'!ilbeu....dlnl""onu,.,
targetamltheglllli>thl'n
fir....-J. Ille rallging gun
.'\}"S1C1il "'1U <Ilpcrscd"d ho.
U,,, Tank L.ucrSighl (TL'i)
which 1",< an aecu......r\'
of flQm ,II ;1\ Illa",-
imu", oper.uillS ranK" of
10,000111. The Tl.'; wa.
lall'r itltClo::ntt..d "ilh ,he
l"'I"'O\·..d File C.ol1tl"Ol
S\'$I"m (IFeS) 10 !(i,e the
Chi"ftain lhe abili!\' 10
"ltploit fulh Ihe ~uperior
firt1JO"'CToflheLlIA2A')
Tan\. Gun ;u agaimt th"
L7 IO"mm of mO!it of
IlScolltC"mpoorann.
At lhc rear of th.. em\;,
i$ th~ o:ngine eomp:ullllCIIl
hO\l!ing th" UiO "'''Ilinc,
T': 12 S"arbox.linaldri\"C5
ami cunlillK a!SCmhllc!.
Th" Chieftain .\Iar\;, "
kallll'~-..l 11", UiO Mark 7,\
01 720bhpand lal<:rth..
~Ial'k 8A of 750bhp. Th..
TNI2 gearbox incorp"''ates
a Mcnitt \\ilsondiff..r"'lIi;,1
stccnng unll ami rpi",-elic
gear change S\'Sl."m "itJl l>lX fono.'aKI and two rt'\~1Y g".... r.. tios plus an
"1lln'B"nn mn::ha.nicalloC1cctor of!il:'CQlld g<'ar fimo..ru and low IT'~nc.
A Ih~linder Co\'('nU"\' aim"" H:iO ~". <I comprcssion-ignition
otllXili.ar) engine is abo fined in lhc ""gme rompanmcnt to Jl"O\'i<k
--_ ...
a; ... . - - - . . _

~-""""­
c............ to _ _ •

"'«trica! VO"'"erand a /3cili"'for $Orting lhc ",am enRine. IlK: Ilor.;unann -~-
.-wpt:ns.on consi\15 of Ihree double bogi6 each side...ilh 1M dmlC
SllrucL.ct at Ihe rear, a from idler and Ihrtt lop return rol1e~ Th..
tracks are ofcast Mttl. ..ith 96linht.'aCh .. hen nC'W, and <:at:h mock lilll-
has a d"laChabie ruhOer pad for eilher combat or peacdi",,, collditions.
Th~ Chieftain :\lalk ~ wa., the final production mudd fOI tJle 1l1itish
Arm\' allhough th..r.. ,,"en~ Ulall}" subsequent marb and .uh-Tllarh (!ICe
belo\\'). AlmosT l{)OO Chid lain MilTs were huilt for th., British Ann)'
and:m "qual numl>cr for foreign armie~. In 1971. the Impcriallranian
I\nll} on.I",.....:! 79~ Chieftains including 707l\Lul 3/3P aud 5P MBTs, 71
Chi<:ftain AR\'s (filled ....i th Atla., enUl"",) and 11 A\'L&. In 1975, lh..
It"JllIdilSomerro a funher IR7impnl\ed Chieft.aulsdesignated FV-t030/1
",lh enhanced min~ pml"nion; grealer Iud Cltpaeity, additional ,hod;
absol"bo:D and an automatic ~..,.hox to simplify dri\'~r lr.lining_ HfWl"e\....,.
Iralllan dissatisfaction "ilh til" L60 eJlgin~ led to a n:qll;n:melll ill
l)cc~mlxl 1976 fOI the complete tank Ilttt ofChidtain.~ to be modified
10 acrqx lhc RoIJ.s..1ill)ce (.'\'12 that ,,-as being """"t'lop"d fur Ule Shir I
and 2 fY40~ models. A dnlgn sntd\. b) th" l\Imistr. of Dcf~nce
l'rocurement ExecuU\'(' dccKled that a d~ ... ~ \~rsM)ll of Ihe C\'12 of
800bhp be me<! 10 a"(nd slgniftcmt changl:':5 to Ih" K"".... box. rmal 00\"\"$
;mrleuolillgs}slem.Qn 11Jul\' 1977. the Shah oflr..naulhorisc-d the
modilicatioll programme but th" Ir.mian rt:\"01ution tn 1979 broughl
"buUl tlS Cltllcdalion. In ~I; ... 1976. ule Kuwaili aml}" look deli,"t'n' (If
du:: Iii'S! of 165 Chi~rtain ~Iark -"12K :\IBTs. In Augusl 1981. th~ Sult'lll
Omans '-oren acquired 12 Chidtain .\Iark 7/2 C MRT5 on Imlll from
0'
British Army siocks. 11,,,stc "",,re ~ubscquelllJ)" purel1a.o;ed by Oman:l.' were
15 new build \"(~h;d.. ~ <I""ig'niltcd Qayd AI Ardh aft1'r a famou, deSCI1
wanior. A tmal of 2,26,", Chieft.aul MBTs w~rt' produced hem",ell 1965
and 198,'jinI...,.,.... and:-le,,-.:aSlle.
 (::l_-",, _ _
_ _ lIII_h

.... ....--.-"Ion
............... _-

CHIEFTAIN VEHICLES AND VARIANTS

FV4201 prototyp••
I'l-l'ij ddi""r"d belwecn January 19fiO and No",",mbcr lUfi2. \\'1-\\'6
rleli\"Cred belween Mardi 1961 and April 1962. Cl and (;2 deli\"l'r..d
inJanllal)'andNO\'Clllll<'"rl!l62

Mark 1

_..
Fir5' production \"dlid.. "ilh 585bhp engine. H,,11 of "'eldcd rollt:d 'led
phil" "ith cast glaci, pl,It". linT"1 of cas, 0>1"",1 "i!h rolled 5,cel phlte

---.---
D:l_~ __
-...~
roof and b..~le. '\0. II M..rl I commander's cupula ..i,h 'plil hatches.
... tnoo One pn."Vruduction model '0 Marl. I ,preili.... tion and 39 ~I;uk I ,... hid"

.. ..-........-
buill at ROF Lct.'ds (26) ann \ickers-AnnslrOng (14). Vehides despaochM
fWIII ROF l.eeds bc,..cenJul1e 19fU and F"bru;m 1966.
Marklll B.a.sic \Iark I
..ilh automNi,... imp"
rO\-emenu to e"haIL"
,"'.,.'em and addiuon of
main cllj{in" "ir d"an"r
re!iuicuon ....a llling.
Mark 1/2 &l51C \"chid"
..il1, No. 15 \!art I cupola
inplaL..,ofNo. 1l;impTO\"ed
""hausl syslem: impTO\~
s,"ok" diKha'll:ers; 101'
rolkrs Iiu"d "ilh fioating
seals: f"ur h ... adliglm
"ith [\\'0 IR and Iwo whil"';
main enginc air clea".. r
restrklioll w:trning, All
changes 11I:ld" during
UKbasco\"Clltalll
M;uir; 1/3 Basir ~Iark I
moollied 10 M...rl 1/1 and
'Tot"m l'ole' cOIll-ersion.
Mark 1/4 .... lark I 2 ...i th
"IOlenl I'ole' cum·"".;"n.
II examples $ubs«jucml)
(OI1\W1ffiIIlCh~Ctain""lar"
6A\'LBm 19l16.

M.rll 2
\'chide ""Ih 630bhp
engine; ne'" luITeI ",iu,
impro·..ffi ballistic pro-
Iccuon; No, 15 Mark 2
Cl.pola; el1haUSIS\'SIem a"d
r"ar hull ..,;t1ing Cor dttp
.....dlllK; impHl\t:d "ngine
£:A ___
lou\Tt'S for beuer cUt>li,,/:
and accessibililY; :\lark 1/2 modification, inmrpol<l'ffi during
1lI't!luC«<:lllrr, Fir'll mark 10 enter opel':llional sel"c" ..'I], U,,, Briti,h --.1ookInIiI . . 'o_
_____.cupoIa..lnthe
Army. ~il'Sl deli,cry Cmm ROr l...,<:d, on IB April 1966,
c*"WIo_lJIIor_"ll
Mark t (X) Mark 2 wilh X Pw/:nlIlITlI" "c 'TOI<,m Pole' conversion onl}, _......-ol.nBt1tish
Mark 2 (\') Mar~ 2 with Y l'rogramme oj 'TuICIlJ 1',,1,,' ('OTl\'<:",ion only _cno_""bNWi"lll..
Mark:l (¥l/L ~br~ 2 wilh fiuing oC'I; ~i\ forb.nk U1>.crSi!{hl 'C' or :-;0. • ndooolo.lng-..bfll'._.
I Mark I.
Mark t (\')/1 Mark 2 with TLS 1\0. I :\brk 2 nr No. -' Mar~ I and
Stage: I Mual.: R"C"r<:nr;r S,"trrn (....IKS),
Mark 2 (\')/2 Mark 2 0" cOlllpl"tio" ..C Tl$ No I Mark 2 and
:\IRSin.'I;tllation.

M.r1l3
Ba..ic Mark 2 .mh SlI"OIIger suspcn»ion units. nil-fillffi axle ann$, track
fClllilUna .md wI' mile,.,,; impr.......:d liCt" ~bhp UiO Marl..6t\ ""gill", ..ith
Can drr.~ and dlt'll extraClor, i:r"pnn~ ""rfonnalla and rffiU«"d ",~ight
HY) Mark 10\ CUE; impnn"Cd startiuK M"""m f<lr Io..' l""po:.... nm:: <¥r-
alions; lmprO\~ ammunition s«Jl\oo-agc filtlllgs; w"nKtl,.,nffi mK:kguard,;

The .. rfw.' ... h.. c _ _....

_ ......""'IIIt_lIIon.
 1\0. 15 Mark 2 commander', cupola wilh periS<"of>Cl; angled to minimi""
,olar r~flcClion and L'l7AI 7.621111ll machine gun; impro..ed 12;1 ralio
parking brake; easieracre~~ 10 rcarofmrrctforl,'lm harrel rCITl",-.il; four
hcadlighl.'l ....iliJ l....oIRamlt\\owhilclighlS
Mark 3 (Xl "Iark:'l ....ith X Prog:rammc 'Totl'lll Poil-' conH"l',ion only
Mark 3 (Y) .\Iark:3 with Y Programme 'Totem Pole' ron"cr,ion only.
Mark 3 (Y)/L "lark 3 with 'L' kit for n.s'C' or :\0. I i\lk I.
Mark 3 (Y)/l Mark:3 ",ilh Tl.s No.1 Mark 2 and St"g:e 1 MRS.
Mark 3 (Y)!2 Mark 3 011 compktion of TLS No. 1 ,\lark 2 and
MltSinHallation
Mark 3/G 0"':'""", d"~,""rl", '.lark :1/1, llw "ehiete had lUr",t ail
hreathi,,;; fOl aspiration. Olll~' U of thi, model were built at
I{Of Leeds for Iran but wer~ tr.J.n,ferred to the Briti,l, Allny. Compkll-.:.l
inOnounl%9.
Mark.~ 3/G (X) to 3/G (Y)/2 As for Mark 3 (X) to .\Iark 3 (Y)/2.
Mark 312 Modi/ied Mark 3/G to lest llllT~t air hreathing: and non"al
en;;inea"pirati",,;ct>lJlllllindl'l",cut-<Jut,wiIChlormain engine and own
liring swilch; prOlotype I",«er mounting a"d ,,;nng:. Only 17 of Ull"SC
"chide, were built at ROF Leed, lor the 13"ili,h Army b<-twren [)rl~mhcr
19fiqand Ma,' IQ70
_il."",i~."" Od Marks 3/2 (Xl to 3/2 (Yl/2 ,\s for ~lark:3 (X) to Mark:3 (Y)/2
_c_ft"'ll nlnu.· Mark 3/S Production model of .\Iark 3/G with IlUTel air brcalhing
__.nc...
DIWboinM_2ofTh.LW.
t~
lacility a, well as normal rngin~ ""pir:nion; impr","ed main en;;ine ail
~ ...tu.. ~ ••_ .. ln deaner 'y'tem; reduccd tap~(ity main engine oil lank and modified
_t~.oyln1Dll1.ThI. lubriration pip" work for new airdeaner 'ystem; cOllJmander's cut-<Jut
........_t"-duolIR ,witch for lIlaiu enginl and commander', firing ."itch; new type gunn"r'"
_19hI'O~.ltMf.ld.ot handwh~el willI finn;; ,witch; anchor block lor BESI [ extrartor 1001. 4Q
.... glKioplole.pl...hboa....
__ were built for Ihe Il,;ti,h Army by ROF Leed, hetwee" Janu,",)' and .\Iay
.....1y.""'.....
''''''IIinlIUu~io

tlMl _ _ 1971. TI[e S of Mark "loexl lor Sandman and represented t.he
tZOnlmL"A2T.nkGun.
Marks 3/S (X) to 3/2 (Y)/2 As fnr \Iark 3 (X) to \lark 3 (Y)/2.
Mark 3/3 and Mark3/3P Mark 3/S ...ith rnodiJicd hull 10 ~cc,,"pt 720bhp
1.60 Mark 7Aenginr: imprmffi rnKine airdeaner: reduced capacit) main
ellgillcoilt~llk;exllallSlS}'Stcmlwin silc"cersrepl~rro hysinglr ..xpansiOll
rha",ber:enwnea",ltr,u"mi"iuuluuHl':'lrcdc,igIleualHlmeshscrcc11
~ddcd: fud l~nk isolalion '"";I,I,'c; :-Jo. 59 gunn..r·, <lay sighl filled "ill>
j.,>r.nieule for lise with eXleuded nmgingl{llu ,ullIllllniLiou and production
lype laser mounting ~nd wiring: St'p~rale .\Iew.rip'" compartment and
improved Meladyncs; rede,il{lled .\"BC (Nllcle~r. Bactcriologic~l.
Chemir~l) p~rk No. <; Mark 1; driver', hatch ,,,,:urinl{ damps rede,igllcd;

inllatabk lurret s<:~ling ring deleled: baltery: he~ling sy:o;trm fined. Buill
I>.-Iwrrn .\Iay 1D71 and FehnIa'1' 1972. the Pof\lark3/3P 'landing for
Pc"i" as H uftllC II)() manllfaClurcd ~l [{OF I.eeds were for h-.in

Mark 4
T>m vehide< buill at ROF Lced, lu braeli butlsracli

in Arizona I>.-Iw....n .\I~y and s..plemh..r 1971

,"l""'luentl} ,,,worked with H}·drop, ,uspension S)slcm AChien.inoiTheRoyolll_n
F"'40WdewlopmenTprogr.imme thundersecrossetr.ining
groundlnWe.IGermanydunng
1i31.Thl,""'lclew•• O<Iglnally
Mark !I and Mark !lIP
.M.rk2bul,byI98t,lThad
DdiniLi,e Chidlai" model from Mark 3/3 "ith 720hhp
_mod~iedbytheln.1II1"lion
lfi() ~hrk Cxliall,l 01 lFCSand MRS.weU.
ToIem_ ... hadbecomea
Ma"'2('tV2. However, I. 10
43 gunner's lelescOpe gunner.. Ide<rope im_lble10 IdentJty.p_
.ub_ma",.oIChiefllllnfromlht
mllimator fitted with K"lticllie lor eXlt,"dcd lange amTllunilion for l"";l,lIging exterior beelIu_lhe m.Jonty 01
gun;:>opercel\trcduction inranginggnnammllnitionraparily:rnodified modlllea_durl"ll".long
ch"');"e bim; anlTlllllliLiull .tuwagt' incn:a,,-,d to U4 rounds of 1Zl)mm; ""_ _.... lnternll.
new thermal sl....".. for
ImtillalllIaIllClltilllUrcviscd
gnn damp; No. 37 \lark"
commalldcr's ,iglu; infra-
red o,",t'"ctor: :'010. 6 Mark
2 I\BC pack as stand·
rommander'.

,f ~~~~
ed","i"d,'\-'' Ia'rc''"d 9'7'.2'.".
W"hi
5/1' for Iran to s~me
builuslalldard.
.\lark 5/L \-Iark.~ with
lilting of 'L' kil lor Tank
La... r Sight'C or No. I
Mark!.
Mark 5/1 \-Iark.~ on
complcLion of TLS No.1
Mark2u[No.3~llirklillld
~IRS installalion
_0- _ _
l~_3e",n.. Mark 5/'1. and ~lark 5/!K \Iark j 011 coffil'lc:lion ofTLS No. I Mad,2

-_.. ................
_ • _ _ .... u--. or :-;:u. :'I \tark I and ltRS insuUatioll. 111" K nf \lark :'> ':!K 5(oud
fot Iw"'all "ith 165 oftlll~"el'l>ion built bo· ROF Ln.cl. ;and \'ickcn.. Fin-t
M_IIo_a.-.
e.trIIllTLn.. __

---
\1:I.Tl:. 5 :!K ddi..",..:rl from ROf Leed_ in .\1:1., 19i6.
.\lark 5/3P SLagt' I or tY40::lO Projecl ror Iran. ImpTO\-ed MMl !'> I'
..-ith incrr"a5ed mine I'rot«lion; CXU<l rud C'... padl\~ .hock ab60rlx:.... on
_"'~ first alld dum "ISJXOSIOII lJoWl:'>: automatic gcarooK. 19:'1 built lJ'l ROF
- " " -__
_o.-,llimft...
_0WIllI"fMd'''' -
_ l.eros"ilhli... tr!d;..crcdin.Jul) 19i1l
Mark S/:S ltark il on cOlllpklion or Tl$, MRS aml hnprou:d
_ ...........-._""'In Fir" Comro) Syslcm (IFeS) ;md Illodilicatiu", to r01l11l1andcr', CUl'01;>.
_ t ; . n•• h/~_­ Mark 5/4 Mark 5 with lllodifirations for .lOwa1;" of AI'FSDS
__._01__
_- --
omorlhol"mul.~_
... 1IrIng" ..... nd, _ _
....in ;unmtlnitiolland,.."i,,·ct,ightKr... ticult'.

.__110_
--_
...... .....
.... --. ... _""",
_ . _ . . . - - . . ....it

. _~
MUll II
\Ial'l 2 un c.omplctiOIl uf ·X·. 'Y and '1.' prt,!!r.. mm" of 'Iotcm
rOle'COIl,e.,;;on.
Mark6(L llarl6 "itl, filling of"L' k..it forTdnll.:ucrS,ght"C' or :'\0. I
..- a.- M"I'l.1
-,,",llW_lo_
.\lark 6/1 ~Iark 6 "ithll1:> No.1 MaTI 2 or No.3 Mdrk I and Suge

.......... __ 01_...
I\IR$.
-~-"..

----
-"--~
-"..._--
","",",
_ 2
.......... CNeftoin

......... _ . - _ ...IftoC.
.\fark 6/2 Mad 6 on completion of TI_'i No. I Marl. 2 or No_ :5
ll.lrk 1 and liltS illst'lllation and rem"''al of r:mging gun .Iud
asJOCi.ltedequipmcnt.
Mark 6/' Marl 6 OIl <'ompktion ofTI.S. llR$ and IllIpI'U\ftl fi"" ''''''tml
s.~t"m (lFCS) and SimfiC$. \Iodificaliom In <'ommander', ""IM,1<!
AVll ,ision sight L5AI: rerun"tl of 1l1ctcoroiOKiGtl " ..tem: oonn:l'sioll ur
TL$:,\o, 1.\lark2and:'\o.3Mark I ro:'\o. 2 Mark 2;ollt\,,·.,;ion offVc.;c[
No.7 Mark 4 to Xo. 10 Mark I.
Mark 6/4 Mark ti "ith modifications for s,o",age of 0l"'rmio"al
J::mel'lI,"t'nq' (OE) round Ill' 1,23 AI'~'SDS amuilluitio" and rC\i""d
5ightgralicule
M.rk 7
~Iarl. 3. MMk 3 G. \larl
3'2and \lark3 SUllum..
pleUUIl of 'oX', ,,~ and ·t
pnlJl:r.lmnl<:5 of 'Tm"lIl
l'ok'com-enion.
Man: 7 L 10 7/4 Ali for
)larl6,LloM:uk(;'4.

M.rk 8
Marl 3/3 Ull (umpl"rion
01 'oX' •.\" and 'Z' pro-
gr:lI11mcs of 'TOl"m
Poh'rmw"rsion.
Mark 8/L 10 8/4 A< fol'
Malkfi/I.I0\1arI<6/4.

M.rk til
.......,_Iw_c.n_
.o.8OVt.t,NDBElOW,,-_
_ _IeRopl

---
\lad.. 5 I. :\farl; 6,'4, M:ul< 7., I and "larl; 8/4 Oil (UlIlpl"lion of 1ntI_ ... AtnlE. _ _
f"n,\I'FSDSaJIIlllullitiun""ooo.v· __

-. -
ol.e--~

",rk 10 ........... _ ... 1£V_

\bll9 "i!h SlilllJ«',.' pa»oI\'C ;Ultl<MIT
indudmg tIl" Nu. II Mart. I "",Be pad..
amI otha MI....i\"b\lin· modificationli .............
---."""--
~.,_AEt __
_ _ _ pnljKl-

.,rk 11 _ .. _ o l _
Mark 10 filled "i!h TOGS (n,,~nnal Obl;e""'UOII and G"n"o:"I\' S.'Slelll). ~~~.
_ ...... COO"IIIgurMMnIo
111e"larl II "':I..<lh"fi"al modclill th"Briu.hArm,.
lMew.tlain_IIA1N;
hIfl>/YlOOI>I>I._ _
1M1£V_~,,".
M.rk 15
M:mufaclIlrer's desi!';llatiun of Chidtain "'0<.1,,1 for Oman wilh limd 1>1_ _, 10 und_k.

dcli,criesinl9RSwhen thcChid'Ltin proonnion line dosed. • r. . . . ol rtIlmo""II I......

,"Y4202
Experimemal model 10 1...,.1
Chiefw.inconcept!ilxucdOll
CA':nlllrion cOIllpo"ent'l and
lito'.,. "" Ihe'4Q.lon Ccl..
nllion'. ·nUl...., lnu<k.. buill
In 1956bt'lI:\iand)!0I01""

,"Y4203 AYRE
Inlen<k-d r"placemenl
for lhf' Centurion A\"RE
(Annoured ""hid" \1.0\...1
[1Ij(i1l«r.<) "ilh 1"0
\'ersions uf Armoured
[ngin"",r Vehide (AEV) -
AEV Gnll ann AEV Winch.
AEV with demolition
gUll cancelled due lO
financialconstr.llll~'"
D: FV4201 CHIEFTAIN MARK 5

"'"
,---
ll11A312Cmn .... ~

:Jl&l1 1.fI2nm~,,*,-...

........-
4l21Al.5O-cIl...-orGlJ..fl
S~~~

IT_~

'Fmg<:llllMll_
IISn'dot~Ifng_
10CormwoOlr'a~a:nroliIr

" ......
11 L31A17f12nm,,*,-~

13Qcxl11_~

14~_

'S~'S~
'lIIgp.,,762n'n111'1'11'1'U'l11
17~"_"""""'-dI
111t*1n1d.-:tar
"~~
2OttiC_PICk
ZlS1o<owgelll'l

,,--
~-.-

~""""-
~--
,,-~
27R.:io~

,,"""-
211 BoIIong..--BV
".--
37 ()r>,oer'I nsln.menl pane!
30 Gurner'J_1 38DrNer'tSleemgllMn

"-
31G1r1tnec11 38 HESH.-nm..mlOO stowago bin
32T~$Iowagebi'l 4Qlnfnlreddrlwiglglt

"'-'
306 Frorrt d e r _ 4ZBa!terylX>'TlP'lll"....,t
35A<.t>bolrM1Ql*1:l 43F.... a><t~
44 Ban..... rTBSIllf swt!dll.loo:
45 Man ergne_ctb:lard
46Et1gnlalilrmrontrnlbox
.1 Gene<at."lg'-""'.ergneSWltctb:lard
4.a~accesst\ald19PR"l11i.be
.9 DoiYof's pooscope
SOAtladYnllntraifordoopwadt>l,l
."..,..,
II
 AfX Winrh d"·,,.,Jopnl
funh"r 10 brcome L1,,,
1"\'4203 A\'RF_ ""'0
prolo--
rrpesbuill:HII:Ofu~~in
laiC 1970anucarlyl'J71.
The Chi"fl"in A\'IU: was
snnib.r III shape to
the Chirltain,un but had
" dOLeT blade of much
enhancecl COIpabilir.·. TI,e
"chide had a :'l().Wlln...
winch ami -'1-tOlllle a,,~i1iarr
"'illeh similar to the AR\'
Ihal could be 11><:11 10
"'unch a 2:Ht on~piu...
bridgr Glt'Ii<..-d on lop of

_
Ihe hull. The proj.....,
was c-d1,cc:Ilc<\ III fau",r of tI,c f'.ombu [ngmeer Tr.oclor bUI the ConCCpl

__.. --.... ..
... ClIolltRE ....... :lI>olRopl_
""",,,*,t~~ ....." rf"5tlITttted:t5 the CH,\\/R£.
....t..... .,."url"" ••.,.".
_&v..." ... , ......... """
~-", f'V4204 AAV
R",plac:emcnl for Gclllurion ARV. Two protor.-pa buill .. t 11:0.......-.rl~ in

_ _--
~ .. _ ...t , - . J - l

--. bre 1970 and e;uh. 1971. aa.-J on the a..id"(:Un:\brt. 5 hull, production
ola..i......aln AR\' uO<knakn b< \'KUn "ith fin!: fleliwria in 1975.
...
- U p .. _ -

_tIoo_.I<>OII_ f'V4205 AVLS

NICprolectlon.thl._Ic.. Oli..ft"in AVLfI (Anlluurl"d Vchid.. l.'lUnched KI'idgd r"pl:tCclIlelll for

_Its_. . __","
_ _ , ........ EngIneer1nl

.. - ..
Cenllllion Kridgday"r and Crmurion AII.K. !lased on a slallll1rd
....--........."'- CIIlt.i"lain hull. l<mr lriab ,-chicles ..'er" huill b\ ROf 1..ce4< ..ith Ihe fin!:
ddh:t"rro in ~Plembrr 1967 "1m ltw- hulh nlallufaaurrn alll.Of l...ffds.
_-.-
,, _ _ I'\'C:
lhe: l:Joridgr Iaul>o.:h ~h:uu...n al 1I.0f Numnglum and the bridga to..
-........noo.tIl_oI \~M:h:n at Els"....k. 51 built b)' ROf l...eeds ~=tl <:'"Arly 197'1 and

.
.... _ _ IIII-_c....-

"""
opIII","---~
chNp
__",,,,,..-tIoo
...... 01
,...,1 _
I..,•. t ...
N""... mlx... 1976, of ..-hieh 14 .."'no for IrAll Fim protluo.:tion ,... hl(k
<Jchwred. in july 1972. O,ieftain A\'LB "mered "",..,ice ..-ilh th" l\rilish
Army in 1974

....
--*--'---.~­
Ttte dewelopment of Ihe LeO engine
Tbf, L60 C'Tlgine " ....... ~gncd and dn.....opl'd b< Lr.bnd under the
d,rectioo.ofF\'RDE.There-.uortf..... L1.... adopt>Ollofa~<>ppOtI(:d
p~lOI' "nginc ""'5 Ihrce-fokt; fim the ~AfO Tl:'<JlIiremclIl for mllltHud
C'TlgillCS ill tank$; sc<:ond Ihe c~edlem pcrfunn:mec of tI,e smalk'ap;teil)'
KOOtc_ opf'06Cd pi<lOn t"'"",,tTOle C",;'inc in ,,,,all IrueLo. and Ihird
the ;wo\ilablc 1~1S(; dClligi' of the jllnkcn JuMP :urer-,ft engillc. By
th" laiC l!l5()ssingleqlindcrproIOt}pcc"gineswercrunningaITilling-
Ste>~.. \S and al ~Und. Th" fim cOlllpklr engin" r.rn In 1959 and, bj-
1900,60 had!Jr"o,n buill ro.- df:\'dopment; tllOC' ......... dniW"'ted :\l.u"b 1
00<.
The 1.60 clIWne "-":1Il11l10 produetion in janu:uv 1965 as the Mark ..A,
and producl'd 5$5bhp. In Nmember. "ilh a ncw l'i~IOll e1"O"11. Ihe
6bObhl' ~hrk 'lA2 "ppcared. followed in Ap ..il 1969 by III" l>brk 5A
"'iu, a modi/led pislOn and li"':I: A <\e'l<Iled ,...""ioll "".lI produced for
the \r"u,T'1 Marl. I \~ti",'anta for Ihe lndi.u. ,\rm,. producing 540bhp.
 In Oc:lober 1970 the low-l""" u",·.,.1;,8" :tir cleaner ,,-as imruduc"cl
"'ith t.h~ ~l~rl: fiA ""gin". I'nor 10 19i1 "nginr d~~lopmcllI had
bcl:n dCSlgnaH:u Fl......tfoot. and Ihe Objetl h.<d bt:t:1l 10 produce a
rrliable 7.'iObhp. Ilt~ engiJ,t"S "'ff"
inlroducC'd'1I October 1971 dS th"
)Iark 7A for British Army UM:. and SA for .al<." ,~hidl:'l. The 7A engule
producC'd ~}(lbhp ,,~th th" lhn:c-1obe lO~Cllge blo....,r, and the &\
c:ngin.. produCC'd 750bl:lp ,,~th tho: Nu-Iobe $C1\~nge blov...r. TI,.,..... ,,-"'"
still difflCu1~ in achif:'\~ng rdiabiht,> and the D-.tr\ Mom prograJwn,·
"..., inlroduced to unpffi\'r u.., ",iineleT liner hp sc-.ol. At u.., sunc time
IUlers~ngth"~tobt:illlPTU''t:d.
L nda the High Noon prognmme. un.. liller ".tUUpportnl on rubber
rings :md "'lIS m;l.IlufAClurt:d from Casl Iron (Q) 16 imprrgnau:d ,,~th

_._-_
.lilicon r;arbide. Illere "en" aOO pi..on. ring, :md fan drive clung......
indudillK th.. inuuduction of rohR"e b<'1ts. Fmm lhr Dark ~lom pro-

_-.----
grammeQlllc u1C9Ae11g1n" for Bri~h arm\ usc, ;md U,,, lOA ""gin" for
gJc:s\~hid~.
)l;\ll) l.ullln"!> "...... found 10 be due to ab.......,oll of tho:" llIl..r 0 rillgs ....~II'"" .........-...
and a TCliscd pl'OKf".tmmo:, caU"d F..M.·rcisc Sun<Wllcc ...as introduced, "ith
int",rfel'('nce-lllled Iincn; .....taining th" 0 ring. 1l1Clo<' lIldteriali......n in
.\Idr,h 19iR ~ lh" Ill'. alld 12A eng;IIt:<. AI!IO incorpor,lIed were tI,e
.. "...
-~""­
~lc_""lItor_
_1tI_"ln.taIlMin~
prO\'Crl p,.ton and pislon ring modif,cations.l'ol)\co: bdl', C'\V f\1el filten olthe~ht.lulnd.lronttrac:k
and l1ew injeclOT!l. Sundance Ph",..... 11 "ant'd in Oclobcr/:\'o\'l:lIlber 19i6, .tow_bln.AJontlckunliln
1'1J"""'llaiI1ApriI1977,l'hasclllaraubctw......nJnlyand&ptclIlbcrl!J77 th<Od"'-'CO",,..rt....m
al1d I'h:ISC V (No 0 ring) Janua'1' 1979. A report dat~d \'OW'mber 1978 control. u.. ..... or b,.d• • nd ~
not<:Clthatthctightfitt)'linclerlin..rincreascdrcliabilit).alllI4,()()()-mile
engine life "<Ill achincd Il) Dccel11ho:r 1978. Duling Ute Sll11Ual1Cl"
progr.ulIllle ""me line" had been tutt.-u with \I" ()..ring, but using
"",_ _..
h•••n MrtIlmolllng
_c

D!I.IIo""'n ......... _
.
"",...,iIy
..."",.""t to tlult 01 .......,,,,,,
~

_ _ """h .. _ _
a "",,];lI\t adh~\'C (lI'OIO~l as tIl'" No ()..ring light uncr). III August 1979 c_lng _liMing o f - . :.......
the.... be...~m .. lh" I lAIN and I'llV:\' .,ngin~- changnl ill April 1980 10 ..'c_ _ d ....... _
Ihe." 131\ and IIA "ngina. __ ""'IIroo~

TIler.larkW Engioo: L.i~"'l:reoCa 16,"111> 1O~"1rlairpnru.and8 "",e:w.ttaln_3I:sot_

o:ha,l!IoI poru. Thf:'\'wc", hOlled ill .'lint. nw" ~ had a shal""'·cro.m. and lrwa,,"~_IIo_
T -....
"'3.5 retained '"I"ng "TIded bolts, ~loMd.:tllun fAfe<l fire rings ,,~"' fitted. _"'_tr--",--,
_ .... _01 __

---
...nh tIOUsu:ppcd Qil CUlllru!. rin&,-In\p<il 1965 t.lu>engino: rnntni to the
t€-<Il"t C......btMon chamber. Injection timing "';l'J 16 degrtts bcf~ exhaUSl. ___ MIi_e-
TJX;.. TIlt:T"e "'lIS a 9ngk othaust box on ....teh sKk. Sliding joints
"'l:n' pro..ded in the o:xhaI.N ",9o:m.'\ \olo 1"~.urdr::mo:T'"':lS fittro,
f~ng thr thttt-lobe 1JIoo"t:J; "hich ""<1$ dm~ \la a .\11."IaIasOC nm'l:
rouphng. A j{.tl," II(T""'" ""<1$
placed 01'('1' UloC sump..
-_.
_ _ _ ..... _lI..,.

TIle Mark 4A% £ngioe 11",

pt:Itotl incurJloratnl an oil -.;:
cdl,,;tha~!X'rc.,ntni-imn
cro...n. The offset com·
bustion dlamhrr "'as
"".aine<l.lnOctobcr 1967, a
.Ik.tte<l oil controlling "-dS
introduced ill1d th" lin-
plating on the piSlOnc.m...n
....I.<in<Tei~diT1thickness.
The Mark !SA Engine Liners
..."rc ofCl l. A re·dcsigned
piston incorporated an oil cell wilh a shroud above the lire ring. 111e
howl wa, off,et. A new smnp was provided and fan hub, were
pressure lubricated.
The Mark 6A Engine The (wo-stage low-loss air cleaner was retained and
the p;,ton nUWll set ,;crews were brazed
The Mark 7A Engine A new cylinder block was introduced "lth re-posi-
tioned port hdt deflectors. The rede,ign<:d liner had 9 air ports and 10
exhaust ports. The connecting rod clcllrance slots were reduced at the
air end. The piSlon feal1lred a crntral bowl and lhe crown serrws were
locked by Helicoi!. Injectioll timing '....,IS 18 degrees. revenillg to Hi
degrers bt-fore e"haUSl TOC. The e"haust flanges were now holled. A
twin-bodied heal e"changer was introduccd, lOgelh"r wilh lIew
I<ldiators. Thercwere changes 10 the fan speed and blade settings. In
Tune 1972, <.a.'lCo MLF rcplaced Wellseal. Inluly 1972 Belzona was ,,,cd
bchind the linersellls.
The Mark SA Engine Line" were of C[ 4 and were shot-p"elll:d. A stick
cast piston crmm was employed. together with a tWO lobe scavenge blo","Cr,
Mark 4Aj5Aj6Aj7A/7ATPS/9A Engines lnJune 1977 Cl 16 liners were
introduccd. Cylinder bores wer" treated wilh silicon carbidc. Bt:lzona
was used behind lands 4/5, The stick cast crown was pro,ided with
impro\"ed oil cooling. The (;1 16 fire rings inrorpor...t.,-\ in-springing. Cl
4 wedgc-shaped compression rillgswere emplo}'ed.
The Mark lOA Engine This was a sales cngine. [t employed the two lobe
SCaVCll!\e hlowcr "lid other improwments as outlined aho\"e.
111e Mark llA Engine CI 16 Tight Fit 0 Ring Lincrs were Iittcd in
re--hored Mark 7/1. cylinder hlocb. ~Iark lOA pistons were fined, with
inCl"Cascd skin clearance. 11,e three lobe sca"enge blower was fiued. as
were Polyvcc helts
The Mark 1l,VN Engine Cl1ti No 0 Ring Tight Li",:rs ....ere fined in w-
horcd Mark 7A cylinder blocks. I'cllnahond Al.'iO scaling was employed
Th~ remainder as was for lhe Mark llA enlo';ne
The Mark 12A Engine This engine was as for the Mark liA. but with the
two-lohedhlower.
The Mark l2AjN Engine This engim' was as for the Mark 1 lAIN. but
with lhe two--lobed blower,
The Mark l3A Engine 11,;', engille "'-.l.'
the re--named Mark llAj:->
engine, from April 1980.
The Mark 14A Engine This enginr "'"a'i t.he re-named Mark 12AjX
engine,fromApril19!lO.

Trials wne also carri~d oUl ",iil, ~~ramic and compounded graphite
piston crowns. The longer engine life following thc Sundance pro--
gr... ulTne highlighted further weak area. in the engine, which had
escaped notice befOl"C. Thclllostscrious,,"'soil s{;\C\"'lionat the upper
cr...nkshaft when the engine was cold. resulljng in a requirement. to
crank the engine the h)'draulic s\.arter) fOr Octween 20 and 30
seconds beforc Non·return ,,,,h-cs fit(cd within the hlock in
order to reduec illis problem did not appeal' to provide a solution.
I::vcntually, thc UiO engine proved (0 be a satisfactory powerplam but
rr""'confidt:nceinir"reliahi1ity"-,,,,ne'-erofthehighe<l.1rcontinnesin
scC\-;ce to tills day in till' Chieftain special purpoS<.· variallts el1lplo~'ed by
the Roy<tl Engineers
 _ -
WIlhl.. _ _ . . ,
_

-... ..
.~_aNlNloput

--_.---.
-~-,.
.... _...a-,

... .........

---
-_
GfIlEME:_llMNIN

---
1o"'-_IZZMof_

---...---
--._-..-,-
-._~

--.
-_ _---
of,, _ _ c-.,_lo
.... - , .

Totem Pole
The 'TOtem Pul,,' com..,,,,ion programme "'~ ulld"nak"n to \lpgradc
--_.. __
_- .-
_-'-_If_1or
~M'£_""_
....
,.
e;..-lier (;hi..flain marls 10 a Mmild" fir" cmllml $\"<Ienl and :lUlUllIUti,..,
'I3ndard as the i\-I.uk:; ..ill. Ih" lal"r i!,()bhp 1..00 ~IMk IV. engin" ,,·hi..h
wasproduceu from mid-197.". h "-asdi,idcd inlu Ihr"" "-'f"'n, ... ilh 'X'
mainl) luuc"m"d"ilh th .. tir("("olllrol~)"lItelll aud '\~ and'I' rclaleuw
-*'---_.
_... _-- . -
_

___
NIN

.....
,-~
,,"to~
..-.,.

.... lo

aUlUn1<Hiv.- impt<w.. mcnts. 01iginall} the X. Y:md Z Programlllc, werc

intelHl ..droheuntlcrtakellbyUnil.Fi.. lrtand lI:ucwo,kshupsbutthi.,
~ooo:..::.~.::=.:=
_ .." ..........1"11111......
proved imp"lCtiGlI !.>eca",.. ofinsutlicienlm,1l11l<Jw,·ral fidrtl"'wl <0
spedal 'Fidd' lin", ..... re -S('I up al B.J;;c and UK Cnnllnanrl Workshops.
Th .. X I'rogramme """" in.'itilUlf'd tn mak .. tll .. slghti,,& 'y''''lll com-
I",-lihl., ";lh the e~t('nul-d rdnginK KIm amm"nUiOn tn- modID-inK thl';
ll'lll".. r·, d,> ~(ght dnd td"",,,opr: a. "..,n a, the lOlllmdnder-' collimalor
"1111 'lC\<> gt<ltkull'S. Certain (){h"r impro'-cllIcllb "..,..., mad" to the sighl
mountings and coupling lint..s.. 111.' Y Pnwdl11m.. inm:wlucrd numerous
modification, and impn1'"ml"I'1> incl,u1inJor I..... -Ioss air d,'-.u,er fur thl';
UiO. 12:1 moo parhng br.iU. commanck',·.linllll ~"ilt:h <Lnd enginl'; nll_
01'1. 11.S S1ghll1lUUl.tinK:mel modirlCaliOIl~ IU Ihe gtumer·5 da,' and nighl
5igh",cha.llJolt'SIO"'KhtWJ\<l~.;lInd"'"\"'-'tI ..ircJ.r"'leT"'''I..mIOrGl·E.
NIN_ ....,_......
_."-of_,_~

5<I.T_...-._
h •
of

------
"The Zf'roKr:unmc: ..-asoriginall, ulIt.,,><k<lln hl' 1lI1c1t'lUkcn duriugba:.e
.....-\shop ,"-emaul ;lind D1",ink lm......'f'fl mortiflC<1lllOtllo ill enhaJlo" I..... .........-T.n_U7...1
reliabilil\ oCtile L60""gi...,;md rrgubfit<,!he build ~ Ihrot~11 _____ aw.n.

---
ARIIoo_Ior _ _

....-....-
" .
_Coo-po,TN.
_fIoopMr_
AAIIV ......
"--"_10. _ _ 10
T
..........
.......
"'Sq_,llM~k_
o._-.
_nl.. . lh""" tlW~
~..., ...
PlaIn TI--'-t _In 1 - . " , .
AARVIoo Ilu..cr_
_ .llftlngc.""lrIHlyol •.•
lorIn.... '.2mr.dl ... ~llwao
.bl.lo ..",o•• t~. compl."
pow.r"'C~Ole""t "
whl<;~ w.I'~.d &.&1 .-.

_BRIlO Clo.. Suppo"
lIrIc9ngSyl... mcomp.....
tin. dlff...nl IypM 01 tonk_
lIunc:l>odbrtdgooe.p.obl.ol
........ingIlOP·lrom12mto
Z4..lomormo.. byeomblnallon
~.Th.. St.bili.. tiorIFo~
($FO~Ch~.;nM.rkSAVLB
lnBoonIo I. ",,,rylng lwo No. 12
Took e ....._ . which e.n be
1ouno"-<!ltld._.nl!J.Ot_
btIdg. . . . . "".rioo<lb.Ih.Tonk
BrkIgoTr."'_......d""I'"
AIvloUnl_B.8 ol\o.....
lhe Cllidbill fleet, bUl il
also induded improvements
such as oil-filled nmning
gear a""molie,s, n.,uer
Mer.:ulyne cooling-. fiuingof
the No.6 .\lark 2 NBC
pack, and new lype glln
clamp. The programme
was extended to incorp-
or.lle olher imporlant
imprO"ernents ,uch 'IS
po"er supplr boxes for ere,'!
hcat,uc!olhingandfittin!/;S
for tile Chln,man ,,,nlie of
radio equipment, When
fitted ,,;th Clanslllan radi"",
~ll mark.sof(;hi"ftain ),mT
from rhe ~larl: 2 on""'l'ds,
"T'Tgiven thes,tllixC
CHIEFTAIN SPECIAL PURPOSE
VARIANTS
---------
FV4204 Chieftain Armoured Recover,. VehIcle
rhe inlroduCliOIl illlo ;":rl1~e of~ new I\IBT invariahly h"rrtld' I.h" d"vel-
opmenl ofa m"Jllxrofspe~ialpurl'''"'' v:l.lianl' ha,,,d on the hull olthe
tan. 10 allow n'lIlp,.,-able perform"nc" on rhe battlefield and \0 aehine
eOIIlIllolJality of fuel and 'pare, 'upport. When the Chieftain MBT
l'lllered sen;ce from 1967 onwards. a famil}'of;.peeial pUJPOse'"driants
based on the Cenrurion iniliallv suppon~'d ii, Although the}' prmro
ade'luat" for rhe las\:. rhe GctJl<U;OIl "".1, powered by p"trol ami did
nothaYeth"roarl'p<.'edol"C!,idlain.\\hidluseddi",.,1.
Of all rhe ,perial PllJ1X"'~' wrialllS of a tall\:. the Armoured Il."cm~ry
Vehicle or ARV is th,' 1110st illllxlrtant. It, principal ra,I: i, ro recO"er
OOgg<:'d Or d"Ill"g~d )'IBTs on Ih" h.~Tlldi"lrl and pro,ide from-tine
wrI'icing and repairs to brok"" dmm tanks
TIle CclltUriOll ARV had hN-n in s<""icr with the Roy,,1 Elceu;GlI and
'\lceh'lIli~al EngineI'''' (REME) 'ince 19:>:> and, although ruggt'd ~Ild
reliable. h~d """"r,,1 limitations, nOt Ieasl of which WolS its inability tn
re~<Il·era tanl: from rhe frOll1 "illl th~ crew protected under armour, This
defici"n~' was O'Trco"'~ in th,' d~sigll of the Cl,i"ftain AItV that was
"ndOl""d by the General Staff in Novemher 1964-. Th" r"'1nirem""r also
st.~red thai the ARV slwuld act ~s a 'pathfind"r' v"hicle rluring "'arer
crossing operatiullS so il ""..,, to have ~ rleep warling capability, Project
studi,... ,,·ere initiated and full rl",-.,Iopmenr followed ,,'ithin REME and
at ROFLeed,
AUlOmotivel.., lh" AItV was idenlical 10 th,' Chidrnin )'lark ;; MBT.
Similar in confiw,rrttion to lhe Conqueror ARV, it featured an armoured
hnll anrl sUp""'In>ctUIT homing th~ etCW, and ~ 3O-Ion main capstan
winrh anda ~rol1 auxiliat)' "·i,,dl, both of which wer" localerl in th" front
riKlu-hand side uf Ih..
"ducle. 11,e main ",neh
was",e<:h:rnic:alI"e1m~n,'ia
a JlO"'= Clke-offand pru-
Il"'llcr dlafl. b\ the main
~gme, O'llUean.sofbklck
and t:'(lle, 1M AII.\ ,,-.os
ap:oblc of cx.. rtm8 ;<
9O-wn pull with the from
e101:('r Mad.. acting ;<~ an
earth anchor. tim. "Ol.~ ~l1f­
ficiellt tu ."em... r ant
AI''' in """';<:". Such ,Ul
arr.tn~~m"nl allu,,"ctl th"
u"wand thc "inch. anrl
thercf'orc any r"nwcry
opcr~ti,,". to bor c."lrricd Out from unn.. r amlOW'I"uICClion onc" the ..... FV420lldioplaJsthe_t
mainClhkhadOCt:lI~ltaCherllolhcGlsU<lh,. loonvIhofItsNo. • lM>k1l<llllle
........ lriaIoof_CII_
Four sptlial pu~ protOI''PC'' """' built by KOF ........tls inducling
no"!) Aft\', (RI anel K2) and IWU A\'REs (EI and £2), which W<:'" rom-- T_~
_S"'VUIIn~1170.""""
_elIts I n - - , _ _ I et
pietro in .",rn, 1971. II()\\'~..-.::r, manv ....ri<:\\16 problems "-.::r,, di,cm~red
..,. ...VUIIn c...-
durillll"t""init;alma.tlufactu~'strialslcadillgtuac ..mfl"'I"l'fik5ig\luf et _ _ of . . . . 7llI'I,
W h,-.traulic ronuub "'""\ttrn tJo,·!..oclJlC<:'l1 Prrcision l'roducts. L"ser trial'! __ _
• .._10___..
10 _ _ " ' _
of 11.1 .....en, und,.,n;;,.kcn at SE.MI: Bonlon bc1vottn Sept:.. mbn- ancl

-----
i)(xt:1I,b<'r 19i1.l"hac n ...:-olled a fundamcntal ,,'t:"~.L.Il"'" in lho:: tkllO:. _In_~
bb<:l...... nh ancbor.and a major failulT of til.. m.. in ..,nrh <:urutOOl tI,e n.. ......... o<-. .... _ I n _
uials fllTmalUrch. ~I""n.. hilc. I'rmot'1"" R2 had be<'n modifil-d ..;th In .... _ _ - .
the ne>o hnlr..u1ic control S)'Stelll ..lid il un<k",...nt tnab al SEME e1urinK
l':li:!. TIlt.""" comp~ In\etlloll-':: tesling of the ,'Chiclc ..itlo no... shIfts of
REME c",ftsmell opcr~lillll: ,h.. AIN for SC\-"" wr< a Wttl: "ilh night
..x.. rci~ and Iwu 24-h""r 'dosed do",,' oper.ltion~. l)ll1"ing these trials.
the cunllll,luYe "inch "';"8e ~ldljC"I-d "m mor" than twicc Ihat e<um3t~d
astllClJla",imumbefon:!J;..-cu,·crhaul",asncccs><,r>",
AfteT various rnodil1c"tioll~ ami impro,·cllll:llt<. flrorluetiOll ...a~
und"nal:.. n t.," \'i~l:c .. at EI~"icl:. In lotal. 25i AR\'~ w.. ~ buill at N"",-

... _ _ et~

~---..,
",_-,,-In.-.
-.......eNMt-.......
"'VLa,II _ _

~..,-­
1/4....., _
.,..--~-
_ 1<It_tr.","", In the
UK.TM.e-..nIol..,. ....VU1
.....rvt"".
No. 8T.nk.ridVI
.nd.lronH"OuntHP......n
.""......". .."'.l'l<N'ih.

1IIrtua11v.--..CHAVRE_
CHAIII.BI_p1at.F2jwos
.......,.cIclu<tngO__ tlonar.tlby
_t..
loIta_IatIoolhattMr
Nqul_1o b....,h
tt.ut.. _INqIdat"_
IortIfIclItlon• • longlh.bord...
of~.TolhI._,~_ ..
_I_wllh.-"> ntoty
..........'protoctlng c .. w
canportmont,comprising
CholIhomormou'po..... oi_'
to_lrttodtotaWllrriorlFII:
I!I'lh-.bolhtypooofonnou_
ongl_ng ••hi<:lni""orporoiod
IIIInoplougho, ••• hcwmIMN
._'9Oingloolo"".CH"'VLB
with itooid.·mou"1edChobI1....
" ......"pon.Io.•nd.MIMIC_
MoiI_Inft.... "".Mi...
lnduetionCoil _ _ w ....
_ehingmech. .lom.TNo
_ .... inlen_to tonolo
_ ....I i e _•• hadof ....
,'-.1hoCH"'VLB.lootowed
_ VREtr.i..,"""Yiny
ongl ,oto... or.
tr.,wlth~'n>Ckol-_lIed
Gi...tV1pO'
~"""I<1"'·'·POIh
Ihn>U\lh ......... mlnol_.lloI1ind
tt.,..IIollCio.cl'lOin..,_n_
~""d"-"cornp_nt.
'!Now.. I n _ l < I d _
O'III-t.nkp",\O<:II....UCh ••
R..k.. P", dGt'ellflde._
"'" ..tWk Vl8.. _.Th...
C/llo/t<lln ••r1.nto ...... IO<lu.od
during O_lon Tolle In I,.q In
M.",_prlI200~.
ca,de upon T}lle. "ith the
first deli,...,rie«10 rh~ l'lriri,h
Army in 1974. Foreign
llSC~ included [ran. ,,-hicl'
recciH'd 11 Ollt of an
ordcrfor73.l<'hilejordau
procured funher vehicles
fhi,\'ersion featured an
Arias AK 6000~1 hydraulir
crane "ilh a maxinlllill
lift of 6.5 lonne, thai
allowed Ihe ARV 10 replacc
major as",mhlie, ,ueh as
a power pack in the field
Inilial1y.rlwflrir;<hArnlY
employed the lV4:14 Finer<
Vehiclc Jor this purpose but
the ad\"dlltagt'S ofha\ing an
ime!:ral crane on the Chieftain ARV soon became apparent. It became
,ira[ when the (;ha[[en!!;er 1 J\1f1T enTerN! ""nice. as the n'434 Filler<
Vchid... """ incapahl... of lifting rh~ Challenger power pack. According[y,
llritish Chiehain ARVs We'"l: re"orked to carl)' rhe sam~ Arias hydraulic
cra.ne. 11lis model was designated thc Chicttain /l-lark 7 Annonred Repaiv
aud Remvery Vehide (ARRV) and later CHARRV to differcmiate it liulIl
the (;ha[[~nger ARRV or C.R<\RR\'. At one sl"ge it ,,-,,-, planned that the
ARRV "ould raIT)' a spart: pow~r pack on a cr.l.dl .. ahove rh~ ~ngine deck
bur rhis made rhe vehick conspicuoll'; when operaring rarlica[[y in the
field. Furtlu:nnOl"l:. it was incap.lbleofpassing llllder many road br;dges
ItI.\tead, spo.·dal trailcrs wen: bl1ilt to carry Il'l' powcr packs, although
the crdd["" were fined U> ,everdl ARRV. during the Gulf War of 1!l91 ill
Ih" "ide opt'n slr...td, .., of the desen, wher~ hridges did not po'" a
pmh[~m - se'" F. The Chi"ftain ,\RRV .....maint:d in senic~ with
lhe IIritish "...,11 into the lare l<)<JOs when rhe Challenger ARRV
supersededi\.
FV4205 Chieftain Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge
IAVLBI
A, a replacem~nr lor rhe Centurion Mark" Bridgclay... r, a v"hide des-
ignated O>ieftain Mark 5 AVLB (Armoured Vehicle [Alunched IIridge) was
de\eloped by MVEE (Milit;u)' Vehides and Engitlceling EstabUshmenr -
Ille fOlllll"r FVRDE) and Lockheed Preci,ion Prodults of Binningham fOI
dIe hydr.mlic Htin!: mechanism, Four pmU>trp~s were huilt at ROF Leeds
"ith rh~ fir'l mooel [,.,;ngdt:liv"rN! in St-premllt'r 1%7 for troop trials with
the Royal ~:ngineers, The launching mechanism was hrdraulically
opcratcd and delivcd ilSpower Iroma putllpdri\"en bylhernainellgine.
11trcc><:tsof"dluslallllcbed Illehridgc\'lTticallyo,-crlllechassis"ith the
bunchse'lucllle~ki"gulldcrth,-.,elllinutes"ithlitileornoha"kprq"'­
'dtion.11leA\'1.. Bcarried"ith"roftv>·ohrid!!;e:s-a,scisso\"SI)l"':\Io.RTank
flridge and a ,igid No. <)'Emk flridge. fhe 1\'0. R'lank flrid!!;" had an
owralllcngth olSOlt (:!4,3m) capablc ofbridgillg a gap 0175lt (:!~Hlm)­
a Llrgl"l:atcrcapabilitv that, ,mycolltempClrmy foreign blidgela~'cr. 'Ille
1\0. 9 Tauk Bridge w,,, canicd llOrizo,,~lly Oil Il,C \'d,idc and ,wuug
,·crue-••Il, thmul;h ISO do.:gle",,", 10 'pan a gap up I" 4Of1 (12m). Bolh
loridK"" ",r~ made of:. 7I1lc"aluminium"magnC:S1l11l1 (ZAM) .. Iloy
anel maraging sted for ma:-:imullI >trength :mel milluu"," ....,ighL t:.acll
""3$ Cl.pal>le of enning MY, up llJ a ""';gill 01"110 tutlS.
ROF ~ underlook ~rir'< production of 3i Chid&iin ~lMk 5
,,\1..& from 191'2...ilh dw' fil"$l ddin.·,-"" to Ih.. I\riusll An", in 19i4.
Th["('t ~PI"-"'" from Ill.. Annou.-ed EnRin«r R.:gll1lC"U oflhc KO'I<l1
t.ngml'en mannr<! cach A\1..8. fhr"'1..8·. rul...."', 10 pt"O\iur
annuurM rnginttring 5uppnn b\' bridgitl!( "";ll.. n.<l'l aJld .."ti,u.nk
..l"'tad" to maintain III.. "chancc of an armour«llonu.lIiun on Ih.. 11.,,-
tl.. lidd.1t .."... nonnall, dcpluwd a;. pan ora ·b..iuglu!( Ir.l.in' ..ill. each
A''tll h:"ing SUppolt H:hid"" (";trrl'ing 5uppl",",,0t.1"· b..idg..... cith"r
N<I. II nr !..I. lor maximum !1exibilih'. All bri<1g.... ,,-ere e-~vable of ht-ing
rN"O\c,\.-d from "ilh.-rend III k",th,," Irn m;nUtl-S (inidral ..ondilion.) .
lll:\lal'ch 1984 Vicketll Dcfenr.. SysleJIl. ""ts ""iankrl a conlran w
luu,'en II Chidt"i" ~!:lr~ 1/4 ~lllTs into the Oliertain Mark 6 AVUI.
Emplo"ing the ",me l""nchmg ~ptem ", th.. rarlier ""LB. """r lrials
were complctffl rn' NO\<:mbcr I(}S;, and t.h .... ""hid.....·.. r.. 'kli'·er.... d lu BELOWANOOl'l'OSlll:
C_ _ S"'llUloitIoo...
Ihe Brilish Arm> ocl"·,,ellJun.. and Septemher 1986. ThC1>C ....,hid.".. a.. _ _ _ tIoo~
'~Fon:.DFOI'Q

--"'_
""..II ~ th.... <.'artier A\l.K models....ere "'IUJpprd .. ilh liullelllS to mOllnt oI_~_
a r:l.ng\' (ofmin"ploughs auu dOlerlllad<:S!OeXlenulh"irn""ibilit> in
111(.' ilnnuurM engin......· tiul( ",Ir nn Ihr bauldield. During th.... Gulf W..,.
...
lOJootr._ .... _ _
of 1991. "l.uipmem of Ihi$ l>-pe ..... fittM 10 ~ of the Ch;"ft:lin
WI.&, n ..... designated CIL~'1.B. fOl'" us.. in the mine-<1r-aring role "'"
..~Il ... for hridging. Ikside!l lh" !'ear"oll Engin~ring min....pluugh
---,__
"'
. _-
1 "
0 e
_ f~_~_

S\'SIem mounu:d ilt the fmnt ollh.... hull.lh",· al.... c-antC'd .. u",ic., kn< ... _._CNeftaIoIMwk,
as 'II\IIC tu delcel and aeu,,,t,, mint:!! "ilh m"tllletic f,L...... All til .... ...VI,.lIIo . . . . . . . -
- . . ... _IOT_~
UIA''tBs <1"pl"'-m rur Oper.l.l'nn I)c,.("n &thr" .....r.. fitted "ill,
Chubham armour fMlld.. alnng Ihe !>idC>. of th .. Cl"('\> compartm"nt 10
10_",,"_.8,_
_ _ u" ... _
inrTt'asC"5un-;,,,bilin. _ _n"",,""bri<Ived
F"".....inj1( Ih" Gull' W"l'. th .. nr;g;ua! NQ. 8 or No. 9 I~n~ Brid!l"s etMltl"ryLoodClaoolllc.. llon
<:'''li..d h" CllAVLB ",,,I',, ,... plared by til" ""... Clos<" S~'!)JXln Brid,,;"11 01 70 ton.... (MLC70!.
(CSII) slSIC,,, - parI of the o\n~1l BR90 (Bridging fot the Nineties)
!.Crics de\"Clopcd for lh~ Bl;tish Ann). The ao..., Support Bridge system
cOlISi,ts of" ><:1 of tbt~~ lank-launched bridge". a modificatioll kit for
lhe CIL'l.VLB and ,t Tan\< Britlg~ Tnlllsporter truck h...""d on the high
"lObilily Al\'is UtlipowCl' 8 x 8 ,..,hide. A,1l of these bridges take a
IllaximuIlt of II"..,., minute' 10 by and fi\'~ minutes to rec",..,r under
i.kal co"dition,. alld cOlUpris~: the 26m long ""issor"-type 1\0, 10 Tank
Bridg~ lh"l.'all SP~Il a g~p of21."m: the 16m long :-lo, II Tank Bridge
of lh., up-,md-<>\'n tlV"" lhat can span a gap of 14..~m: and the 13.5m
10"g: No. 12 T,mk Blidg~, ~I.ro of ti,e up-and..,,-er nt"', tI,at can 'pan a
gap of 12m. The bundling S}"telll allo"" two 1\0. 12 Bridges to be
GUTicd"l(hcsallletillle.Toin~rea...,flexihilitl',combinationbrid!,';ngis
possible using: two or three bridge, wit.h the far end "'pported on the
bottom of the gap or on a trestle to allow obstad", ofnp lo!im deep and
60m wide 10 be 'pmltletl for \'Chide, weigbing up to 70 tons. The
CHA,\'LB i, 10 be replaced later in tllis decade hy a similar system based
01llheCballenger2ch",sisalldknmm ...,Titan.

Chieftain Armoured
Vehicle Ro,al
Engineers ICHAVREI
l'Imw'r;ionsofaChidiain
AVIU: de,ignated Armo" ....d
Engineer Vehicle Gun and
Armoured EngincnVehic1c
\\'i"eh "ere
dc\'e1oped to
\'cncrabk AVRE
bul lhcprojccl was call·
u,lkd in 1971 ill fa\uur
of thc Combat En!!inccr
Tranor. With tbe advelll
of Challcngcr I as thc
frornlinc MBT in BAOR.
th~ Centurion AVRE "'.,,"'
hard pte,hed to k"ep up
with til" other Af\', ,,;thin
th" hattle""oup. A' more
armoured re!,";ment' wer"
equipped with Challeng-er
I. ther"dundantC.hieftain
~mTs became a\':l.ilahle for
other pn'l"''''''_ The Rapl
Wing a\ 1\0\'-
arldressed (he
 capacily in RE~lE base
work,hop,to lhe conversions. Thc
Sappep.; had to rdy on th"iro.....,., r",ourc,," Th.f1I'$'Ch~.;~AVRE ..._
TIle task ".<IS gi"en lo 10 Army En~ne"r Support (;roup and .tml'l- con•• roIo~. oI.-.d"~d.nt
21 ElIgi11t:a Bas" Workshop at Willid, in We't c",rmany, With uu"ton,,"undertok.nbyt"'21
Enutn_B... Wo.t..~oI-OO
commendahle energy and abnil). lh" iir,l O,idraill AVRE ....,," deliver"d Army Engtn_Suppon Group
on !J Augu'l for user trial, wilh 32 ArmOll1~d Enginccr Rl·girnertt. Thl= otWit(jchtnWntO."""n~
trial, ,ugge'lt"n a llumhtor or modilicaliollS, which wc,~ ioc0'1xw,tted ill se.... _~o' .........
h;ct..
til" n"xt two AVR.ls during conve",iOll htolor.. rht} "ere dclh'clwl on !oJ ......... jM.ndtll..,~m.
kno..n •• 'WittichAVREo'.
October. Mter funher mer trial, and another 10 ,uAAesr"d modilicarions,
lh" desigll wa, scakd aud produetiou of the remaining 14 ,'"hides ,,-a,
Th'•••• mp'•• _t...
hutl_"""'nt..t ..... ' t.
u'l<!crlak.. n. TI,e liT'S' lhrc:e ,"odeh wne theo II,odified to the production two_on.tIuIt ..uongtn.tty
standard so that all 17 wr .... completed on sd,edulc at" unil coot """.d 'n>O".ck'.nd
ofsom" l::80.000 whrrea, thr init;al innuS!r; CSlimalt was ill lhcregiunof .ub u.nttytll.·hom"".
£380,000 per \"Chid", The"" vehide, ht-camt known JS (11(' 'Willil],
A\'Rfu' and they proved 10 be highly successfuL though scr\icr m.r nin
i"dicale SOu,,' ,I,ol1cu",iog', In bt" 1989 Vicken; Defenc" S)'.tem, wa,
award..n a contract for lhe and lonwn;iou of a
further 4R Chi...frain gun AVRE or CHAVRE. The
contract was for two protoryp... ann 4{i produoi01\ ""hides
of enhanced capahility in two hatche" Th ... lir'l rwo prorolH,es WCI~
101llpieted in 1991 with production running until 1!~J4. )"1 ...anwhil..,
lhe Willich AVRE, were deplo}l·d to ti,e Gulf for Operation Cranh)-' and
r.h ... lihtora(ionofKuwail_sc<,Plal"F'2
Ill ... d... finir';v... CIIAVRF was designed 1O maintai" tlw mubilil) of
th"halllegrouph)'hr"achingmin~li ... ldsandoV<.>rco,ni"gobstades,uclt
a,ami-tank diteh"s and in creatingoh,rade,ro imp<'dc the ad"Jllcc oJ
the eneTllY h}-' acting as a prime mover for minelaying e'l"ipm ... n~,. To
lI,i, l'ud, a lo"d-uuT)'iog pbtfol1u i, fitted over ti,e (OP ofthev"hid"
chassis. This plalform or 'hampcr' cxlcnds u,n the fulllcngth of the

""'dellnl'I•• _elolC~_ln
AVREorCHAVREw•• d•• igned
.odd... lopedbyVl~k_
_ " . $ y........ lnconjunetlon
wilh.h.Roy.IE"9in..... Th.
CHAVRElllpro.ldedwlthtw<l
loadlllotlorm.c.""b;'01
.....loyingMui_Pipel. .ci....
_CI... 50Trackw;oylrom
bolhlh.,..,,,,.rnl ...r.The..
....hownh... inlhe ..IMd
_ltion.o.,low.ngl ",.ln_
..... ""._th.~ ;.r
eg.... fromlhe ic;..The
_hytlraulicon·_"'"",n.
1lI ... lbl. be~ind.~e ~."''''''
,-..h;ck and i, split i11(o two
,ectio",. each of whid,
Can be opeJ<Hed indepen·
dentl)" The hamper
Can canJ ' up 10 11.5 tons
of e'1"ipment, be it
b"cinc", trad"""dy, l"idKi"!!
org.. neral Slort"ssuch as
",ine,. Each ,en;on of
the hamper can be tilted
b} hydla"lic la"" "';,,/(
remote control from
nnderamlour. This allows
Lhe !ascine, 01 trdck"-d"to
belannched to both front
and re"l with the load,
,eculed hI' chain, that are cut by e"plosi"e bolts. The loading and
po,itioni,,!! "f.,t"re, ont" the hampel i, achieved u,ing Ih .. ,-ehide's
inlegralcraneorwinch
The r.HAVRE i, fitted "it.h a Ferrari hvdraulic crane to lift 10.1ds on
lOandoli thehampcr. II I,a.-; a maxilllum load G.pacit)"of2.9 tOlll"" "ith
a rea,.h of.~m and can also be llscd in \"(·hick maintenance to rcmo\"C
assemblies,nch ,,",euKinc decbolj.(carh<,x.A Rot7Ielc;'pstan winch is
filled tOlherearofthc'-chiciclOassi'lin hat,dlill!-\",tore, alld recm"'Ti,,!-\"
bscine, that h,we heen lannch..n_ The winch ha, a maximum capacity of
10 tonllc,. For mille ckanurce "md earthm",i,,!-\", lhe ..HAVRE ha.,
fining' to accepT the Pearson l::ngincerillg mineplOllgh or nni,crsal
do£crbl<tdc. each ofwh;ch can he fined hy lhe "..hid..', own crane_ The
CHAVRE Call also lOW two G-ialll Vipcc traikrs to project exp""i\'e Iiue,
<I"el mi,wfi ..ld, and fire Ihem from under armour. The C1l>\VIlE is to
be replaced latcrintlrisdecadehya,-ehideha",don the "hallengel2
c_ha...,isand known as rlojan

A Mui·Pipe I...inedrop. inlo

an ."'I-lank dll~~ lrom'he Iron.
"""'_Of. CHAVRE dUri"".
1r.lnl""eAerci... TMI• ..,lnehl
......ed ..mot.lr1romund.r
."""",bylll.'I'lngol.""loal••
bolbattsch.d10 lhesec:uring
<hlIln•. Anorm.ICHAVREloa<il.
lW<IM••I-Pipef. .ci.....ndtw<l
roll.oICI... 50Trackw'rlMrl
...... combinllllone...bscarrted
ouch . . "'... "'. . I.... Or up
'0 nine roll. ollrackway. The
'rackwayl.uMd . . . pproac~
""'lIl"".obrldgl""._ ....
cro..ingpo;..... lop II.rve
n""'bs.. oIAFV"romc~umlng
UP 1II.lf/'Ound.nd ....kl"" it
I"'''''...blslolollowing.ehic....
 COLOUR PLATE COMMENTARY
A' CHIEFTAIN MARK 2(YI C 5TH TM,..;II\iIg.1kIWnwhen'-_..

:~;:tEG~NON~:KI~~;:CIS~R";'~~l~IN~U~R . D. NS tw-.

I n. s.-
8AlUS CANADA JUlY"7I

CINtlI,
IVmr tr.wlg - r • SulIiIld .. ...-u.
~.,.,.. 2.!100 ............... of roInll
"2 CHIEFTAIN MARK 513 C HH TROOP CAT
SQUAORON THE ROYAL SCOTS DRAGOON
GUARDS, CANAOIAN ARMY TROPHY 1113,

.,._sysl.... _lhI ..__

~ ",._""",,~IIIow"'IIrinIJDlwtuIII)I..
~n.
BERGEN-HOHNE, WEST OERIll ,..Y, JUNE 1183
n.~krrrtTropI'Iy_ IhrIn ........
~of-=t>~c:odIr.....-lMfldiarlooMan tal*gurtl8fY<:JDfltllSt:-...IheNATO-.:eol_
_1Id_1hs
. . _mec:h8Rs8d........,.0I ........
flIIIbOuIIrCh""-'isempayeaDythe5lhAoyllln.killrlg
~,.;u,.....,..unrts ... ~~.FOI"'""'I',...
~_.h;gn,rJ'l"S1igioul~WIIh"",",ludix
lngoon a..-Baltleg""4'. The lllnI<_finlshedin the aa;:ruonglO1hewwnng leIlmand tI1e ~oIt1n1<t!IIy
charal;l.,;ncBATUScam<>IIllage_ofgr-.andsBn<l CIfIWId.n.ChoeItainOOlyfl'O<llhetrophy~"'\flI

::"-=71T:~te-:t=~~~= =.~:-~~n:~~~~~g~
r8Cta"lllJ""backgrooOOWllhthaI 0t1the_dio.played00
tt>e"clhHlar>dlraCkguardllS~andth81oothtlfror>l
~h"'oIT""'tolherigh1.. ~.n.zapcoOeT""Il"
Thre&FcuBra""ilpawrtlldontrlelldeplat.... Thowflil.

=-=:::::-':~:::On~l~
~"_"~2NDARMDSQNlso!l"
nofJIng5eoondAnn<ued~_onlhef9ll: __
..... lf18_isa_-.,pIG ........... tI'le_

F IbI ......... ~"'-._,___

1_ " ' - _ l . z a " ' ............... _ . . . . -
_ _ I_ot ........ oI_.~FY4030 .......

".. .'.. . .....

_loh.lhe5hir!ell!u_.l,2OObltplloll.._ _
....t _.!~ 1ot"'0'_KtIoItooliood
C_ d rec_l~ _nde••I_d.,
""'... P<o I"' II_lOp...... 'o"hl.MllT.onln..,I..
.......I _ n . . FY.03OlZ .. Shltl pn>ducecl.ThI.
-,-_", _ _.,hot
CIIIoo_
wHbHodonl... .... 'wIIh huN_ _
_ .... IL~_oty __ .......,

......- ...... - -......--"'--"'-.---..--

1I'77 _ _ . . . - _ " " a _ I o __
_ _ _ .a.Ioftoln"'.,. _ ..- t _ _ lntllllO.-.

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-.....-.-
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e-.ws,o-.~

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--.-.. _- _._IIorIJoIlIN__
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::-=.:=::.::.:::::-..:.:::-=.:::-
"""~;"'itt"with
-"'

.....t.r<o_................... _ _ .....
l_ _ _ _ ......-
.......
ThoI'Y403OI3 ... _ Z ................
__ ~lMllTlotlhe_

Chol""'-Io_.. pn>e
~ 2 , Z 8 I _

_ _....,
IIrInI~"'"

___
_
on,
.......

I '0"" ""''''_p<ot.ctlon_,...
_poo~1on

'hodHllnotlonAI H...Hln.T Jortionlon._ocqulNd

44 '"",lal ••_ . IOChlen..... it'omlroqlollo..lngthol,on-l,.qWO,.
=:t~SG~h~:: ~."';h:=\e:~~y:
r.ew1yinstalled Improved Fi",ControlSystom,aachcosti"ll
£90.000, and 9",at hopes wero hold lor CATaJ as this
regimMl has tradiliooally had a high reputation for tank
9unnery within the RoyaiArmoored Corps. The tank carries
ltieregistration number OOF[)66 10 Iro<11 ar"ld rear: agaln offset
10 the right on the lowerlront hlJil; offset 10 the k1ft as viewed
lheraisasubduedweigl1tclassificalionotagmy56ooasolid
bla<:kcircle,ThevehiclecalisignFOlXBravoisdisplayedoo
ltiesi<:l/l plales and centralty 00 tM! l..,rret rear NBC pack with
::..::e;::L f,% ';"~~~n~~' ~~et~heL ~~::.:
A:3lypeasshownonP1ateAlwitl1themirroroftheMuui<l
Reference Syslem moonled atx>v<o the end 01 the baIrei
B: CHIEFTAIN 2lYj/L, HEADQUARTERS
SQUADRON, THE QUEEN'S ROYAL IRISH
HUSSARS, PADERBORN, BAOR, 1978
Tl1isthree-viewcoloorplateshowslhetypicailempe<atezone
BntishAfmycamoull"9'l~oIthllChoeftainMBT
lhrouglloutitscar_oIdar1<~anddisruptivebiack
s1ripos.Thereddiamondoothesearcl1tighthoosingdenoles
HeadquarlersSquadronwithinthearmooredregiment.The
..eNclecailsign Zem DtOta isClllTied on a black metal plaIe
attaehedtotheNBCpackand~theCOO1manding
::::=;:~:~7~=y~~="ivK~
:":r:~~~~~~.':;~~.~m.:i~=
displayslhe"'llislrationnumber02EB86tolrontaoorearas
wellaslheUnionFlag,Onlhek>werr_hllllpiateisaniglrt
coovoydislancemarkerotaitematingblackandwhilestripes
TheChle1lain is shown 00 a firingrangefocaiibratethecoaxial
machine "",and ranging gun so the groon flag indicates that
""""oIlheweaponsisk>adedwithliveammooitioo
C: CHIEFTAIN MARK 10 C, ARMOURED
SQUADRON, BERLIN BRIGADE, 19805
Tl1roughout lhe Cold War. the Bntish Am"r-j of the Rhine sta-
tionedonereinforcedinlantrybrigadeintheformerGerman
cap<tai oIBerlin,wtlichwas occupie<! by the loor Wor1d War II
allies of Britain. Franca, thllSoviel Union and lhe USA. It was
corrrnonpracticeIOaltachatanksqIJadn:<"lIOthe8&1in
Brigade to provide armoursupporl to lhe infantry ootas Berlin
w""cleepinsidefheSovietzonefhebrigadewasOlll'yav,,,a
hostagetotorllJl'leandinlimesofhostilif>eswooldllavebeon
overwhelmedinstlQflOfdoerCVingtheoorty1980s,Majof
Clendon Daukes of the 4thl71h Royal Dragoon GlJIlrds
devisod a radically new camouflage scheme tortighting in an
Ul'banen""""menf.Thecl1eqlJel'boardpalterno1wtvle,grey
and brown proved more difficU/I to de\..,t amongst bllildings
particularly from the air and ~ was adopted !Of all AFVs
statiooedin Berlin with ltle Bribsh Am"r-j. This ChHoftain MaI1<
10 C is shown during FIBUA (Fighting In Built Up """""')
training in a mock town lliJringlhedoepthsofwinfer.
D: FV4201 CHIEFTAIN MARK 5
The Chieftain Marl< 5 was the defin;ti""productlOO nx>del
and fhiscoloor plate shows fhe complexity of a modem MBT.
The """icle is tinished in fhe standard Bnti$/! Afmy cam-
~A~rschemeofgreenandblacksfnpes
Crew: 4 (commander, gunner, loadIIr, 00_)
Weigl1t: 55,OOOI<gcombat loaded: 5J,5OOkg unladen
LangIll: 10.795m gun forwards; 9.87m gun rea.rwards;hull
Iength7.518m
Width: 3.657m including searchlight 3,504m 0"'"
side
plates
~~~~~ ~~~~;n:~:~~2m fo lop of cupl>a
Trackwidlh;O.610m
Lengll1 otlrack on ground: 4,8m
W~hitsAllne..,.<lepIoyoedlolhelront,.Ch_M.rl<l
ARRVol_2ndIIopITenkR. . . . .IOetU "'lIfOLIP_.
dl_ChI_nCHAVREdut1"l1_Uhl. . Eog"'~
in PoI_.fIecoUMofl!>e;,flonl""""",,*,_b1_,,,
mineploughs.CHAVREsondCHAYLBo"'.elobelowed
baekw.rdodut1ngreeoo-.yopontions.1beREM£erww
have..-ted ....rpaulln_lhe_lnedee... lomak••
corntortabIeolMplng_ •• nlghtwlth_MnMlIof
......u.. _ I........llok_Itl."' ...""'._"""''''''''
duringfield •••- .
 _ _ _ ........

-----
1 I t t I U ~ _

_ ......

----...--
_ ~
_ - . . . . . . ~ _ I D 7 0 0 .

. . . . . . - . . _ ... _ _,.
......- __
lN _ _. ....-...

1\ .. -
St-"'ll,MflrntlregerwMI.... irx::orporaledinTN12
~Hot!Ilrnrnwl\l'll2peir'SrA

TNclls,Oryp;n,..-peddedwl1hll6_per1r-=k_
1WW~"719l<u
_ _ 1n

------_._----.-
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_.. .......... ---......

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---..-~-
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... _....,.ct
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___
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=~_~2()m'I~1A3

s.eondary......-tL.8A17.62m'n0llU8l.....:::tww
gun_l.31A17.62rm1~~cn~
ll""_

.....-.....-...--.. --rtng.
F_I_~ .... ft
2111EM1l _ _ ohopo ..
_0ftr'hMA. TM_"'" ""
..,1YI•• blll\)'.ld.~wIIhTOOI_
..
ClJIX1lIP'A.5O--<:aI.'a'9"llll""
1.oclllprot8eticn·T..... IIbl. . . . trnOke(ll'll*le~
........ 1n ..........unItion,60fOUrtIboll2OrMl.6.800fOUrtIbof7,li2rml
and 600 rA.5ll-<:aI.
_._to.nr-.t.durinI
_ _ olhe<
a ... contrcIequiprnent FVGCENo. 7Ma.rko
Nlgltt-lightingequiprnent: Lllt>I Pmj<lctorNo,2 MlUl<3
_fi... lmo.ior p<tW idi"llwhiteandinfrarsdi.......i""t1oncombirtedwilh

-_-_ _-----_-__.......-.-
mocIlIlco_to"'_to_~MIlT_ IRll9"rtslorcomrnandooor,gunrwanddrivw
... t"'"_._pInoQ.A_ ... C... w protection: No,6 MarIe 2 "'lj~tion and NBC
~
32.~ .... _wllhTOQS.-... _ _
fi/llll'lysIEm
... in_.-.TMTOQS_
... .,c: ... ...
~
__ _......-.i1 E: CHIEFTAIN MARK 5/2K, 38TH ARMOURED
BRIGADE. KUWAITI ARIIIY, SAUDI ARAIIIA.
..- AUGUST 1"0
0r112 ...... 1961.~~ .. ~ b . A
wifWlWllllb,h"""'*Y_-.:l_.-. 1Iom
~nq.n.a.-~~he­
_ _ rAC~3Ide.-."""AdonIC,*""h
lliIIIlU*l _ _
__
h O ' 8 l _ - " ' < l . I n ~ t h I

~Mrrt~50Ctrat.non

~l6Sa.tlan~_!il2K.~thI
............ d2~IlIIlO.~50ChoIlI.-.

l\lominlllgtOWldpreslloll'e:8&.29l(NIM:!
111...1........ ~ . o8l<m/h I'l*l:
..-...,
~~:e"'...=:::.~=-~s:=
boshedbyIheBrmhMrrf_.togeIherWilh<-.t-{prot:\lI.:l
M60MBT~fmrnYugcellMa(aWlr"lklnrAIheSovietT·72_
...... liooncel,8QUippedtNlAJ$haNdor~~
durir>gtheliberationdKWillllInF~1991.FPyingthl
Kuwa/llr.agfrom~'lldio"'I.....--,theCIWft""Mar\l5l2K
ladepictedcrossi"llthl_ImoSoaOOiArabia."''''''''
maJ1<Jngs are tI>e regsll1ltion .... rnbe< on lhe ' ... ~
~ ... _8Oll6andlhelnlr::r'fllion"TheMrrf"1n
/JnbI;IO'cILTJai5r11P1'8tedO"lhelmntlllll~"
~_O"IheCllPC*lJl~.Ihe_.
d ..... yoIIcw.-.~-vaclYiclad~1rom
apptO>l
_laftlClCp"!tolA~~<fioIlItIrsd •
CIIaogntx:.<l _ _ .. _amp_lhsloer-T....

::;"'~;:" Bl3.M~a-.-...dh-.:larda.-1>nrIt
""'\t(OOI'NOf~"-rA~t:Ia<:k_-
...... 0" ,... . . . . . _ 0 " . . . . 8.
Trwdt~:3.1C9m
f«ding:H166m
,............,....:5OOkm.-t2()O..3()(J<m~
F.... <:lIPaatr:9!iO _ _
FI: CHIEFTAIN IIIARK 7 ARRV, FORWARD REPAIR
Englne.L.eylrdl..flO.loQuodcooled,<;:QmpNSSIOflignlllor\. GROUP, 4TH ARMOURED BRIGADE, OPERATION
GRANBY, FEBRUARY 1'"

I
:';:;::atl<~ n.~oI~oIAFV1I1"1101he8audl_
Output72Obhpat2.I(l(1o-pm deMr1domanded~REMESlWJr'IlOrMrIIaon_

Au.nI&ry~'CoYfIt1"YC"""I()QMlri:.10A3~ modily them lor the coming ollensl"",Wilh " " _

0W0Md plstOlll'WO-.troke cl375tl/1p II 3,0IXlrpm W<lt1<Bhcps.aImostaiworl<hadlol:>eund9:1akooinlheopen
Trln,ml..lon:TN12Mllfritt·WliaonwUhlixforwardMdtwc ...... t""rTlO$\diflicUtcondilionl.Besidosthededicated
411 .......... ~ CN&ftaonARRV.ineac/1........,.,...;oquadroo.I..-thwARRIiI
lrQdng~fiIslpmdudlon"-oIllwawllrqerA1lfN. rIogearoundlhtllT"OlZZll.Tha'o'&hM:llIWQlSlration~
__ dIpklyed"AlIppOfIoI~~NQIfTlIlIlt5in 1XlEB91.camedcentralyon1he~lUItront.bIIIowwtodl
~flIlIl*rOro..pl.orFRGs.
n.ChoIoftainMatk7ARRV "1hetlridlJnllclassilc:alKlnpllaMoI._70ona-*l~
ilrwNdAAfN'(SMfTH"'1Ile1:lrnclw1how~ Otda.-.donh.-right-hlnCl~.""-_0n1lle
two.o8ySmnl'l...th c:aTledonboChldesolh ~.-IUI~15._~_Ihe~"~
""'"'*'
lorwW 01 _ ct-al fI'IUluII ~
~nbD:tt_.tIlIIdI~n.
• ....-l
<lIoioI.OnhOll.-_oIlh1....,.. ..... ...tt.trodh DIlow.-..tltUId_~ICI""'''''''''<3>be.-llv
_NRNSMITH .. h ...... ZIP~IMA3_ idanlIIIdbrlrOOpson1he~dl.ro'lI_~
. . ~_dIpklyedin!l4lPOl'lol_AITrIcuIl<l~ adl ...... _arnmunolIa'l~OnIhe_oI1he
n.~~runbllrOl5FF&t.C8n18donh ea.-_T<nngUnll.bOo: • • Uld...-.:6c>ll1roop
tcnlrilt'l_'9'lI_~ • ...-d...at.bwthe 1"IIIlil"-00000....-buIo1liga1~ . .. 1hea.-
tcnl_ . . . ~onh~bIKM.,.shown ~oneec:h. . ol1he_tac:.. n.wasan<*ltradillon
i'llhlllCnPIotew ThosARRVcan..cr.-tor.sp;1Rl oIlha.ltlAaylllTri~detI'llI,-,*lOlha4ltlBal1alion
p<M«peCI<lora~MBTO\'WiIs .... _ror
i'lIheGrwtlM1t:Onthea'll8lg;amalionolthelstand4lhfloyal
TlIfi<RaglrnrlISnl992.lhatraelitlotlwaapassedonlOlhe
........... linlhefiolldby~0I11letlydrllt.Jic~
'-lRl'Rand"ils~and~carryltW11,Simiarly,
F2: CHIEFTAIN AVRE, 23 ENGINEER REGIMENT, 4Rl'Ruaedlonameitsll&hiclas~ltl . ......... beginnlngwlmllle
OPERATION GRANBY, FEBRUARY 1891 lOurth ~tt""'the alphabe< and two lQoodrons within IRl'R
Tf>aCl'»aflIllnAVREadeployedonOperalIonG,anbyWllfClol oontlroelllelfa<jjjon,Thi!lChief\alnwascaIedDEFlANl
!tie W,'lIc;h lypoI. Tha .><too...... Iorlmad 11.- CfMled by tha powtt«Iinsmal'¥"'fcapit/ll"'llnonthtlsecondllortt
lraqilalongthaKuwaltil>orOerwllll5audiArabiawereint- 1I0000000binl_thatrac:kgua'tlL
tiaIly beI~1Ied 10 be a I~ oblUlci. mquiriog
~~_lOllfMchthem.Eacholtt.
~WIIIYoIlwIST(l.Jl(jAnnou'edOi..-.n_
9'*!bowni'lteg3lAaylllErvr-doMsuppontroop.
Thscorrwnorfyc:ompnsedtwoAVR&,twoAV\.8s,two
CombII~Trac:tor1.,lwOfiIId_inFV432:!I...t
.... 1O_~~IorCOl'll'*ld-.d""""""
_ _ ..... n.AVffE..baI'lg~lorcornt.l

P'lCtlOh""olIwIsMo._tt.Mui-Pipe~,~
__ I i t I e d _ . ~ ~ - . d a . n

.....culllhtrontlOdelor*eRF'GIfhdllllhll~
"""'fl'I'tn'.F...u-pn>toK;tiOnlO1IleeteWoompIOItIrMlIII
"'_~~lhe_inlhelormolWamor
Chobtwn-..paneIs...t _ _ h"""""caIsign
oIFOI6Three~andlhe~no;:I<nameofT\-l£
FLYINGCOOPlECE.Thev«wcleNgisI,ationno.mb8fll5oEB44
lsc.rieCIonlht1rNfrightt,ack""""'U-Mwad. Tl'OsV'8/'licle
iI y* to be fitted with MIMIC (Magnelje Influerlca Min.
Ind..et'on Coil aboVfltherrllnllplough and the G"",t Viper
trailer, AtyplcalAVREloaddumgOptt.t'on De58rtSabfe
....s two Mal!l·Pipe lasci.- and one roll 01 C1ass-60
Tnld<way Fill... cui of the IIeeI ol18 CHAVREs were
~on~Grw1by_~.uetlin21n23
Er!gI.--RagInwols...t_inw.~r"lt.-.ceReserve..
W1... _Mttlng...,c..I1... " " " , - . . ~ _
11 Col_4th RopITMk RetllmMtl'MllmltOlt1 night
,--ott"-ccncluliotl 011"-"......IIrCI.. conducted b,
_~MBT"'hhltllll"ll1""AnnrDflSol-""PIIlooin
.IunII-.Dut\ntItlllI-' _ _ COftII<IIf'.tIo .....
",",,1,---'CHlRP
_ ..
_ ~ ~
. . . . . . . . . . ThIoI _ _ ICI _ _ " ' -
_~Ior~'_~ _
.......-~SiIhClO9.,.......-..--
. . . - I C I .... _ _ _ . . . . . . . . . _

G: CHIEFTAIN MARK 11 C, B SQUAORON 1ST

ROYAL TANK REGIMENT, CASTLEMARTIN
...
_~~---......-,-
.1000...-1or . . . - . - ........... _
_ _ _ llr .... , . . - - .. _ _ .N8C
GUNNERY RANGES. SOUTH WALES, MAY 18115
n..~Mnl1C"<MpdIcl~Ihan.gh
.....
- . .b,
.._,_
. 1 ' _ 1 _ ~ __ 111_'.
MllC ..... _ _

on1lle"~rwoges ... e-.wunnSCu'lh"""On __. . _ ......-.. __

--_ __
.---.~a.PclW

15 Mlly'llll15,03EllIlI_Iha_n-.. ......... 1CtrlCI by. _ .. llr

_~lo_-.
_
QwoftvoMBTn~1'm'ry_ThaW*boIIongoldlOB
~ollhaltiRoyalT
..... ~ r d 1 h e ~
. . . . ~~isdisplayedonthe"l1tt-hand1l..-.t
-.bln,oamrnIyonIhaNBCped<lItldonlhl.-
bIIf1_~oI_UlO .....--
"-~-
...... _ _ output of 7l1Obhp,-'''_00f00ti.
baotlen.ottheTOOS holJs<ng. LrIIdeNCh "'the yeIt:Hi
!Iq..iEnlllstheVllhielec:.all9'ThrMTwo,"",*",denotesthe .....,.. ...VD.. ,71lO_-"~oI"""t.npo<ll'J
MITI,_t"-ChIetla/tI_"".. _ . _ _ 1r1
IroopC<lfP(ltlllat.nkofThoooTroop.ThetaN<CllI1a1sobeldan
_bythtlt~ring!<ontllellrne.xtrac1OrforllYeeTroop _ . - . 1h.lOrTydll.oI
oIrllthlnllrlti.,, __ Leo .......
_ _ """'phot
oI~"
.....
__
andthtltworing!<<WOOOdlllemuzDelorltlllll1irdtani<withil1
. . - . _ _ purc_inquMtlttb,forIIgn_.
thll/OOp; IhatroopCOl1Vl'\lll"lClriThrMZamhaWlgoo
INDEX

",;,,~,I<1~"I;"" ""dd.. r,,,.,.. '9, >0.42

m;"~I~,",~h, ", 311. 19.4!J, F2

Wel~"r. 1.,('.,,1 Ri,h,,..j S, 4~

~inch., ",~, '7-8.4~
 New Vanguard. 80
I

The deslgn. development, operatIOn and history Chieftain Main

of the machinery of warfare through the ages.
Battle Tank
1965-2003
ThecooctpCofttwMaln
B.1ttll'"hnk~frornthe
CmturionUn~tankthat

_~~Ithrftldof
WoridWarl1.~lopmemot

!U SUCttSSOf btpn as ('my u

1951. The Chieftain Incorporated
stgnifinmlnnovatlornlncJuding
a redlnlng dri\lft position and
twtrpl~ammunltlonforgl'l'all'r

survivablUty. The tanl;elllered

M'rvicelnl967andwaslhe
heaviest armed and armoored
MDT within the NATO alliance
The Chieftain ~w oombat during
thtlran-lraqWac,w1ththe
KUWilltls durlll3 the 1990 Iraqi
in~andwlthlheBrltish
Army durin8 the Gulf War
ofl990-9las~lpu~

varlulU. This book expkns

lhedesign, de\.'doprnentand
opn-ationofontofthernost
infiumtal~~usedin
I11OdemwufAR'.

OSPREY
PUBLISHING

www.ospreypubllshlng.com