Challenger

LeEnfield

LeEnfield

Active member
Challenger-2E.jpg
The Challenger 2E MBT. Challenger 2E has been specifically designed for demanding environmental and climatic conditions and represents the latest evolution of the highly effective family of Challenger vehicles.
Challenger2-Speeding.jpg
The Challenger 2E speeding on the desert sand. This picture was probably taken in the desert when Vickers Defence Systems was trying to sell it in the Gulf states.
The Challenger at the Gulf War.
Chally1-RoyalHussars-GWar.jpg

An up-armored Challenger 1 of the Royal Hussars, during the Gulf War.​
The Vickers Challenger was bought for the British Army after the Shah of Iran was deposed and the order blocked. It was developed from the Chieftain but was much faster, better armed and armoured but suffered from a weak fire control system. The Challenger gave the British Army a state-of-the-art tank ten years before any replacement for the Chieftain was scheduled. The Challenger was made for the desert, but did not have the chance to win its spurs until the Gulf War.
Actually, Vickers did not manufacture all the Challenger 1 MBTs, only the last regiment. Challenger 1 was built at the Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Leeds (it became Royal Ordnance in preparation for privatization), which Vickers bought just before the order for the 7th regiment was placed.
Fitted with a 120mm L11 A5 gun, the Challenger's only weakness was its fire-control system, which had been upgraded by the Gulf War. The gun could penetrate 400mm of armour and destroy any Russian-built tank with a single hit. With nearly all of Iraq's' tanks being Russian built, the Challenger was able to deal with them easily. Backed up by the massive air support and alongside the Arab, French and American tanks the Allied armour ripped through the Republican Guard without much trouble. The Challengers in Desert Storm mainly employed HESH (High Explosive Squash Head) shells with their longer range as the Iraqi tanks armour wasn't up to Russian standards and would have been a waste of the shorter-ranged high-density armour-piercing rounds.
 
challenger-firing.jpg
The Challenger 2, firing its 120 mm L30 gun, produced by the Royal Ordnance division of British Aerospace Defence Ltd at Nottingham, UK. Challenger 2 is equipped with an L30, 120 mm rifled tank gun from the Royal Ordnance division of British Aerospace Defence Ltd at Nottingham, UK. The L30 construction incorporates a chromium lining which provides a harder and smoother internal surface. The chromium lining gives increased velocity and therefore penetration power to the round, greater precision and reduced wear on the barrel. The gun is made from electro-slag refined steel (ESR) and is insulated with a thermal sleeve. The gun is fitted with a muzzle reference system and fume extraction to remove the gasses from the barrel. The turret is capable of 360 degree rotation and the weapon elevation range is from -10 to +20 degrees.
The target engagement sequence has been designed for simplicity of operation in battlefield conditions. The same engagement sequence is followed for static and moving targets in daylight or by night. The gunner or the commander aligns an aiming mark on the target, presses the laser rangefinder button and then presses the fire button.
The 120 mm L30 gun fires all current 120 mm ammunition. There is capacity for 50 projectiles, which can be a mix of armour piercing fin stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), high explosive squash head (HESH) or smoke rounds. The L30 gun can also fire the Depleted Uranium (DU) round with a stick charge propellant. Depleted Uranium has a density approximately two and a half times higher than that of steel and the mass of the DU projectile provides high penetration characteristics. The first depleted uranium round, the L30, is part of the Charm 1 gun, charge and projectile system. A Charm 3 system is under development in which the depleted uranium projectile has a higher length to diameter aspect ratio for increased penetration performance. The ammunition, being of the separate projectile and charge loading type, allows the explosive ammunition to be stowed below the turret ring. Armoured bins provide the stowage for the charges.
The gun control is provided by an all-electric gun control and stabilization system from GEC Marconi Radar and Defence Systems of Leicester, UK. The Challenger 2 is also equipped with a McDonnell Douglas 7.62 mm chain gun, which is located to the left of the main tank gun. The loader seated on the left hand side has a 7.62 mm GPMG anti-air machine gun, type L37A2, mounted on the cupola.
On each side of the front of the turret are five L8 smoke grenade dischargers, from the Helio Mirror Company of Kent, UK. The Challenger 2 can also set a smoke screen by the injection of diesel fuel into the engine exhausts.
The Challenger 2 is equipped with a Military Standard 1553 data bus. The fire control computer is a digital computer from Computing Devices Company of Ontario, Canada. The digital CDC computer has capacity for additional systems, for example a Battlefield Information Control System, and navigation and training systems.
 
ENGAGEMENT PROCEDURE
chall2-on-the-move.jpg

Challenger 2, negotiating rough ground.​
The commander aligns the roof mounted panoramic sight on a target and presses the align switch to slew the turret round until the gun is automatically positioned on the target. The gunner then takes over the engagement of the target, and presses the laser rangefinder and the fire buttons to fire the gun. As soon as the gunner has taken over the engagement of the target, the tank commander is able to locate and take range measurement of a second target using the commander's sight. The data for both targets, the first target being engaged by the gunner and the second target, are stored in the digital fire control computer. When the gun has been fired and the kill assessment on the first target completed, the commander presses the align switch which results in the turret slewing round to align the gun on the second target and automatically firing the gun. The operational procedure greatly enhances the firepower of the tank, in that the Challenger can effectively engage targets in rapid succession.
SAFETY
Challenger2-on-unpaved-road.jpg

The Challenger 2 MBT is one of the heaviest and best protected tanks in the world.​
The design of Challenger 2 has given emphasis to crew safety and tank survivability. The turret is protected with second generation Chobham armour which provides increased resistance to penetration by anti-tank weapons. The tank is protected against nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare by an NBC protection system (with full overpressure filtered air) located in the turret bustle. The electronics systems are protected against nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP).
The movement of the turret and gun is by a solid state electric drive rather than by high pressure hydraulic drive. The electric drive removes the risk associated with rupturing of high pressure hydraulic hoses in the crew compartment. The stowage for explosives is below the turret ring which provides a less vulnerable position than in the turret bustle.
The turret and the hull designs incorporate stealth technology to minimize the radar signature.
 
PROPULSION
Challenger2-Exercising.jpg

The Challenger 2 making its 1,200 HP engine do "some excercise"...​
The Challenger 2 has a 12 cylinder 1200 horsepower diesel engine, from Perkins Engines (Shewsbury) Ltd of Shropshire, UK., and a David Brown gearbox, model TN54, with 6 forward and 2 reverse gears. The maximum speed by road is 59 kilometer/hour and mean speed 40 kilometers./hour cross country. The range is given as 450 kilometers. by road and typically 250 kilometers. cross country.
SPECIFICATIONS​
Crew Commander, gunner, loader, driver Weight 62500 kilograms Hull dimensions approximate length 8.330 meters x width 3.50 meters
approximate length with gun forward, 11.50 meters
approximate height 2.50 meters Speed 59 kilometers./hour by road
40 kilometers./hour cross country Range 450 kilometers. by road
250 kilometers. cross country Armament one 120 mm, model L30 gun
one 7.62 mm Chain Gun
one 7.62 mm, model L37A2 anti-aircraft gun​
 
Chally2-cutout-01.jpg

Challeger 2 cutout drawing.
General characteristics / technical performance​

Engine: Perkins Condor CV12 1200bhp
Gearbox: David Brown TN54 epicyclical, 6 fwd 2 rev
Suspension: Hydrogas variable spring rate
Track: William Cook Defence; hydraulically adjusted double pin
Speed: 59 kph (road); 40 kph (mean cross country)
Main Armament: Royal Ordnance 120mm L30 gun
Ammunition: CHARM 3, HESH and Smoke
Secondary Armament: Hughes 7.62mm coaxially mounted chain gun and 7.62mm loader's hatch mounted GPMG
Smoke Dischargers: Exhaust smoke injection and two sets of five L8 grenade dischargers
Commander: Gyrostabilized fully panoramic site with laser range finder and thermal imager
Gunner: Gyrostabilized primary site with laser range finder and thermal imager, and coaxially mounted auxiliary sight
Driver: Day and night periscopes
Loader: Day periscope
 
Challenger I (Shir Iran) was intended to be sold to the Iranian Army but with the Shah being overthrown, the contract was cancelled.
 
Whispering Death said:
The Challenger I was a horrible tank.

I'd rather go to battle in a Challenger II than any other armored vehicle in the world.
Click to expand...

Challenger II is based on Challenger I.

It is like that one says F-16A was a horrible plane.

Every thing gets better over the time and machines are no exceptions.
 
Now the reason I posted this information was to give some people an idea what the Challenger was all about. There are comments made about this tank on threads on the different Web sites that seem very ill informed so I thought I post some actual facts about the tank.
 
Whispering Death said:
The Challenger I was a horrible tank.

I'd rather go to battle in a Challenger II than any other armored vehicle in the world.
Click to expand...

the Challenger 1 did fine in the Gulf War.
 
Whispering Death said:
The Challenger I was a horrible tank.

I'd rather go to battle in a Challenger II than any other armored vehicle in the world.
Click to expand...

Why it is a horrible tank?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top