Difference between revisions of "Challenger DS"
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== Description == | == Description == | ||
<!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' --> | <!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' --> | ||
| − | The | + | The Challenger was introduced in 1983, as the new MBT for the British Army. While reliability and performance were debated during the Canadian Army Trophy of 1987, their action in Operation Granby, the British contribution to the Gulf War, gave them a chance to prove their worth. In this time, the British Army deployed the 1st Armoured Division in the Middle East with 3 Armoured Brigades equipped with Challenger tanks, some of which were the latest Mk.3 variant with new ERA installed. The Challengers had a good performance, dealing with several [[T-55A|T-55s]] and [[Type 69-IIa|Type 69s]] while not losing a single tank. A Challenger tank holds the record for the longest tank-to-tank kill, achieving a destruction at a range of 5.1 km in 1991. |
| + | |||
| + | It was introduced in [[Update "Danger Zone"]]. The '''Challenger Mk.3 Desert Storm''' is identical to the [[Challenger Mk.3]] found in the tech tree, the only difference is the visual discrepancy and the fact that it lacks ROMOR-A ERA on the front of the vehicle. Compared to most Soviet and other NATO platforms, the Challenger is very heavy and quite slow; while it struggles to accelerate, it has a very good top speed and an excellent reverse speed. The cannon is a powerful 120 mm gun, with access to 1st generation thermals for the gunner, which means that it has a very competent armament for its BR. | ||
== General info == | == General info == | ||
| Line 48: | Line 50: | ||
While it is slower than Western MBTs at its BR, it is not a slow platform. It holds a fast top speed for both forward and reverse. Despite being a heavy vehicle, the brake distance is surprisingly low, between 20-30 m at top speed. It has the ability to do neutral steering relatively fast and, since it comes with all upgrades, it immediately gets the tracks modification which significantly improve this ability. It has little to medium impact when crossing muddy terrain, wet and snowy terrain, but nothing that impacts performance significantly. Thanks to not having the additional armour package, the cross-country capabilities of the Challenger DS are significantly increased, being able to easily traverse and cross over long trenches, deep craters and through steep terrains up to a certain level. | While it is slower than Western MBTs at its BR, it is not a slow platform. It holds a fast top speed for both forward and reverse. Despite being a heavy vehicle, the brake distance is surprisingly low, between 20-30 m at top speed. It has the ability to do neutral steering relatively fast and, since it comes with all upgrades, it immediately gets the tracks modification which significantly improve this ability. It has little to medium impact when crossing muddy terrain, wet and snowy terrain, but nothing that impacts performance significantly. Thanks to not having the additional armour package, the cross-country capabilities of the Challenger DS are significantly increased, being able to easily traverse and cross over long trenches, deep craters and through steep terrains up to a certain level. | ||
| − | {{tankMobility|abMinHp=1, | + | {{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,886|rbMinHp=1,076}} |
=== Modifications and economy === | === Modifications and economy === | ||
| Line 59: | Line 61: | ||
<!-- ''Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: <code><nowiki>{{main|Name of the weapon}}</nowiki></code>. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.'' --> | <!-- ''Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: <code><nowiki>{{main|Name of the weapon}}</nowiki></code>. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.'' --> | ||
{{main|L11A5 (120 mm)}} | {{main|L11A5 (120 mm)}} | ||
| + | |||
The Challenger bears the 120 mm L11A5, an updated but essentially identical version of the gun found on the Chieftains. It keeps the same ammunition as the Challenger Mk.2 and previous Chieftain Mk.10, making the ballistic performance identical. The L23 comes as the stock round with a significant armour penetration at the cost of reduced penetration angle. L23A1 has much better angle penetration at the cost of reduced armour penetration. | The Challenger bears the 120 mm L11A5, an updated but essentially identical version of the gun found on the Chieftains. It keeps the same ammunition as the Challenger Mk.2 and previous Chieftain Mk.10, making the ballistic performance identical. The L23 comes as the stock round with a significant armour penetration at the cost of reduced penetration angle. L23A1 has much better angle penetration at the cost of reduced armour penetration. | ||
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==== Ammunition ==== | ==== Ammunition ==== | ||
| − | { | + | {{:L11A5 (120 mm)/Ammunition|Shot L23A1, Shell L31A7, L26, L34}} |
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==== [[Ammo racks]] ==== | ==== [[Ammo racks]] ==== | ||
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! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal | ! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | | Coaxial || 2,400 (200) || | + | | Coaxial || 2,400 (200) || 1,001 || - || - |
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
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== History == | == History == | ||
<!-- ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' --> | <!-- ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' --> | ||
| − | + | After the introduction of Challenger in 1983 as the new MBT for the British Army in different units, there were debates on its reliability due to its inferior overall performance in the Canadian Army Trophy of 1987. As the Invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990 and the subsequent Gulf War began in 1991, the Challengers were given the chance to show their worth. | |
| + | |||
| + | The British Army deployed the 1st Armoured Division to the Middle East alongside three armoured brigades with Challenger tanks, some even with the latest Mk.3 series with new ERA packages installed in Saudi Arabia by late 1990. After the deadline for complete withdrawal of Iraqi forces passed, the coalition started the assault on 17th January, 1991, after which the Challengers destroyed and captured hundreds of Iraqi tanks (ie. [[T-55A]], [[Type 69-IIa]]) while received no loss from enemy fire. Operation Granby was where the Challenger held the world record of the longest tank-to-tank kill, done by the callsign of 11B from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, achieving a destruction at around 5.1 km away on 26th February, 1991. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The livery of Challenger DS belongs to a tank with a callsign Zero Charlie (ØC) of A Squadron to an unknown unit in British Army. | ||
== Media == | == Media == | ||
<!-- ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' --> | <!-- ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' --> | ||
| − | + | ||
| + | ;Skins | ||
| + | |||
| + | * [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=uk_challenger_1_mk_3_gulf Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.] | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
| Line 206: | Line 166: | ||
* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;'' | * ''reference to the series of the vehicles;'' | ||
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.'' --> | * ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.'' --> | ||
| − | |||
| − | + | ;Related development | |
| − | * | + | |
| + | * [[Challenger 1 (Family)]] | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
Latest revision as of 14:47, 22 June 2024
| This page is about the premium British MBT Challenger DS. For other uses, see Challenger (Disambiguation). |
Contents
Description
The Challenger was introduced in 1983, as the new MBT for the British Army. While reliability and performance were debated during the Canadian Army Trophy of 1987, their action in Operation Granby, the British contribution to the Gulf War, gave them a chance to prove their worth. In this time, the British Army deployed the 1st Armoured Division in the Middle East with 3 Armoured Brigades equipped with Challenger tanks, some of which were the latest Mk.3 variant with new ERA installed. The Challengers had a good performance, dealing with several T-55s and Type 69s while not losing a single tank. A Challenger tank holds the record for the longest tank-to-tank kill, achieving a destruction at a range of 5.1 km in 1991.
It was introduced in Update "Danger Zone". The Challenger Mk.3 Desert Storm is identical to the Challenger Mk.3 found in the tech tree, the only difference is the visual discrepancy and the fact that it lacks ROMOR-A ERA on the front of the vehicle. Compared to most Soviet and other NATO platforms, the Challenger is very heavy and quite slow; while it struggles to accelerate, it has a very good top speed and an excellent reverse speed. The cannon is a powerful 120 mm gun, with access to 1st generation thermals for the gunner, which means that it has a very competent armament for its BR.
General info
Survivability and armour
Overall, the armour on the Challenger DS is exactly the same as the tech tree counterpart, the Challenger Mk.3. However, it lacks the additional ROMOR ERA and the sides armour package. It gets a slight but negligible upgrade on the lower frontal plate compared to the Challenger Mk.2 as it has spare tracks strapped on the LFP. While it is a Challenger Mk.3, it is most comparable to the Challenger Mk.2 in terms of armour. The upper half of the turret cheeks are capable of withstanding almost all kinetic penetrators and will stop most chemical projectiles with less than 800 mm penetration, while the lower half won't protect against most top-rank rounds. The hull composite is only good against lower penetrating APFSDS rounds such as T-55AM, and can also withstand some chemical munitions, but it is not advised to rely on this armour. The rest of the tank (turret and hull sides, lower front plate) has decent protection against chemical rounds due to the add on armour, ERA, and thick turret sides.
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 38 mm (79-81°), 50 mm (60°) Upper glacis 70 mm (30°) Lower glacis |
20 mm, 25 mm (74°) Top 38 mm (12°) Bottom |
25 mm (29-30°) | 20 mm 8 mm Engine grille |
| Turret | 50 mm (51-54°) 60 mm (55-56°), 200 mm Gun mantlet |
80 mm + 15 mm Front right 80 + 25 mm + 4 mm Front 45 + 4 mm Rear |
44 + 4 mm | 38 mm (82°) Front 20 mm (80-90°) Rear |
| Cupola | 60 mm | |||
Notes:
- The propellant ammo racks are surrounded by 5 mm RHA.
- Side skirts consist of 150 mm NERA composite, 70 mm composite screens, or 19 mm aluminium.
- Tracks and wheels are 20 mm thick.
- Sandbags are just decorative.
Mobility
While it is slower than Western MBTs at its BR, it is not a slow platform. It holds a fast top speed for both forward and reverse. Despite being a heavy vehicle, the brake distance is surprisingly low, between 20-30 m at top speed. It has the ability to do neutral steering relatively fast and, since it comes with all upgrades, it immediately gets the tracks modification which significantly improve this ability. It has little to medium impact when crossing muddy terrain, wet and snowy terrain, but nothing that impacts performance significantly. Thanks to not having the additional armour package, the cross-country capabilities of the Challenger DS are significantly increased, being able to easily traverse and cross over long trenches, deep craters and through steep terrains up to a certain level.
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 62 | 41 | 63.7 | 1,886 | 2,322 | 29.61 | 36.45 |
| Realistic | 56 | 37 | 1,076 | 1,217 | 16.89 | 19.11 | |
Modifications and economy
2 × 150 / 200 / 250 % 2 × 232 / 232 / 232 % | Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
The Challenger bears the 120 mm L11A5, an updated but essentially identical version of the gun found on the Chieftains. It keeps the same ammunition as the Challenger Mk.2 and previous Chieftain Mk.10, making the ballistic performance identical. The L23 comes as the stock round with a significant armour penetration at the cost of reduced penetration angle. L23A1 has much better angle penetration at the cost of reduced armour penetration.
| 120 mm L11A5 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 52 | -10°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | 29.5 | 40.9 | 49.6 | 54.9 | 58.4 | 6.50 | 5.75 | 5.30 | 5.00 |
| Realistic | 18.4 | 21.7 | 26.4 | 29.1 | 31.0 | ||||||||
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| Shot L23A1 | APFSDS | 396 | 394 | 387 | 376 | 367 | 357 |
| Shell L31A7 | HESH | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 |
| L26 | APFSDS | 471 | 469 | 464 | 458 | 450 | 444 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| Shot L23A1 | APFSDS | 1,535 | 3.89 | - | - | - | 78° | 80° | 81° | |||
| Shell L31A7 | HESH | 670 | 17.34 | 0.1 | 4 | 6.53 | 73° | 77° | 80° | |||
| L26 | APFSDS | 1,550 | 4.3 | - | - | - | 78° | 80° | 81° | |||
| Smoke shell characteristics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Screen radius (m) |
Screen deploy time (s) |
Screen hold time (s) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
| L34 | 670 | 17.1 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 50 |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Machine guns
| 7.62 mm L8A2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 2,400 (200) | 1,001 | - | - |
| 7.62 mm L37A2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 3,600 (100) | 650 | -10°/+50° | ±180° |
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Short reload time
- Can be hard to penetrate hull down
- Has a great reverse gear
Cons:
- Only 4 shells in the ready rack
- Heavy tank
- Driver's optic are huge which makes it a huge weak spot
- Can be easily ammoracked
- Sides are riddled with fuel tanks which makes it prone to catch fire from enemy shells
History
After the introduction of Challenger in 1983 as the new MBT for the British Army in different units, there were debates on its reliability due to its inferior overall performance in the Canadian Army Trophy of 1987. As the Invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990 and the subsequent Gulf War began in 1991, the Challengers were given the chance to show their worth.
The British Army deployed the 1st Armoured Division to the Middle East alongside three armoured brigades with Challenger tanks, some even with the latest Mk.3 series with new ERA packages installed in Saudi Arabia by late 1990. After the deadline for complete withdrawal of Iraqi forces passed, the coalition started the assault on 17th January, 1991, after which the Challengers destroyed and captured hundreds of Iraqi tanks (ie. T-55A, Type 69-IIa) while received no loss from enemy fire. Operation Granby was where the Challenger held the world record of the longest tank-to-tank kill, done by the callsign of 11B from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, achieving a destruction at around 5.1 km away on 26th February, 1991.
The livery of Challenger DS belongs to a tank with a callsign Zero Charlie (ØC) of A Squadron to an unknown unit in British Army.
Media
- Skins
See also
- Related development
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Department of Tank Design | |
|---|---|
| Medium Tanks | |
| Sherman Firefly | Sherman Firefly · Sherman IC "Trzyniec" |
| MBTs | |
| Centurion | Centurion Mk 1 · Centurion Mk.2 · Centurion Mk 3 · Centurion Action X · Centurion Mk.5 AVRE · Centurion Mk 10 |
| Challenger* | Challenger Mk.2 · Challenger Mk.3 · Challenger DS |
| Tank Destroyers | |
| Achilles | Achilles · Achilles (65 Rg.) |
| Centurion-based | Conway · FV4005 |
| Export | |
| Sherman Firefly | Sherman Ic · ▄Sherman Vc |
| Centurion | Centurion Mk.5/1 · Strv 81 · Strv 81 (RB 52) · ▄Strv 81 (RB 52) · Strv 101 · Strv 104** · Strv 105** · Sho't |
| See also | US Ordnance Department · Israeli Ordnance Corps · Vickers-Armstrongs Limited |
| *By successor, the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment | |
| **Swedish modernizations incorporating innovations from the Israeli Sho't Kals. | |
| Britain medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| Valentine | Valentine I · Valentine IX · Valentine XI |
| Cromwell | Cromwell I · Cromwell V · Cromwell V (RP-3) |
| Cromwell derivatives | Challenger · Avenger · Comet I · Comet I "Iron Duke IV" · Charioteer Mk VII |
| Centurion | Centurion Mk 1 · Centurion Mk.2 · Centurion Mk 3 · Centurion Mk.5 AVRE · Centurion Mk 10 · Centurion Action X · FV4202 |
| Vickers MBT | Vickers Mk.1 · Vickers Mk.3 · Vickers Mk.7 |
| Chieftain | Chieftain Mk 3 · Chieftain Mk 5 · Chieftain Mk 10 |
| Challenger 1 | Challenger Mk.2 · Challenger Mk.3 · Challenger DS |
| Challenger 2 | Challenger 2 · Challenger 2 (2F) · Challenger 2 TES · Challenger 2 OES · Challenger 2E · Challenger 2 Black Night |
| Challenger 3 | Challenger 3 TD |
| Australia | A.C.I · A.C.IV · Centurion Mk.5/1 |
| South Africa | Olifant Mk.1A · Olifant Mk.2 · TTD |
| India | Vijayanta · Bhishma TWMP |
| Israel | ▄Sho't Kal Dalet |
| Jordan | Khalid |
| Sweden | ▄Strv 81 (RB 52) |
| USA | Grant I · Sherman II · Sherman Firefly · Sherman IC "Trzyniec" |
| Britain premium ground vehicles | |
|---|---|
| Light tanks | A13 Mk I (3rd R.T.R.) · A13 Mk II 1939 · AEC Mk II · Crusader "The Saint" · Rooikat 105 |
| Medium tanks | A.C.I · Grant I · Cromwell V (RP-3) · Sherman IC "Trzyniec" · A.C.IV · Comet I "Iron Duke IV" |
| Centurion Mk.2 · ▄Strv 81 (RB 52) · Centurion Mk.5 AVRE · Centurion Mk.5/1 · ▄Sho't Kal Dalet · Centurion Action X | |
| Vijayanta · Khalid · Challenger DS · Challenger 2 OES | |
| Heavy tanks | Independent · Matilda Hedgehog · Excelsior · TOG II · Churchill Crocodile · Black Prince |
| Tank destroyers | Alecto I · Achilles (65 Rg.) · QF 3.7 Ram |
- Ground vehicles
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- Ground vehicles with smoke grenades
- Ground vehicles with engine smoke generating system
- Ground vehicles with night vision device
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