Difference between revisions of "Chieftain Mk 3"
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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.--> |
[[File:GarageImage_ChieftainMk3.jpg|420px|thumb|left]] | [[File:GarageImage_ChieftainMk3.jpg|420px|thumb|left]] | ||
{{break}} | {{break}} | ||
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The Chieftain series maintains the traditional UK lower front plate weak spot and strong turret armour of the Centurion series of tanks while increasing the firepower. Top speed increases from the Centurion line, but overall mobility is comparably worse. | The Chieftain series maintains the traditional UK lower front plate weak spot and strong turret armour of the Centurion series of tanks while increasing the firepower. Top speed increases from the Centurion line, but overall mobility is comparably worse. | ||
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== General info == | == General info == | ||
=== Survivability and armour === | === Survivability and armour === | ||
| − | <!-- | + | <!--Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? |
| + | |||
| + | If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.--> | ||
| + | A major improvement from previous British mediums is the Chieftain's thick, sloped armour. Reaching a compound-angled 152 mm on the turret and a respectable 86 mm at 71° on the upper front hull, the Chieftain can actually resist point-blank shots from some cannons it will face at 8.3. In an up-tier, however, most of these benefits have less impact. This tank should avoid exposing its hull as certain tanks at (and most above) 8.3 can penetrate the hull with an APFSDS shot, knocking out the entire crew or detonating an ammo rack. The armour around the gun breach leaves something to be desired. Lower-rank APDS rounds (e.g. a T-54/55's APDS) can penetrate the right turret face at closer ranges, incapacitating the gunner and commander. The lower glacis is 76 mm at 45°, leading to a significant disadvantage in close-range engagements. Even 7.3 tanks (and many below 7.3) will always penetrate the lower glacis. The Chieftain also has thin side armour, meaning that the tank is vulnerable to flank attacks. The thin side armour also means angling the hull is not effective. A Chieftain should remain hull down (at the very least covering the lower frontal plate) to best take advantage of its armour profile. | ||
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'''Armour type:''' | '''Armour type:''' | ||
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=== Mobility === | === Mobility === | ||
| − | <!-- | + | <!--Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.--> |
| + | The Chieftain Mk 3 suffers from poor horsepower to tonne ratio. It is slow to reach its top speed of 41 km/h on almost any surface and will turn very slowly even when all mobility modules are researched. The Chieftain especially struggles uphill and when pivoting. It has decent reverse speed (~9.4 km/h, compared to the 13 km/h reverse speed of tanks on the Centurion chassis). | ||
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{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | ||
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== Armaments == | == Armaments == | ||
=== Main armament === | === Main armament === | ||
| − | <!-- | + | <!--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|Ordnance BL Tk. L11 (120 mm)}} | {{main|Ordnance BL Tk. L11 (120 mm)}} | ||
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| + | The Chieftain's 120 mm gun has access to APDS and HESH when stock, with no researchable ammunition. The APDS shell has a very good slope modifier compared to other APDS and will penetrate essentially any vehicle from 8.3 to 9.3, but has relatively weak post-penetration effects. HESH behaves similar to other HESH shells in the game and is a more situational round. The cannon's reload rate is much faster than average for its calibre at its BR (7.5 seconds with a fully-trained crew). | ||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | ||
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=== Machine guns === | === Machine guns === | ||
| − | <!-- | + | <!--Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.--> |
{{main|L21A1 (12.7 mm)|L37A1 (7.62 mm)|L8A1 (7.62 mm)}} | {{main|L21A1 (12.7 mm)|L37A1 (7.62 mm)|L8A1 (7.62 mm)}} | ||
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|} | |} | ||
| − | == Usage in | + | == 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).--> |
| − | Fundamental average for Chieftain: its rate of shooting and its penetration. With Chieftain there is few vehicles being able to resist to you, perhaps [[T95|T95]] or [[Maus|Maus]], without your skill. Shoot anywhere at your enemy with L15A3 shells, you penetrate armour. Know where you shoot, you will | + | |
| + | Fundamental average for Chieftain: its rate of shooting and its penetration. With Chieftain there is few vehicles being able to resist to you, perhaps [[T95|T95]] or [[Maus|Maus]], without your skill. Shoot anywhere at your enemy with L15A3 shells, you penetrate armour. Know where you shoot, you will penetrate all your enemies. That requires good knowledge of the enemy tanks. You have to know where are the shells, fuel tanks, crews. Don’t trouble about the shielding of an adversary, your Chieftain is a knife for butter. If you don't know your enemy, look in top on the right during replay penetration to locate the strategic places. | ||
'''Defensively:'''<br> | '''Defensively:'''<br> | ||
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The first upgrades to head for is ''Parts'' and ''FPE'' for increased survivability. Once you got these two, everything is good, but get the rangefinder for enhanced RB or SB gameplay. | The first upgrades to head for is ''Parts'' and ''FPE'' for increased survivability. Once you got these two, everything is good, but get the rangefinder for enhanced RB or SB gameplay. | ||
| − | *Spare parts | + | *Spare parts |
| − | *Tracks | + | *Tracks (Critical for hull rotation speed. In the Chieftain, you'll need every little degree of speed.) |
| − | *Extinguishers FPE | + | *Extinguishers FPE |
| − | *Horizontal drive | + | *Horizontal drive |
| − | *Adjustment shooting | + | *Adjustment shooting |
| − | *Elevation mechanism | + | *Elevation mechanism |
=== Pros and cons === | === Pros and cons === | ||
| − | <!-- | + | <!--Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".--> |
'''Pros:''' | '''Pros:''' | ||
* Turret armour strong enough to bounce APDS, HEATFS and even some APDSFS shells | * Turret armour strong enough to bounce APDS, HEATFS and even some APDSFS shells | ||
| − | * Upper frontal plate is heavily sloped, providing adequate protection against same | + | * Upper frontal plate is heavily sloped, providing adequate protection against enemies of the same rank |
| − | * Excellent reload time for a 120 mm (7. | + | * Excellent reload time for a 120 mm (7.5-9.5 seconds) |
* Access to 320 mm penetrating APDS shells and HESH shells immediately | * Access to 320 mm penetrating APDS shells and HESH shells immediately | ||
* 10 degrees of gun depression | * 10 degrees of gun depression | ||
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== History == | == History == | ||
| − | <!-- | + | <!--Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground 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></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article. 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).--> |
| + | |||
===Concept=== | ===Concept=== | ||
The idea of a "universal tank" began in Britain in 1944 when Montgomery and other influential people began advocating for a more standardized tank to replace the cruiser and infantry tank classes used on the field. Efforts did not start until after World War II under the General Staff designation A45, with development starting just as the new cruiser tank [[Centurion Mk 3|Centurion]] started to enter military service. The A45 was cancelled in 1948 after development troubles and its inability to be used as a "universal" platform. Ironically, the Centurion proved to be a better "universal tank" platform than the A45.<ref name="DunstanChieftain">Dunstan Simon. ''Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003</ref> | The idea of a "universal tank" began in Britain in 1944 when Montgomery and other influential people began advocating for a more standardized tank to replace the cruiser and infantry tank classes used on the field. Efforts did not start until after World War II under the General Staff designation A45, with development starting just as the new cruiser tank [[Centurion Mk 3|Centurion]] started to enter military service. The A45 was cancelled in 1948 after development troubles and its inability to be used as a "universal" platform. Ironically, the Centurion proved to be a better "universal tank" platform than the A45.<ref name="DunstanChieftain">Dunstan Simon. ''Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003</ref> | ||
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== Media == | == Media == | ||
| − | '' | + | ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' |
===Videos=== | ===Videos=== | ||
{{Youtube-gallery|W4R1fPzk-tU|Review: Chieftain Mk. III<br/> War Thunder Video Tutorials<br>|XlNDQ2PVPpI|The Chieftain at Bovington|D3OF9IvtHLk|Bovington Tank Museum Tank Chats: Chieftain}} | {{Youtube-gallery|W4R1fPzk-tU|Review: Chieftain Mk. III<br/> War Thunder Video Tutorials<br>|XlNDQ2PVPpI|The Chieftain at Bovington|D3OF9IvtHLk|Bovington Tank Museum Tank Chats: Chieftain}} | ||
| − | == | + | == See also == |
| − | + | ''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:'' | |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
* ''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.'' | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| + | == External links == | ||
| + | <!--Paste links to sources and external resources, such as: | ||
* ''topic on the official game forum;'' | * ''topic on the official game forum;'' | ||
| − | * ''other literature.'' | + | * ''encyclopedia page on the tank;'' |
| + | * ''other literature.''--> | ||
| + | [https://warthunder.com/en/devblog/current/885/ [Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> The Chieftain tank: A very British warlord!]<br /> | ||
{{Britain medium tanks}} | {{Britain medium tanks}} | ||
Revision as of 04:47, 15 May 2019
Contents
| This page is about the British medium tank Chieftain Mk 3. For other uses, see Chieftain (Family). |
Description
The Chieftain Mk 3 is a Rank VI British medium tank
with a battle rating of 8.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.57 "Battle March" and established the series of end-game ground vehicle for the British tree. The Chieftain imposes a formidable force of reckoning on the battlefield with its heavily sloped armour and powerful 120 mm armament.
The Chieftain series maintains the traditional UK lower front plate weak spot and strong turret armour of the Centurion series of tanks while increasing the firepower. Top speed increases from the Centurion line, but overall mobility is comparably worse.
General info
Survivability and armour
A major improvement from previous British mediums is the Chieftain's thick, sloped armour. Reaching a compound-angled 152 mm on the turret and a respectable 86 mm at 71° on the upper front hull, the Chieftain can actually resist point-blank shots from some cannons it will face at 8.3. In an up-tier, however, most of these benefits have less impact. This tank should avoid exposing its hull as certain tanks at (and most above) 8.3 can penetrate the hull with an APFSDS shot, knocking out the entire crew or detonating an ammo rack. The armour around the gun breach leaves something to be desired. Lower-rank APDS rounds (e.g. a T-54/55's APDS) can penetrate the right turret face at closer ranges, incapacitating the gunner and commander. The lower glacis is 76 mm at 45°, leading to a significant disadvantage in close-range engagements. Even 7.3 tanks (and many below 7.3) will always penetrate the lower glacis. The Chieftain also has thin side armour, meaning that the tank is vulnerable to flank attacks. The thin side armour also means angling the hull is not effective. A Chieftain should remain hull down (at the very least covering the lower frontal plate) to best take advantage of its armour profile.
Armour type:
- Cast homogeneous armour (Hull front, Turret)
- Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull sides, Hull rear, Hull roof, Turret roof)
| Armour | Front | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 70-127 mm (43-79°) Front glacis 76.2 mm (43-44°) Lower glacis |
88-220 (8-30°) + 13 mm Front Top 50 mm (1-31°) Center Top 37 mm (30°) + 13 mm Rear Top 37 (10°) + 13 mm Bottom |
37 mm (1-7°) | 13-28 mm |
| Turret | 125-250 mm (2-81°) Turret front 100-220 mm (1-53°) Gun mantlet |
45-196 mm (1-65°) | 45 mm (1°) | 50.8 mm Front 25 mm Rear |
| Armour | Sides | Roof | ||
| Cupola | 150 mm | 25 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
- Armour thickness throughout the vehicle is very complex and the tank relies more on sloping thickness to enhance its effective armour.
- The metal boxes on the sides of the turret and hull are 13 mm of structural steel.
Mobility
The Chieftain Mk 3 suffers from poor horsepower to tonne ratio. It is slow to reach its top speed of 41 km/h on almost any surface and will turn very slowly even when all mobility modules are researched. The Chieftain especially struggles uphill and when pivoting. It has decent reverse speed (~9.4 km/h, compared to the 13 km/h reverse speed of tanks on the Centurion chassis).
| Mobility characteristic | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weight (tons) | Add-on Armor weight (tons) |
Max speed (km/h) |
| 54.4 | N/A | 45 (AB) |
| 41 (RB/SB) | ||
| Engine power (horsepower) | ||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded |
| Arcade | 1,023 | 1,259 |
| Realistic/Simulator | 584 | 660 |
| Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | ||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded |
| Arcade | 18.80 | 23.14 |
| Realistic/Simulator | 10.73 | 12.13 |
Armaments
Main armament
The Chieftain's 120 mm gun has access to APDS and HESH when stock, with no researchable ammunition. The APDS shell has a very good slope modifier compared to other APDS and will penetrate essentially any vehicle from 8.3 to 9.3, but has relatively weak post-penetration effects. HESH behaves similar to other HESH shells in the game and is a more situational round. The cannon's reload rate is much faster than average for its calibre at its BR (7.5 seconds with a fully-trained crew).
| 120 mm L11 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance |
Stabilizer | ||
| 53 | -10°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | ||
| Turret rotation speed (°/s) | |||||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded | Prior + Full crew | Prior + Expert qualif. | Prior + Ace qualif. |
| Arcade | 13.40 | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| Realistic | 13.40 | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||
| Stock | Prior + Full crew | Prior + Expert qualif. | Prior + Ace qualif. | ||
| 9.70 | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | ||
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration in mm @ 90° | |||||
| 10m | 100m | 500m | 1000m | 1500m | 2000m | ||
| Shot L15A3 | APDS | 320 | 315 | 305 | 294 | 280 | 270 |
| Shell L31A7 | HESH | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity in m/s |
Projectile Mass in kg |
Fuse delay
in m: |
Fuse sensitivity
in mm: |
Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent): |
Normalization At 30° from horizontal: |
Ricochet: | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||
| Shot L15A3 | APDS | 1370 | 7.6 | N/A | N/A | N/A | +1.5° | 75° | 78° | 80° |
| Shell L31A7 | HESH | 670 | 17 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 4,100 | +0° | 73° | 77° | 80° |
| Smoke characteristic | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity in m/s |
Projectile Mass in kg |
Screen radius in m |
Screen time in s |
Screen hold time in s: |
Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent): |
| L34 | 670 | 17.0 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 50 |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | (+) | (+) | No |
Turret empty: 30 (+23)
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm L21A1 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coaxial mount (Ranging) | ||||||
| Capacity (Belt capacity) | Fire rate (shots/minute) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance | |||
| 588 (3) | 300 | N/A | N/A | |||
| 7.62 mm L37A1 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pintle mount | ||||||
| Capacity (Belt capacity) | Fire rate (shots/minute) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance | |||
| 2,000 (100) | 650 | -10°/+50° | ±120° | |||
| 7.62 mm L8A1 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coaxial mount | ||||||
| Capacity (Belt capacity) | Fire rate (shots/minute) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance | |||
| 6,000 (200) | 600 | N/A | N/A | |||
Usage in battles
Fundamental average for Chieftain: its rate of shooting and its penetration. With Chieftain there is few vehicles being able to resist to you, perhaps T95 or Maus, without your skill. Shoot anywhere at your enemy with L15A3 shells, you penetrate armour. Know where you shoot, you will penetrate all your enemies. That requires good knowledge of the enemy tanks. You have to know where are the shells, fuel tanks, crews. Don’t trouble about the shielding of an adversary, your Chieftain is a knife for butter. If you don't know your enemy, look in top on the right during replay penetration to locate the strategic places.
Defensively:
The Chieftain's gun is very accurate when equipped with all gun modules -- move to a location overlooking enemy movements from long range. Maintain a hull-down position whenever possible to hide your weaker hull. Consider placing camouflage bushes on your turret to force your enemy to spend more time aiming.
Offensively:
The Chieftain's common enemies are the German Leopard 1 tanks and Russian T-54s. Shoot it on front frame, where the shells are, for an assured popcorn effect. Don’t hesitate to try this on IS-3/4 or T-26/28/29, only shell place change (front side or turret rear).
Other tanks could be easily knocked out with fuel tank or disabled in aiming crew member. Don't forget that reload time is your best friend.
Beware to the width of Chieftain, often you let appear vulnerable parts when you turn in a transverse street.
Modules
The first upgrades to head for is Parts and FPE for increased survivability. Once you got these two, everything is good, but get the rangefinder for enhanced RB or SB gameplay.
- Spare parts
- Tracks (Critical for hull rotation speed. In the Chieftain, you'll need every little degree of speed.)
- Extinguishers FPE
- Horizontal drive
- Adjustment shooting
- Elevation mechanism
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Turret armour strong enough to bounce APDS, HEATFS and even some APDSFS shells
- Upper frontal plate is heavily sloped, providing adequate protection against enemies of the same rank
- Excellent reload time for a 120 mm (7.5-9.5 seconds)
- Access to 320 mm penetrating APDS shells and HESH shells immediately
- 10 degrees of gun depression
- Has access to a dual plane stabiliser
- Includes an additional range finding .50 calibre machine gun that can be separately bound
- Unlike other British tanks, it has a respectable reverse speed
Cons:
- Weak hull armour overall
- Lower frontal plate is very poorly armoured and has an ammo rack behind it
- Very weak side and rear armour
- Ammo rack everywhere
- Small ammo variety (APDS or HESH only) means that it struggles with modern composite armour
- APDS deals minimal, punctual damage
- Slowest of all MBTs
History
Concept
The idea of a "universal tank" began in Britain in 1944 when Montgomery and other influential people began advocating for a more standardized tank to replace the cruiser and infantry tank classes used on the field. Efforts did not start until after World War II under the General Staff designation A45, with development starting just as the new cruiser tank Centurion started to enter military service. The A45 was cancelled in 1948 after development troubles and its inability to be used as a "universal" platform. Ironically, the Centurion proved to be a better "universal tank" platform than the A45.[1]
Development
The Centurion tank series was very successful in British and its allies' service, but the development of new Soviet armour such as the IS-3 and T-54/55 caused the British tank arms race to take another leap forward. Development on the Centurion's successor began in 1951 under the name Medium Gun Tank No. 2. The project's priority was gun and armour, but with mobility to be equal to the Centurion's and weight of fewer than 45 tons. The weight limit caused a program known as the Concept Study Programme to commence in order to find ways to keep the tank under that weight limit yet meet all the armour and firepower specifications. One of the concepts that came out was the usage of bagged charges, which was already in use on naval ships but was a new concept for tank ammunition. Thus, a gun using the bagged charge propellant system began development in 1954, along with a new specification by General Staff that the Medium Gun Tank No.2, now known as FV4201, uses a conventional four crew tank with a turret and a better gun and armour than the Centurion. Though the Conqueror heavy tank was one such response to the firepower requirement, limited production cut that to only 200 units built.[1]
The biggest bump to the firepower of the FV4201 was the recommendation of a 120 mm calibre tank cannon. Though the Conqueror used a 120 mm, the new one would incorporate more innovative features such as the bagged charges. Other design features added was the usage of a Rolls-Royce V8 engine, an auxiliary engine, an automatic gearbox, and a reclining seat for the driver. The reclining seat was a very new feature in tank design as it reduced the vehicle's hull height and thus gave it a lower profile. Leyland Motors was assigned to be the main designer for the tank despite their commitment to the Centurion production lines. The manufacturing process of the tank was decided to be cast rather than welded. In 1957, several specifications added to the FV4201 impeded its attempt to fit in the specifications. A bigger turret was designed and it mounted IR equipment for night fighting. Troops requested more frontal and turret side armour, which along with the turret change caused an increase in the tank's overall weight. A controversial decision was also made in 1957 by NATO that tanks should have multi-fuel engines. The FV4201 installed a new engine conforming to these standards in 1958, a German engine derived from a Junkers Jumo aviation engine. This extended development time since the engine compartment had to be redesigned to fit the engine, raising the total tank weight to 50 tons. The engine, designated the L60, was received with a mixed reception by the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) and other users due to its novel features. Britain stayed as the only user of a multi-fuel engine in the Cold War as many other nations found the concept impractical and abandoned it.[1]
As the FV4201 finalized its prototype stages, General Staff sent a revised specification for it. The tank was to have the firepower of the Conqueror with the mobility of the Centurion, an armour that maximizes the protection-weight ratio, a weight limit at 45 ton with a top speed of 26 mph and an operating range of 300 miles. The first wooden prototype was made in March 1959, with full prototypes ordered in June 1959 for troop trials. Vickers-Armstrong and Royal Ordnance Factory shared the manufacturing process and the first prototypes were built in January 1960. The first two prototype FV4201 was trialled in Germany alongside their new Leopard 1. The greatest issue with the FV4201 was the engine, which caused many failures due to vibration, a result of the flawed multi-fuel concept. Trials were delayed due to lack of parts to fix broken pieces and redesigns were requested to fix problems. After a lengthy trial period in 1962, the FV4201, now named the Chieftain, was sent to the operational unit in Germany for service and combat trials. The Chieftain was finally accepted for service in 1st May 1963, despite the many faults in the design. The first deliveries of the improved and redesigned Chieftains began in mid-1965. These were the Chieftain Mk.1's, which further revealed problems with the horsepower that the Mk.2 was designed and sent in April 1966. The Chieftain Mk.3 rolled out of the production lines in September 1969, it now weighed 53 tons and the L60 engine was producing 650 hp, still underpowered for the weight. Engine failures were still frequent and left the Chieftain with a sour note until the Mk.5 variant fixed these pressing issues with a new engine and NBC protection. The Mk.5 would be the main variant of the Chieftain in British service. During its production life from 1965 to 1985, a total of 2,265 Chieftains would be built by Britain, with about 1,000 used by the British Army.[1]
Service
The first British units to receive the Chieftains was the 1st and 5th Royal Tank Regiments back during the trials. The Chieftain, despite its initial engine flaws, proved to be combat-proof and could be upgraded to fit new requirements. Some of these upgrades were the addition of composite add-on armour to fight off new anti-tank technology such as the HEAT rounds. The Chieftain earned the title "most formidable tank in the world" during the 1960's Cold War period and also redefined the specifications of a "main battle tank". Its success is due to its novel main gun and heavily sloped armour, as well as satisfactory mobility and speeds able to compete with the Leopard 1. The Chieftain stayed in use by the British Army On the Rhine on the German border with the Warsaw Pact, which caused the Soviets to in turn station their best tanks such as their T-64's against the Chieftains. The British retained the Chieftains all the way until 1995 when it was replaced by the Challenger I.
The Chieftain was also successful in the export market, primarily in the Middle East to the hands of Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, and Oman. Another user of the Chieftain was Israel, with Britain initially agreeing to help set up production for locally produced Chieftains. Two Chieftains were sent for trials among the Israeli Defense Force in 1967. After two years of trials and deliberation for the acquirement of the Chieftains, Britain ultimately refused to offer the Israelis the Chieftain for political reasons. The Israeli trials benefit Britain with data on desert combat with the Chieftain, however, and the refusal did jump start Israel's tank program that would become the Merkava.
Despite that, sales to the Middle East soared, with Iran being the major buyer of the Chieftains with at least 887 of mostly the MK3 and MK5 variants sent to them before their revolution in 1979. The Chieftain saw prolonged combat in the Middle East in the Iran-Iraq War, including Operation Nasr which was the largest tank vs. tank battle of the war where the Iranian Chieftains and M60A1 Pattons fought against the Iraqi T-62s. After that war, the Chieftain in Kuwait then saw combat fighting the Iraqis during their invasion in 1990. Kuwait eventually replaced their Chieftains with the Yugoslavian M-84 tanks, which are a variant of the Soviet T-72s.
The Chieftain is still in service Iran, Jordan, and Oman in varying numbers, about 100 in Iran, 350 in Jordan, and 27 in Oman. The Chieftains underwent local upgrades to keep them up to date against a modern threat, which resulted in the Iran Mobarez Chieftain upgrade.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
Videos
War Thunder Video Tutorials
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
[Devblog] The Chieftain tank: A very British warlord!
| 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" |
