Challenger 2 (2F)

This page is about the British medium tank Challenger 2 (2F). For other uses, see Challenger (Disambiguation).

Challenger 2 (2F)

Challenger 2

Challenger 2 TES

Challenger 2 (2F)

Challenger 2

Challenger 2 TES

Britain

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
11.7	11.7	11.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:175 000

Purchase:950 000

Show in game

Description

The Tank, Combat, 120-mm Gun, Challenger 2 (Dorchester Level 2F) is a rank VII British medium tank with a battle rating of 11.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Starfighters".

General info

Survivability and armour

ERA

Effective action against the cumulative ammunition

Composite armour

Balanced protection against all types of ammunition

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

ESS

Creation of a smoke screen in the direction of movement of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull130 / 38 / 50

Turret270 / 80 / 58

Crew4 people

Visibility88 %

The Challenger 2 (2F) was created to give increased protection against shaped charges and as much is evident when evaluating the armour. While the internal composite armour remains the same from the previous variant, a large amount of external composite and ERA has been added to the hull front and sides as well as the turret sides. Additional slat armour has also been mounted to the sides and rear of the hull and turret.

With the only real change being the additional external armour, the same structural weakspots that exist on the Challenger 2 remain on the 2F. The large driver's port is an obvious target for enemy armour, which can penetrate it at almost any angle due to only RHA protection. Kinetic rounds aimed through the driver's port from the direct or near-direct front will often go straight through the tank, often taking several crew members, the cannon breach or the engine, occasionally resulting in a knocked out crew. Chemical rounds are less effective but fragments may set off the charges stored next to the driver, especially when fired at from above.

The gun mantlet is also a large weakspot, although kinetic rounds will be most effective, as chemical rounds will often only knock out the cannon breach or be blocked by the optics mounted at the top of the gun, which will allow the tank to pull back and repair provided it has the distance to do so. Kinetic rounds will often not fragment properly, going straight through the back of the turret, at max taking out two crew members due to the breach acting as a shield to the other side of the turret. Only when attacking from above will rounds have a significant chance of detonating ammunition due to the 2 stage system used by British tanks. Any ammunition stored in the turret will be warheads which are not able to be detonated.

As with the last variant and many other MBTs, the sides have no real kinetic protection, however the 2F has additional protection against chemical rounds. Most shots to the side of the front half of the turret have a high likelihood of taking out the cannon breach and a crew member, occasionally knocking out 2 or 3 crew. Any shots the the back half of the turret from the side will be ineffective due to the large amount of empty space. Aiming low on the tank's hull will give the best results for penetration and ammo detonation. Despite the additional ERA on the lower frontal plate, chemical rounds such as the German DM12A1 can still get through, and can get through the side mounted composite screens on a flat angle (0-25°).

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	38-50 mm (56-83°) Upper Plate 70 mm (31-34°) Lower Glacis 60 mm (0-80°) Driver's Port	25 mm Top (70°) 25 mm Middle (0°) 38 mm Bottom (0°)	25 mm (32°)	10-20 mm
Turret	38 - 50 mm (56-82°) Turret Front 30 mm (3-82°) Gun Mantlet	20-25 mm (8-10°)	20 mm (18°)	10-38 mm
Cupola	8 mm (3-78°)	8 mm (9-60°)	8 mm (1-80°)	44-60 mm
Composite Armour	Front	Sides
Hull	Upper Kinetic: 420-1000 mm Chemical: 700-950 mm Lower Kinetic: 100-400 mm Chemical: 350-570 mm	Ext. Composite with NERA: Kinetic: 30 mm Chemical: 400 mm
Turret	Turret Cheeks Kinetic: 440-720 mm Chemical: 780-1000 mm	Internal Composite Kinetic: 190-740 mm Chemical: 300-1000 mm Ext. Composite with NERA Kinetic: 30 mm Chemical: 400 mm

Notes:

• Upper Frontal Plate has additional 10 mm external plate.
• Lower Frontal Plate has 25.4 mm external steel and ROMOR-A ERA.
• Parts of the side and rear hull have mounted Slat Armour (50 mm Chemical Protection).

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB66 / 42 km/h

RB and SB60 / 38 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

4 back

Weight69.0 t

Engine power

AB2 322 hp

RB and SB1 217 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB33.7 hp/t

RB and SB17.6 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)		Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse	Stock	AoA	Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	66	42	62.5	1.1	1,886	2,322	30.18	36.51
Realistic	60	38			1,076	1,217	17.22	19.14

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 193 → 6 851

RB4 097 → 6 694

SB5 183 → 8 469

Total cost of modifications279 500

461 000

Talisman cost3 000

Crew training270 000

Experts950 000

Aces2 200

Research Aces1 210 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

150 / 190 / 210 %

244 / 244 / 244 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 300 Suspension Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 330 Brake System Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 330 Filters Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 480 Transmission Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400 Engine Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400	Improved Parts Research: 3 600 Cost: 19 000 300 Improved FPE Research: 3 900 Cost: 20 000 330 Crew Replenishment Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 480 ESS Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400	Horizontal Drive Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 300 120mm_britain_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 300 120mm_britain_L26_APDSFS_ammo_pack Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 300 Adjustment of Fire Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 330 NVD Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 330 Elevation Mechanism Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 480 Dorchester 2F Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 480 Laser rangefinder Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400 120mm_britain_L27_APDSFS_ammo_pack Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400 Artillery Support Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Night vision device

Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Thermal imager

Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Setup 1:120 mm L30A1 cannon

7.62 mm L94A1 machine gun

7.62 mm L37A2 machine gun

Setup 2:120 mm L30A1 cannon

7.62 mm L94A1 machine gun

7.62 mm L37A2 machine gun

Main armament

120 mm L30A1 cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition49 rounds

First-order4 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

6.5 → 5.0 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 20°

120 mm L30A1					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	50	-10°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	29.5	40.8	49.6	54.8	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	457	450	443
L27A1	APFSDS	538	536	532	525	518	511

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Shot L23A1	APFSDS	1,535	3.89	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°
Shell L31A7	HESH	670	17.1	0.05	0.1	6,560	73°	77°	80°
L26	APFSDS	1,550	4.1	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°
L27A1	APFSDS	1,550	4.1	N/A	N/A	N/A	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
50	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Machine guns

7.62 mm L94A1 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition4 000 rounds

Belt capacity2 000 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate600 shots/min

7.62 mm L37A2 machine gun

Ammunition1 700 rounds

Belt capacity100 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate650 shots/min

7.62 mm L37A2
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	1,700 (100)	650	-10°/+50°	±180°

7.62 mm L94A1
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	2,300 (2,000)	600	N/A	N/A

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:

• Better HP/weight ratio than Challenger 2
• Effective side-ERA against air-to-ground missiles
• Fast reload, particularly for a 120 mm (5 seconds aced)
• Sights with high zoom, 2nd generation thermals and a wide FOV
• High reverse of -40 kph
• The L30A1 120mm gun is incredibly accurate, even at long range
• turret cheeks are invulnerable to all HEAT-FS and even to DM53

Cons:

• Vulnerable commander's hatch and cannon breech
• No CITV
• Dorchester 2F only marginally increases LFP armour
• Dorchester 2F adds 1100 kilo’s of weight to an already sluggish tank
• L27A1 has low penetration compared to other top rank NATO ammunition
• large weakspots , especially the mantlet

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: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

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See also

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• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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