Khalid
Contents
Description
The Khalid (FV4030/2) is a premium rank VI British medium tank with a battle rating of 9.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Apex Predators".
A modernized Chieftain Mk.5 sold to Jordan in late 1970s after the Islamic Revolution in Iran spoiled the original sales to Iran. Thanks to a new 1,200 hp engine, it now enjoys better overall mobility over its predecessors in UK service while utilizing the fire control system from later Mk.10s. But players have to beware of its not-so-effective protection and no APFSDS is available to the Khalid.
Note: Khalid (lit. eternal) is a common name in Arabic World and not to be confused with the Al-Khalid MBT from Pakistan
General info
Survivability and armour
The Khalid looks exactly like any other Chieftain plus a panoramic periscope with NVD and digital camo. As the tank is based on Chieftain Mk 5, the appearance and the overall dimensions are totally identical where they both shared a curved, cast hull armour and cast turret; protection-wise, it might be sufficient at earlier tiers where it will face some kinetic shells from "doomsday tank" or earliest APDS shells- this is not the case for Khalid as it now sits at a BR where HEATs are commonplace and APFSDS as well. The hull armour might sometimes do miracles on shots that falls onto the armour at extreme angles, but it will most likely be penetrated with some extent of damages to the tank; while the turret itself has around 280 mm of armour at its thickest point which might not sound much, the irregular shape of the turret does help to bounce off oncoming shells at longer ranges and in hull-down position. Although the internal components seem packed, chances are the shrapnel will only be enough to take out the driver and damage some components, the tank itself would still survive that shot and having the chance to return fire.
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | 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 |
| Cupola | 150 mm | 25 mm | ||
Notes:
Mobility
The Chieftain series are known for their rather sluggish mobility and top speed (at only 48 km/h), but in Khalid's case, since the export version for Chieftains opted for the latest Rolls-Royce (later Perkins) CV-12 engine and TN-34 transmission which would eventually used on FV4030 Challengers, this means a vastly improvement on its mobility; not only this can push the tank at a higher top speed at 56 km/h with higher acceleration, it also has a high reverse speed (at -37 km/h), making it surprisingly flexible for enemy encounters.
| 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 | 58 | _,___ | 2,322 | __.__ | 40.03 |
| Realistic | 56 | 37 | _,___ | 1,217 | __.__ | 20.98 | |
Modifications and economy
2 × 150 / 200 / 230 % 2 × 220 / 220 / 220 % | Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
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Armaments
Main armament
Although the L11A5 gun and its calibre of 120 mm has been the weapon of choice for Chieftain, which was one of the most advanced tanks of its era, this is not the case for the Khalid. Since the overall upgrades on Khalid focus on the FCS, the gun laying mechanism is totally identical to its tech-tree predecessors, players might find this problematic as this gives less reaction time than its other NATO counterparts; but the relatively high rate of fire does mitigate some gun handling problems. It is still advised to keep extra situational awareness for best utilization.
To conclude, Khalid has rather obsolete firepower for its tier; but aiming carefully or take flanks can still make good use of the gun.
| 120 mm Ordnance BL Tk. L11 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 54 | -10°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | 21.4 | 29.6 | 36.0 | 39.8 | 42.4 | 9.75 | 8.63 | 7.95 | 7.50 |
| Realistic | 13.4 | 15.8 | 19.1 | 21.1 | 22.5 | ||||||||
Ammunition
- L15A3; APDS - The most common round for British 120 mm for pre-Challenger tanks and the only kinetic shell option for Khalid. Although it is more than enough to take down most tanks which happen to run into Khalid, but at its current BR where T-64A and T-72A appear, the shell very likely does nothing to them without hitting the LFP or driver's hatch. So aim carefully for a single-shot knock-out as the APDS has lesser spalling.
- L31A7; HESH - The other common round for British 120 mm up to this date, the shell itself has rather high penetration for a HESH shell and will very likely disintegrate any light vehicle that happen to run into Khalid. Alternatively, this also gives Khalid the chance to take down tanks with their hatches exposed as the shell "sticks" to the surface and cause extensive damage to the interior of enemy tanks, either from spalling or overpressure.
- L23; APFSDS
| 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 L15A3 | APDS | 298 | 296 | 288 | 277 | 268 | 258 |
| Shell L31A7 | HESH | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 |
| Shot L23 | APFSDS | 410 | 408 | 405 | 400 | 390 | 380 |
| 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 L15A3 | APDS | 1,372 | 7.48 | - | - | - | 75° | 78° | 80° | |||
| Shell L31A7 | HESH | 670 | 17.34 | 0.1 | 4 | 6.53 | 73° | 77° | 80° | |||
| Shot L23 | APFSDS | 1,535 | 3.89 | - | - | - | 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 |
Although smoke grenade launchers equip the Khalid to lay a protective smoke screen, there is still an option for gun-launched smoke shells to block enemy's eyesight and sometimes TVD cameras in case for a retreat or changing position.
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Machine guns
A common feature for British tanks are their lack of high-calibre machine guns, Khalid also falls into this norm with only rifle-calibre machine guns for gun-ranging and handling infantry, only good for gunning down exposed crews or sometimes aircraft in rare occasions.
| 7.62 mm L8A1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 6,000 (200) | 600 | N/A | N/A |
| 7.62 mm L37A1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 2,000 (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:
- Overall better mobility over previous Chieftains thanks to the new power pack
- High gun depression for the main cannon
- Access to a panoramic periscope for commander with override capabilities
- The hull and cast turret's shape can sometimes bounce off incoming shots
- Good APFSDS round with high penetration
Cons:
- Lacks any form of composite armour to negate HEAT shells
- Relatively obsolete protection at its BR
- Fixed 8x gunsight that could be a problem at long-range engagements
- Rather large size at its tier
- Relatively slow gun traverse speed
History
Before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Pahlavi Iran had already planned for upgrades on their armed forces equipment in view of the menacing Soviet forces in Central Asia and (subsequently, after the overthrown and execution of Hafizullah Amin in 1979) the bordering Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA), the plans for new MBTs for the Iranian Army were also on schedule as early as 1971. As the FV4001 Chieftain series MBT were already obsolete by the late 1970s with the introduction of advanced Soviet MBTs (i.e. T-64), the British were also attempting to upgrade a new export tank based on the Chieftain with better power pack and subsystems. The new tank, known as the Shir-1 (Lion-1), was based on the Chieftain Mk.5 and started its development in 1974, receiving more than 700 orders. Featuring upgraded FCS, the new tanks, at over a thousand of them and planned to be manufactured in Royal Ordnance Leeds, were intended to be delivered by 1980.
However, the Islamic Revolution put an end to the project, and the parts from this failed delivery to Iran needed to be dealt with. Plans included upgrading Chieftains in British service on the European Mainland which was deemed uneconomical by the eventual (but in vain) introduction of the MBT-80. Soon after, negotiations were made with Jordan who at the time needed new tanks for desert combat. The deal was made in November 1979 at £220 million for 274 tanks. The new "Khalid" featured an even better powerpack using the Rolls-Royce (later Perkins) CV-12 1,200 hp engine and the delivery started in 1981. The tank is currently still in service with Royal Jordanian Army alongside with some captured Mk.3P/5P from Iraq, who captured some quantities during the Iraq-Iran War.[1]
Media
- Skins
See also
- Related development
External links
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|---|---|
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| Jordan | Khalid |
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| Britain premium ground vehicles | |
|---|---|
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| Vijayanta · Khalid · Challenger DS · Challenger 2 OES | |
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| Tank destroyers | Alecto I · Achilles (65 Rg.) · QF 3.7 Ram |
