British Army CHALLENGER 1 - Main Battle Tank FV4030/4
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Units built: 420 ( read more below )
Weight: 62 Tonnes
Crew: 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Armour: Chobham, classified Armour
Main armament: Royal Ordnance L11A5 120 mm rifled gun 64 rounds stored
Secondary armament: 7.62 mm L8A2, 7.62 mm L37A2 machine guns 4,000 rounds stored
Engine: Rolls-Royce CV12 26 litre diesel 1,200 hp (895 kW)
Suspension: hydropneumatic (Hydrogas)
Operational range: 450 kilometres (280 miles) on road
Speed: 56 kilometres per hour (35 mph)
Manufacturer: Royal Ordnance Factory
221 Challenger mk1 Tanks were deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Granby, the UK operation in the Persian Gulf War.
In the original deployment, the 7th Armoured Brigade included 2 armoured regiments, the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars and the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, both equipped with 57 of the latest Mk 3 version of the Challenger 1.
They were modified for desert operations by a REME team and civilian contractors at the quayside in Al Jubayl, Saudi Arabia.
This fit included additional Chobham Armour along the hull sides and explosive reactive armour (ERA) on the nose and front glacis plate. Modifications also included the provision of extra external fuel drums and a smoke generator.
There were major concerns about the reliability of the vehicle. In addition there were serious worries about how a tank designed to perform in temperate climates would stand the rigours of desert warfare. Before the commencement of the Gulf War deployment only 22% of Challenger 1's were operational because of faults and lack of spares available.
On 22 November 1990, it was decided to add the 4th Mechanized Brigade to the force, under the umbrella of 1st (UK) Armoured Division.
The new brigade had a single Challenger regiment, 14th/20th King's Hussars, equipped with 43 Challenger 1 tanks and reinforced by a squadron of the Life Guards.
They were equipped with the Mark 2 version of the tank, which was upgraded by armouring the storage bins for the 120 mm charges as well as the additional armour fitted to the Mk 3's.
During Operation Desert Shield it was decided that the 1st (UK) Armoured Division would be placed under the command of the US VII Corps. This corps would form the armoured fist of the Coalition forces, tasked with destroying the bulk of the Iraqi forces.
The forces of VII corps crossed the Saudi border into Iraq, and then crossed into Kuwait.
The 1st (UK) Armoured Division was the easternmost unit in VII Corp's sector, its Challenger tanks forming the spearhead of the advance.
The division advanced nearly 350 km within 97 hours, destroying the Iraqi 46th Mechanised Brigade, 52nd Armoured Brigade and elements of at least three infantry divisions belonging to the Iraqi 7th corps in a series of battles and engagements. They captured or destroyed about 120 tanks and a very large number of armoured personnel carriers, trucks, reconnaissance vehicles.
The main threat to the Challenger was deemed to be the Iraqi Republican Guard's T-72M tanks; each British tank was provided with twelve L26A1 "Jericho" depleted uranium (DU) shells specifically for use against T-72Ms, but during the course of the Coalition's ground campaign none was encountered as the division was withdrawn beforehand.
Challenger 1 entered service with the British Army in 1983 and production ceased in 1990 at a cost of around £2 Million each
In 1986, ROF Leeds (and the Challenger production line) was acquired by Vickers Defence Systems (later Alvis Vickers).
Jordan initially purchased 274 Challenger 1 tanks.
Under an agreement signed in March 1999 another 288 surplus Challenger 1s were supplied to Jordan over a three year period, which enabled the Jordanian Centurion fleet ( known locally as Tariq ) to be replaced.
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