Track pads had to be fitted to protect roads from damage and the ground clearance increased. This increased the design weight to nearly 50 tons and as such the suspension (which had been designed for 45 tons) was strengthened. Changes to address engine vibration and cooling resulted in redesign of the rear hull. The first few prototypes were provided for troop trials from 1959, this identified a number of changes. The tank was expected to achieve 10 rounds per minute in the first minute and six per minute for the following four. To this end the gun was to have a greater angle of depression than the 8 degrees of Conqueror and better frontal armour.

The tank was expected to be able to engage the enemy at long range and from defensive positions, be proof against medium artillery. The General Staff specification drew on experience of Centurion in the Korean War and Conqueror. Leyland, who had been involved in Centurion, had built their own prototypes of a new tank design in 1956, and these led to a War Office specification for a new tank. A single design combining the firepower of the Conqueror’s 120 mm gun with the mobility and general usefulness of the Centurion would be ideal.Ĭhieftain of 3rd Troop, C Squadron, The 14th/20th King’s Hussars in Berlin about 1985. However, the introduction of the Soviet IS-3 heavy tank forced the introduction of their own Conqueror heavy tank, armed with a 120 mm gun. British engineers had learned during the war that their tanks often lacked sufficient protection and firepower compared to those fielded by the enemy, and that this had led to high casualty levels when faced with the superior German tanks in World War II. Centurion addressed this to a great degree, combining higher levels of armour and an improved gun, which made it at least equal to any of the contemporary medium tanks. The Chieftain was an evolutionary development of the successful cruiser line of tanks that had emerged at the end of the Second World War.

It remained in service until replaced with the Challenger 1. It was one of the most advanced tanks of its era, and at the time of its introduction in 1966 had the most powerful main gun and most effective armour of any tank in the world. The Chieftain also introduced a supine (reclining backwards) driver position, enabling a heavily sloped hull with reduced height. The Chieftain tank was the main battle tank of the United Kingdom during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Chieftain main battle tank