War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

Centurion Mk.5 AVRE

2019-05-14T15:28:19Z

U22921996: /* Survivability and armour */ Added basic overview to amour layout, requires more infomation

{{Specs-Card
|code = uk_centurion_mk_5_avre_era
|store = 6225
}}
{{Notice|''This page is about the medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''. For other uses, see [[Centurion (Disambiguation)]]''}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''', or simply the '''{{Specs|pseudonym}}''' is a gift Rank {{Specs|rank}} British medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.79 "Project X"]].

== General info ==
=== 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.''

Overall the amour on the AVRE is similar to that on the [[Centurion Mk 3|Centurion Mk3]] gun tank with three major differences: ROMOR-A ERA, composite side skirts and a dozer blade. The ERA provides additional protection (300mm HEAT, 30mm KE) on key areas of the tank, namely the turret face and upper glacis plate, but this has little impact against most opponents due to the majority of shells at tier being of the KE variety. It also changes the visible profile of the turret, obscuring the weak points on the standard Centurion turret beneath. The composite side skirts provide a significant increase in protection against small calibre HEAT and auto-cannon fire, increasing it to the point where rounds can no longer penetrate the side armour. They do not change the effect of MBT rounds however as the additional protection simply isn't enough to stop them. The dozer blade may seem unimportant at first glance as it consists of 70mm of structural steel, not RHA, but this is not the case. The blade acts as spaced armour against most rounds aimed at the hull, adding around 60mm against KE and 200mm against HEAT. This can also be added to by the ERA on the front plate, overall providing greater than 400mm of protection against HEAT rounds.

=== Mobility ===
''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and maneuverability as well as the maximum speed forward and backward.''

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===

{{main|ORD BL 6.5in L9A1 demolition charge projector (165 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[ORD BL 6.5in L9A1 demolition charge projector (165 mm)|165 mm ORD BL 6.5in L9A1 demolition charge projector]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 53 || -10°/+18° || ±180° || N/A
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 17.1 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 10.7 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 27.7 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 0° Angle of Attack'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| L33A1 || HESH || 203 || 203 || 203 || 203 || 203 || 203
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| L33A1 || HESH || 259 || 30.6 || 0.4 || 2.0 || 20,310 || +0° || 73° || 77° || 80°
|-
|}

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumbnail|x250px|Ammo racks of the {{PAGENAME}}.]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |4th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |5th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |6th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''53''' || XX ''(X+)'' ||  ''(+)'' ||  ''(+)'' ||  ''(+)'' ||  ''(+)'' ||  ''(+)'' || style="text-align:left" | no
|-
|}

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|L3A1 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[L3A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm L3A1]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Pintle mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 1,250 (250) || 500 || -10°/+80° || ±180°
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 3,250 (250) || 500 || 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 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:'''

* Has a powerful 165mm gun that fires shells with the explosive mass of 15.87 kg, equal to 20.31k g TNT, one hit can always deal serious damage to the enemy vehicles.
* ROMOR-A ERA equivalent protection against 30 mm kinetic energy munitions and 300 mm chemical energy munitions.
* The dozer blade in front it can provide additional protection, especially protect the lower glacis.
* Low muzzle velocity can allow the trajectory to hit some enemies hide behind the slope, especially in AB.
* Composite side skirts.
* Acceptable reload time.
* Can help repair teammates.
* Very useful in the close range combat, especially in urban warfare.
* Good reverse speed.
* Smoke grenade can be released twice.
* A five-man crew, unlike other Centurion designs.

'''Cons:'''

* Terrible muzzle velocity makes this vehicle not very useful in the open area, especially in RB.
* Low top speed.
* Centurion is a large tank = larger target.
* Side armor is still very weak.
* Only has HESH as its only ammunition.
* Based on Centurion Mk 5, which is similar as the Centurion Mk 3, so it has the similar weak spots as the Centurion Mk 3 (like the turret ring).
* Top of the engine deck can be easily penetrated by planes.

== History ==

In the 1960s, the British army felt the need for a modern multi-functional engineering vehicle. They chose the Centurion Mk 5 main battle tank base to replace the outdated engineering tank, which used a Churchill chassis. Since the engineering vehicle’s tasks were rather specific, the Centurion chassis was given special equipment: the tank received a bulldozer scoop, a device was mounted above the scoop for laying fascines, the altered rear armour plate was equipped with a tow hitch, and a seat was installed next to the driver’s seat for a new, fifth crew member – a navigator. The engineering vehicle, which was called the Centurion AVRE (abbreviated from Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers) was designed to carry a special engineering gun capable of destroying fortifications, pillboxes and other fortified defensive positions. That gun was the short-barreled L9, a 165 mm caliber cannon with low recoil. The vehicle received an ammunition complement of 53 shots with high-explosive squash head (HESH) shells with huge destructive force – each charge contained almost 16 kilograms of explosives. The Centurion AVRE became the standard engineering vehicle for the British Army and participated in several armed conflicts, including the 1991 Gulf War. In the 80’s, Centurion AVRE’s were modernized, receiving additional armour including ROMOR reactive armour - this modification was used in operation “Desert Storm”. The vehicle was retired in 1993.

''- From [https://warthunder.com/en/news/5513-development-centurion-avre-engineer-at-war-en Devblog]''

== Media ==

===Live.Warthunder===
[https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=britain&vehicleType=tank&vehicleClass=medium_tank&vehicle=uk_centurion_mk_5_avre_era '''Skins''' and '''camouflages''' for the Centurion Mk.5 AVRE from live.warthunder.com.]

===Videos===
{{Youtube-gallery|cDGBk2JKjMY|Premium Vehicles - Centurion Mk 5 AVRE}}

== 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 ==


* [https://warthunder.com/en/news/5513-development-centurion-avre-engineer-at-war-en [Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> Centurion AVRE: Engineer at War]

{{Britain medium tanks}}
{{Britain premium ground vehicles}}

HMS Tiger

2019-05-11T18:51:43Z

U22921996: /* Entire article */ Added information in most unfinished sections

{{Specs-Card|code=uk_cruiser_tiger}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a Rank {{Specs|rank}} British light cruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.87 "Locked On"]] as a reward for the [https://warthunder.com/en/news/6145-special-battlefield-engineer-en "Battlefield Engineer"] event.

== General info ==

=== Armour ===
Overall HMS Tiger has adequate, but not impenetrable, protection with large areas vulnerable in a close range engagement. The armour on HMS Tiger follows an all or nothing scheme with only the critical areas of the ship protected. The belt consists of a main 89 mm RHA section that extends across most of the ship's length, protecting just above and just below the waterline. There is also a secondary section of 51 mm RHA that extends above the main belt to provide additional protection to the engine compartment. The main guns are lightly armoured, ranging from 55 mm RHA on the front turret face to 20 mm RHA on the turret sides. The strongest armour on HMS Tiger is the 50 mm RHA deck armour that covers the entire length of the ship. Unlike the majority of its tech tree equivalents this armour is situated on the weather deck, effectively protecting not just the engines rooms but all systems below the bridge and turrets. This provides effective protection against plunging fire from all guns smaller than cruiser calibre.

The main battery magazines are poorly protected with only half of each covered by the main belt. Additionally they situated entirely above the waterline, making them highly vulnerable to detonations. These magazines are also massive, each taking up an entire turrets worth of space within the ship. Compared to the main magazines, the secondary magazines are significantly smaller and more protected, situated entirely behind the main armour belt.

The bridge and radio room sit exposed in the superstructure opposed to below deck or within an armoured conning tower. This makes them extremely vulnerable to any form of gun fire, not just cruiser calibre shells.

=== Survivability ===
Survivabilty on HMS Tiger is lower than a lot of cruisers of the same size. This can be attributed to her overall low number of guns combined with her exposed main battery magazines. As the main armament consists of only two turrets a couple of shells from a high calibre gun can entirely knock out her main guns, removing her ability to retaliate. The secondary guns don't fair much better as they are also low in number and easy to damage. The biggest boon to her surviablity is her crew count of 880, meaning any shells that don't cause damage to a critical system will have minimal effect on the performance of the ship.

=== Mobility ===
''Write about the ship’s mobility. Evaluate its power and manoeuvrability, rudder rerouting speed, stopping speed at full tilt, with its maximum forward speed and reverse speed.''

== Armament ==
=== Primary armament ===
The main armament consists of four [[6 inch/50 QF Mark N5 (152 mm)|6 inch/50 QF Mark N5]] guns mounted in two turrets, one forward and one aft. These guns are able to fire 6 inch HE stock and 6 inch AP as a T1 modification.

{| class="wikitable sortable" width="100%" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="8" |Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" |Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" |Type of
warhead
! colspan="6" |'''Penetration''' ''in mm'' '''@ 90°'''
|-
!1000m
!2500m
!5000m
!7500m
!10000m
!15000m
|-
|6 inch AP||APHE||290||266||210||174||141||90
|-
|6 inch HE||HE||71||61||55||55||55||55
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" width="100%" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="10" |Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" |Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" |Type of
warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity
in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile
Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" |''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" |''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" |''Explosive Mass in g'' ''(TNT equivalent):''
! colspan="3" |''Ricochet:''
|-
!0%
!50%
!100%
|-
|6 inch AP||APHE||768||58.9||2||10||884||48°||63°||71°
|-
|6 inch HE||HE||768||59.9||N/A||0.1||7,100||79°||80°||81°
|-
|}
The main armaments strength comes not from the weight of their broadside, as it only consists of four shells, but from their reload speed. The main calibre reload varies from 3s to 3.9s depending on crew skills, giving HMS Tiger by far the quickest reload of a gun this size. Her quick reload allows her to rapidly switch ammunition types to best suit the current situation. It also means her overall shells per minute is comparable to other cruisers, even with her low barrel count.

The mounting for these guns are also very versatile due to their quick turn rate of 17° per second and wide firing angles of ±150°. This allows her to quickly reacted to changes in the engagement, taking under 18s to fully rotate her turrets and only 10.5s to turn them 180°. These wide firing angles also mean she can show minimal broadside to get all her main guns engaged, reducing the chance of an enemy shell penetrating her belt.

Because these guns are dual purpose they fire at anything and everything within range, micromanagement of priorities by the captain can greatly increase their effectiveness.

=== Secondary armament ===
The secondary armament consists of a small amount of the best dual purpose guns currently fitted to a ship, the [[3 inch/70 Mark 6 (76 mm)|3 inch/70 Mark 6]] cannon. This cannon is mounted in three twin mounts in various positions across the ship (one front and one on either side of the superstructure), proving good all round firing arcs with minimal blind spots. These turrets only fire one type of ammunition, the 3 inch NC101 HE-VT radio fused shell.

{| class="wikitable sortable" width="100%" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="8" |Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" |Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" |Type of
warhead
! colspan="6" |'''Penetration''' ''in mm'' '''@ 90°'''
|-
!1000m
!2500m
!5000m
!7500m
!10000m
!15000m
|-
|3 inch NC101 HE-VT||HE-VT||34||27||21||16||12||8
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" width="100%" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="10" |Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" |Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" |Type of
warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity
in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile
Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" |''Trigger radius''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" |''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" |''Explosive Mass in g'' ''(TNT equivalent):''
! colspan="3" |''Ricochet:''
|-
!0%
!50%
!100%
|-
|3 inch NC101 HE-VT||HE-VT||1036||6.8||10||0.1||480||79°||80°||81°
|}
These guns effectiveness is minimal against other cruisers due to them only being able to fire high explosive. However this round is highly effective at killing smaller, less armoured ships, even ships as large as destroyers are quickly dealt with. The guns main strength against other surface vessels lies in their extremely quick reload, between 0.35s and 0.57s depending on crew training. This means that a literal rain of high explosive rains down on any ship within their targeting range, doing low but rapid damage to any unarmoured section.

The secondary armament is best left to be aimed by the AI gunners in most situations due to the high levels of lead required to hit any target at a decent range.

=== Anti-aircraft armament ===
The only anti-aircraft armament consists of the same dual purpose guns that constitute the secondary armament, the [[3 inch/70 Mark 6 (76 mm)|3 inch/70 Mark 6]] cannon in three twin turrets mounted in various positions across the ship (one front and one on either side of the superstructure). These guns really shine in the anti-aircraft role as they are able to throw up a large wall of accurate, high damage flak. This is due to their excellent fire rate and arcs of fire. These guns are not a perfect shield against air attack however as they struggle to lead the target correctly until the aircraft is within 3km, a dangerously short distance to dodge a torpedo attack.

The wide firing arcs of these guns leave most approaches to the ship covered by at least two turrets, with particularly high approaches able to be engaged by all three. However two major blind spots at the rear and front of the ship leave certain attack angles unguarded.

The best use of these anti-aircraft guns requires an active role from the captain, changing the angle of the ship to maintain at least one gun, if not two, on target. Additionally the guns start firing when an aircraft is at around 8km from the ship. This is too far out of their effective range to do any damage of not and is simply a waste of precious ammunition. The deactivation of the anti-air armament until the target is within 3km makes the guns much more deadly.

'''Pros:'''

* Fastest firing cruiser guns in the game
* Extremely deadly, extremely fast firing secondary armament against unarmoured vessels and aircraft
* High crew count

*

'''Cons:'''

* Low broadside shell count of only four shells
* No torpedo armament
* No mid or short range AA armament
* Two major secondary armament blind spots at the front and aft
* Under protected magazines can lead to an early death
* Unarmoured bridge and radio room

*

== History ==

The three Tiger-class cruisers were initially laid down as Minotaur-class cruisers early on in WW2. However, their construction priority was considered low as British naval warfare at the time centered a lot around anti-submarine warfare - a role which ships of this class weren’t intended to fill. Thus, the ships would only be partially completed by the end of WW2, with their design being acknowledged as outdated.

After WW2, the decision was made to complete the ships’ construction, but to a different design. Work on completing the new Tiger-class light cruiser began in the early 1950s with the ships seeing completion by the end of the decade. The ships were refitted and modernized extensively, however, they remained outdated designs due to rapid advancements in technology and the changing nature of warfare. As a result, the class was soon afterwards converted into helicopter cruisers and went on to serve with the Royal Navy until the late 1970s. Tiger-class light cruisers were the final British 6-inch gun armed cruisers and the world's last large-calibre artillery ships, no one else has built such ships.

''- From [https://warthunder.com/en/news/6141-development-hms-tiger-the-annihilator-en Devblog]''

== Media ==
''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''

== 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 ship;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==


* [https://warthunder.com/en/news/6141-development-hms-tiger-the-annihilator-en [Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> HMS Tiger: The Annihilator]

{{Britain light cruisers}}

Conqueror

2019-05-11T06:10:51Z

U22921996: /* Pros and cons */ Added additional pros and cons

{{Specs-Card|code=uk_conqueror_mk_2}}

== Description ==


[[File:GarageImage_Conqueror.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} British heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was released along with the initial British tree line in [[Update_1.55_"Royal_Armour"|Update 1.55 "Royal Armour"]]. Meant to defeat the Soviet [[IS-3]], the Conqueror gives the British tree line an emphasis in armour and firepower, with a [[M58 (120 mm)|120 mm gun]] able to contest the Rank V competitors.

The Conqueror shares the same hull as the [[Caernarvon]], but features a completely new turret armed with the Ordnance QF 120 mm L1A1 gun.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===


The turret is significantly better armoured than the Centurion turret used by the Caernarvon. In a hull-down position where the weak lower front plate is hidden, it can be a very difficult vehicle to destroy from the front. Unfortunately, the side and rear hull armour is very weak, although it is covered by a lot of spaced armour. Flanking the Conqueror usually results in its swift destruction.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)
* Structural steel (Side skirts)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 130 + 20 mm (59°) ''Front glacis'' 76 mm (44°) ''Lower glacis'' || 51 + 6 mm || 38 mm ''Top'' 20 mm (60°) ''Bottom'' || 44 mm ''Front'' 17 mm ''Crew hatch'' 17 mm ''Rear''
|-
| Turret || 152-313 mm (0-68°) ''Turret front'' 89-200 mm (0-78°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 89-233 mm (1-48°) || 50 mm (1-34°) || 51 mm 31 mm ''Square area near gun'' 17 mm ''Crew hatches''
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 203 mm (0-17°) || 70 mm (12-14°) || 51 mm 17 mm ''Crew hatch''
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels and bogies are 20 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick.
* Front of turret vary in armour thickness, from 152 mm to 313 mm, but it is all very sloped due to turret design.
* The front of the turret roof has an additional armour plate of 31 mm in thickness.

=== Mobility ===


The mobility of the Conqueror is fair enough for a 65 ton heavy tank, and is actually comparable to the Centurion.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armour weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 64.9 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | 1.1 || colspan="1" | 37 (AB)
|-
|34 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|1,046
|____
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|716
|810
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|16.12
|__.__
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|11.03
|12.48
|-
|}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===

{{main|L1A2 (120 mm)}}

The 120 mm gun used by the Conqueror is essentially a version of the American 120 mm Gun M58 used by the M103 heavy tank. Unfortunately, the British version does not have access to the extremely lethal American solid shot AP or HEAT ammunition. The Conqueror is thus forced to choose between the anaemic APDS or unreliable HESH ammunition, while also sharing the same long reload as the American gun.

In general, the APDS is quite accurate at long ranges thanks to its high velocity, and the high penetration usually means it will not have too many problems penetrating most things the Conqueror will encounter. However, the post-penetration effects of APDS tend to be very poor compared to full-bore AP, and it is very rare to one-shot opponents. This problem is further exacerbated by the Conqueror's long reload, which is longer than the time it takes to replace a crewmember if facing a opponent with good crew skills. The HESH round will do a lot of damage ''if'' it hits and penetrates, but is easily frustrated by spaced armour and external components like tracks or suspension elements. It also has a relatively low velocity and is harder to use at long ranges.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[L1A2 (120 mm)|120 mm L1A2]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 35 || -7°/+15° || ±180° || Two-plane
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || __.__ || __.__ || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 9.7 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 19.4 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 90°'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| Shot L1G || APDS || 362 || 361 || 359 || 354 || 339 || 321
|-
| Shell L1TK || HESH || 152 || 152 || 152 || 152 || 152 || 152
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| Shot L1G || APDS || 1493 || 7.6 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 75° || 78° || 80°
|-
| Shell L1TK || HESH || 792 || 16 || 0.4 || 0.1 || 3,100 || +0° || 73° || 77° || 80°
|-
|}

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Ammoracks_Conqueror.png|right|thumbnail|x250px|[[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] of the Conqueror Mk.2.]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |4th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |5th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |6th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" width="10%" |Recommendations
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''35''' || 31 ''(+4)'' || 21 ''(+14)'' || 16 ''(+19)'' || 11 ''(+24)'' || 6 ''(+29)'' || 1 ''(+34)'' || style="text-align:left" | No
|-
|}

Keep ammo at around 16 ''(+19)'' or 11 ''(+24)''

=== Machine guns ===


{{main|L3A1 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[L3A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm L3A1]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 3,750 (250) || 500 || N/A || N/A
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Pintle mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 3,750 (250) || 500 || -10°/+30° || ±90°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


The Conqueror performs best at longer ranges as a support tank where it can make the best use of its accurate, high-penetration 120 mm gun as well as its and heavy frontal armour, especially in terrain that allows it to go hull-down.

===Modules===
As per usual,"Parts" and "FPE" should be the focus first for modifications to increase combat survivability. Everything else is fair game after those two.

It is then recommended to head for the "Additional Ballistic Protection Package" in order to increase the armour of the Conqueror to stand up to more lethal rounds.

=== Pros and cons ===

'''Pros:'''

* 361 mm close-range penetration with the high-velocity APDS stock ammunition
* HESH ammunition with good explosive filler for chemical effect
* Both APDS and HESH ammunition from 120 mm rarely ricochet off tanks
* The gun is fully stabilised, enabling easier reaction shots and hill peaking
* The coaxial MG can be used as a ranging gun, its bullets land where the HESH shell will approximately hit
* Turret is well armoured and well shaped to deflect rounds
* Extremely sloped and well-armoured upper glacis
* Can mount add-on armour which offers more protection in the form of spaced armour to the turret cheeks and upper plate
* Large volume within tank mean all crew may not be knocked out in one hit

'''Cons:'''

* Poor lethality with APDS
* Unreliable HESH ammunition that is harder to aim due to lower velocity
* Long reload time (14.9s - 19.7s), though appropriate for the calibre
* Possesses only 7.62 mm machine guns to handle other threats
* Weak lower glacis plate
* Very weak side hull armour of 51 mm with a minimal 6 mm side skirt
* Very weak engine deck armour of only 17 mm makes it extremely vulnerable to aircraft cannon fire
* Top speed is sub-par (33 km/h) with poor acceleration
* Ammunition rack is strewn all over turret

== History ==


===Development===
In 1944, General Staff started a project called ''A45 Infantry Support Tank'', which started around the same time as the development of the [[Centurion Mk 1|A41 Centurion]] cruiser tank. This project, after the war, was redesignated from a typical "Infantry Tank" and instead focused on a new role of a "Universal Tank" design in the form of the FV 200 series. The "Universal Tank" concept was to design a vehicle that would have a mobility comparable to that of cruiser tanks, but with the armour and firepower of heavy tanks. The FV 200 series designation was adopted and was to serve as a line of vehicles that used the same hull and chassis in different roles like armour recovery vehicles and self-propelled guns. The first tank of this series was to be the FV 201, which would be 55 tons and use the 20-pounder gun.

In 1949, a new requirement for the project called for the use of a 120 mm gun, possibly in response to the reveal of the Soviet [[IS-3]] heavy tank in the Berlin Victory Parade in 1945. This new requirement would delay the initial deadlines for the tank as no gun of that caliber had been developed yet. As a interim development before such a gun could be made, the FV 201 hull was mounted with a turret from the Centurion tank and this created the ''[[Caernarvon|FV 221 Caernarvon]]'', with ''Mark I'' for a 17-pounder armament and a ''Mark II'' for a 20-pounder armament. However, the success of the lighter Centurion tank made the Caernarvon unsuitable in a "Main Battle Tank" role. Further development on the Caernarvon, with emphasis on the armour and armament, would develop the '''FV 214 Conqueror''' tanks, some were straight up conversions of Caernarvon Mark II's. About 185 Conquerors were produced in Mk.1 and Mk.2 variants from 1955 to 1959.

===Design===
The FV 214 Conqueror, also known as the "Tank, Heavy No. 1, 120 mm Gun, Conqueror", was intended to provide a mobile, long-range anti-tank support for the lighter and more numerous Centurion tanks stationed in Germany. As a response to the heavy [[IS-3]] tank in Soviet service, the tank's armament and armour is taken up and beyond extreme to typical NATO armour development. The armour, with a frontal plate of about seven inches (178 mm), made the tank one of the most protected tanks stationed in West Germany. The abundance of armour made the tank heavy, weighing 64 tons, and this impeded the tank's top speed and made it mechanically unreliable. However, the tank was very mobile in cross-country terrain, seen as equal as the lighter and faster Centurion tank.

The gun was the very large 120 mm cannon, the largest caliber tank gun available when it was introduced. The gun was American-developed, the same 120 mm cannon that would arm the [[M103|M103]] heavy tank. The gun uses a two-piece ammunition and the tank allowed for a ammo stowage of 35 rounds. Another notable feature of the Conqueror aside from its large cannon and thick armour was the unique and rotatable commander's cupola. In the cupola was the Conqueror's fire control system and had many features that made it ahead of its time. Being able to be rotated independent from the turret, plus with a coincidence rangefinder, the commander could align the cupola to a target, measure its range, and direct the gunner to the designated target. While the gunner located and engage the target, the commander could go and find a different target to designate and range.

===Usage===
The Conqueror were all stationed in West German in the armoured regiments stationed there. Each regiment received 9 Conquerors and were organized in groups of three as tank troops to support the Centurions in any conflict that arise from the tense situation of the Cold War. As history played out, the Cold War never became "hot" and no hostile conflicts arise in the borders of Germany, thus the Conquerors never saw any use aside from training as they were all exclusively stationed on the German borders. The Conqueror's intention to provide a long-range anti-tank capability for the Centurions, became less significant when the Centurions began to arm themselves with the more powerful 105 mm L7 gun, such as the [[Centurion Mk 10]]. The lower tactical value of the Conqueror and further development on heavy tanks in Britain had the Conquerors replaced in 1966 with the much more powerful and armoured, yet lighter, [[Chieftain Mk 3|FV 4201 Chieftain tank]].

== Media ==
''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''

== 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 ==


* [https://warthunder.com/en/devblog/current/850/ [Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> Сenturion Mk III and Conqueror Mk II]
* [http://warthunder.com/en/devblog/current/870 [Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> Conqueror Armor Investigation]

{{Britain heavy tanks}}

Chieftain Mk 10

2019-05-11T05:53:38Z

U22921996: /* Pros and cons */ Additional pros and cons added, reworded some of the previous ones

{{Specs-Card|code=uk_chieftain_mk_10}}
{{About
| about = British medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other uses
| link = Chieftain (Family)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_Chieftain_Mk_10.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{specs|name}}''' is a Rank {{Specs|rank}} British medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.71 "New E.R.A"]]..

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===

Armour is identical to the earlier Chieftain variants, but with the addition of Stillbrew composite armor over the turret front and turret ring. Stillbrew covers a majority of a hull-down Chieftain's frontal projection, but certain areas are not covered. Weak points include the area directly around the gun breach and a sliver of the turret ring between the hull and turret composite packages.

Due to the very thick, highly angled armor package, Stillbrew-protected areas are very resistant to KE projectiles up until top-tier longrod APFSDS (e.g. DM33, 3BM42, etc.). The simple composition of Stillbrew means it isn't as efficient against chemical shell threats, but it retains a somewhat respectable chemical shell protection of around 500 mm.

'''Armour types:'''

* Stillbrew composite armour (turret front, turret ring)
* Cast homogeneous armour (hull front, turret)
* Rolled homogeneous armour (hull sides, hull rear, hull roof, turret roof)
* Aluminium (side skirts)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 70-127 mm (40-79°) ''Front glacis'' 76.2 mm (40-45°) ''Lower glacis'' 200* mm (0-45°) ''Turret ring'' || 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 + 80-150* 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
|-
! Composite armour* !! Front !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || '''Turret ring:''' 200 mm ''Kinetic'' 200 mm ''Chemical'' || N/A || N/A || N/A
|-
| Turret || '''Turret front:''' 450 mm ''Kinetic'' 500 mm ''Chemical'' || N/A || N/A || N/A
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
* Belly armour is 16 mm of RHA.
* Stillbrew armour at turret ring is pure 200 mm CHA.
* Stillbrew armour on turret front is composed of (80 to 150 mm CHA) + (60 mm rubber) + (150 to 250 mm CHA).

=== Mobility ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armor weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 57.2 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | N/A || colspan="1" | 53 (AB)
|-
|48 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|1,178
|???
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|672
|???
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|20.59
|???
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|11.75
|???
|-
|}
== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===

{{main|Ordnance BL Tk. L11 (120 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[Ordnance BL Tk. L11 (120 mm)|120 mm L11]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 53 || -10°/+20° || ±180° || Two-plane
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 21.4 || _.__ || _.__ || _.__ || _.__
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 13.4 || _.__ || _.__ || _.__ || _.__
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 9.70 || _.__ || _.__ || _.__
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 90°'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| Shot L15A3 || APDS || 320 || 315 || 305 || 294 || 280 || 270
|-
| Shot L23 || APFSDS || 410 || 408 || 405 || 400 || 390 || 380
|-
| Shell L31A7 || HESH || 152 || 152 || 152 || 152 || 152 || 152
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| Shot L15A3 || APDS || 1370 || 7.6 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 75° || 78° || 80°
|-
| Shot L23 || APFSDS || 1535 || 3.89 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 76° || 77° || 78°
|-
| Shell L31A7 || HESH || 670 || 17 || 0.4 || 0.1 || 4,100 || +0° || 73° || 77° || 80°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="7" | 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|Ammo racks]] =====

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''53''' ||  ''(+)''||  ''(+)'' || style="text-align:center" | No
|-
|}


=== Machine guns ===

{{main|L37A1 (7.62 mm)|L8A1 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[L37A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm L37A1]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Pintle mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 2,000 (100) || 650 || -10°/+50° || ±120°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[L8A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm L8A1]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 6,000 (200) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


The Chieftain Mk 10 has a similar play style to the earlier marks, but gains much-needed additional turret armour. This allows the player to maintain a much stronger hull-down position, as Chieftain turrets without Stillbrew can be penetrated very easily at this rank. The added L23 APFSDS round helps with engaging stronger armour at longer distances as well. These factors make the Mk 10 a "super Chieftain" of sorts; it retains its weaknesses (a weak hull and low mobility) and doubles down on its strengths (a heavily-armoured turret and powerful gun).

A player should seek to avoid brawling and instead entrench themselves in a hull-down, supportive position for the team.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Stillbrew composite armour makes large areas of the turret impervious to all but the best APDSFS and HEATFS rounds
* L23 APFSDS with 191mm of penetration at 60°
* 10 degrees of gun depression
* Fast reload time for a 120 mm (7.5s - 9.5s)
* Usable reverse speed
* Can unlock a laser rangefinder as a T4 modification, the first British tank in the tree to be able to

'''Cons:'''

* Stillbrew composite armour leaves vulnerable areas of the turret unprotected, such as the gun mantlet
* Poor mobility
* Weak hull comprised only of cast armour type (CHA)
* Hull is almost entirely filled with ammunition

== History ==

===Concept===
The idea of a "universal tank" began in Britain in 1944 when Montgomery and other influential people began advocating for 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>

===Development===
The [[Centurion Mk 10|Centurion]] tank series was very successful in British and its allies' service, but development of new Soviet armour such as the [[IS-3]] and [[T-54 (1951)|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 a weight of less 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 concept 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.<ref name="DunstanChieftain">Dunstan Simon. ''Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003</ref>

The biggest bump to the firepower of the FV4201 was the recommendation of a 120 mm caliber 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 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.<ref name="DunstanChieftain">Dunstan Simon. ''Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003</ref>

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 trialed in Germany alongside their new [[Leopard I|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 [[Chieftain Mk 5|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.<ref name="DunstanChieftain">Dunstan Simon. ''Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003</ref>

===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 a satisfactory mobility and speed 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-64A (1971)|T-64's]] against the Chieftains. The British retained the Chieftains all the way until 1997, when it was replaced by the Challenger II, initially being used in addition to Challenger I.

The Chieftain was also successful on 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 (AOS)|M60A1 Pattons]] fought against the Iraqi [[T-62]]s. 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 modern threat, which resulted in the Iran ''Mobarez'' Chieftain upgrade.

===Legacy===
The Chieftain helped revolutionize tank design with its innovative features. The most important was the reclining driver seat, which allowed the tank to have a lower profile as the driver was now that highest part of the hull in tank design. It also had the most powerful NATO tank armament in service until the advent of the German Rheinmetall 120 mm, which came about two decades later. Chieftain can be considered the definitive main battle tank of the 1960s and help transition the path between second-generation main battle tanks and the third.

== Media ==
''An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.''

==References==
<references />

== 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 ==

[https://warthunder.com/en/news/4946-development-chieftain-mk-10-dressing-up-for-war-en [Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> Chieftain Mk.10: Dressing Up for War]

Chieftain Mk 5

2019-05-11T05:38:53Z

U22921996: /* Pros and cons */ Fixed incorrect spelling of separately

{{Specs-Card|code=uk_chieftain_mk_5}}
{{Notice|''This page is about the medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''. For other uses, see [[Chieftain (Disambiguation)]]''}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_Chieftain Mk 5.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a Rank {{Specs|rank}} British medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica"]]. The Chieftain Mk.5 carries over its strength from the [[Chieftain Mk 3|Mk.3]] variant, but with a more powerful engine for improved mobility.

Fundamental average for Chieftain: its rate of shooting and its penetration. With Chieftain, there is few vehicle being able to resist to the firepower, except perhaps [[T95|T95]] or [[Maus|Maus]]. Shoot anywhere at the enemy with L15A3 shells, it will more than likely penetrate the armour. Know where to shoot, any enemies can be taken down with the 120 mm gun. That requires good knowledge of the enemy tanks. A Chieftain player will have to know where are the shells, fuel tanks, crews.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===

'''Armour type:'''

* Cast homogeneous armour (Hull front, Turret)
* Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull sides, Hull rear, Hull roof, Turret roof)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! 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 steel boxes on the sides of the turret and hull add 13 mm of armour.

=== Mobility ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armour weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 55.0 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | N/A || colspan="1" | 53 (AB)
|-
|48 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|1,178
|____
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|672
|760
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|21.42
|__.__
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|12.22
|13.82
|-
|}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===

{{main|Ordnance BL Tk. L11 (120 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[Ordnance BL Tk. L11 (120 mm)|120 mm Ordnance BL Tk. L11]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 53 || -10°/+20° || ±180° || Two-plane
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 13.4 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 13.4 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 9.7 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''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
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''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°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="7" | 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|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Ammoracks_Chieftain_Mk 5.png|right|thumbnail|250px|Ammo racks of the Chieftain Mk 5.]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''53''' ||  ''(+)''||  ''(+)'' || style="text-align:center" | No
|-
|}

Turret empty: 30 ''(+23)''

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|L21A1 (12.7 mm)|L37A1 (7.62 mm)|L8A1 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[L21A1 (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm L21A1]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 588 (3) || 300 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[L37A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm L37A1]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Pintle mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 2,000 (100) || 650 || -10°/+50° || ±120°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[L8A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm L8A1]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 6,000 (200) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in the battles ==

'''In long range fight:''' 
The gun is very precise with all the shooting amelioration. Do not forget to protect the frame, it is fragile. The turret armour protects the tank well. Invest in camouflage plants, one or two seconds lost by the aiming enemy is time gained to eliminate the threat.

'''An aggressive way to play:''' 
The best clients are the German "Leopards" and all the Russian series "T-xx". Shoot it on front frame, where the shells are, for an assured popcorn effect. Don’t hesitated 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 the vehicle's best friend.

Be wary of the Chieftain's width, often the weak points are exposed when trying to turn the Chieftain.

===Modules===
The first upgrades to head for is ''Parts'' and ''FPE'' for increased survivability. Once these two are unlocked, everything is good, but get the rangefinder for enhanced RB or SB gameplay.

*Spare parts.
*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 same tier rounds
* Excellent reload time for a 120 mm (7.5s - 9.5s)
* 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 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>

===Development===
The [[Centurion Mk 10|Centurion]] tank series was very successful in British and its allies' service, but development of new Soviet armour such as the [[IS-3]] and [[T-54 (1951)|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 a weight of less 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 concept 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|Conqueror heavy tank]] was one such response to the firepower requirement, limited production cut that to only 200 units built.<ref name="DunstanChieftain">Dunstan Simon. ''Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003</ref>

The biggest bump to the firepower of the FV4201 was the recommendation of a 120 mm caliber 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 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.<ref name="DunstanChieftain">Dunstan Simon. ''Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003</ref>

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 trialed in Germany alongside their new [[Leopard I|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 [[Chieftain Mk 5|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.<ref name="DunstanChieftain">Dunstan Simon. ''Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003</ref>

===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 a satisfactory mobility and speed 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 on 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 (AOS)|M60A1 Pattons]] fought against the Iraqi [[T-62]]s. 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 modern threat, which resulted in the Iran ''Mobarez'' Chieftain upgrade.

== Media ==
''An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.''
{{Youtube-gallery|XlNDQ2PVPpI|The Chieftain at Bovington|D3OF9IvtHLk|Bovington Tank Museum Tank Chats: Chieftain}}

== Read 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.''

''ETC.''

== Sources ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Britain medium tanks}}
<references />

Chieftain Mk 3

2019-05-11T05:38:21Z

U22921996: /* Pros and cons */ Improved legibility and updated outdated information

{{Specs-Card|code=uk_chieftain_mk_3}}
{{Notice|''This page is about the medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''. For other uses, see [[Chieftain (Disambiguation)]]''}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_ChieftainMk3.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{specs|name}}''' is a Rank {{Specs|rank}} British medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. 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 [[Ordnance BL Tk. L11 (120 mm)|120 mm armament]].

The Cheiftain 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.

'''Mobility:''' 
The Chieftain Mk.3 suffers from poor a 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 up hill and when pivoting. It has a decent reverse speed (~9.4 km/h, compared to the 13 km/h reverse speed of tanks on the Centurion chassis).

'''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 uptier, 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. Armour around the gun breach leaves something to be desired. Lower-tier APDS rounds (e.g. a T-54/55's APDS) can penetrate the right turret face at closer ranges, killing 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 armor profile.

'''Firepower:''' 
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 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).

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===

'''Armour type:'''

* Cast homogeneous armour (Hull front, Turret)
* Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull sides, Hull rear, Hull roof, Turret roof)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! 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 ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armor weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 54.4 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | N/A || colspan="1" | 45 (AB)
|-
|41 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|1,023
|1,259
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|584
|660
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|18.80
|23.14
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|10.73
|12.13
|-
|}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===

{{main|Ordnance BL Tk. L11 (120 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[Ordnance BL Tk. L11 (120 mm)|120 mm L11]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 53 || -10°/+20° || ±180° || Two-plane
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 13.40 || _.__ || _.__ || _.__ || _.__
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 13.40 || _.__ || _.__ || _.__ || _.__
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 9.70 || _.__ || _.__ || _.__
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''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
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''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°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="7" | 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|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Ammoracks_ChieftainMk3.png|right|thumbnail|x250px|Ammo racks of the Chieftain Mk.3.]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''53''' ||  ''(+)''||  ''(+)'' || style="text-align:center" | No
|-
|}

Turret empty: 30 ''(+23)''

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|L21A1 (12.7 mm)|L37A1 (7.62 mm)|L8A1 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[L21A1 (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm L21A1]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount (Ranging)''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 588 (3) || 300 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[L37A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm L37A1]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Pintle mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 2,000 (100) || 650 || -10°/+50° || ±120°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[L8A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm L8A1]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 6,000 (200) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in the battles ==

Fundamental average for Chieftain: its rate of shooting and its penetration. With Chieftain there is few vehicle 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 kill 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 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.

'''In long range fight:''' 
Your gun is very precise with all the shooting ameliorations. Do not forget to protect your frame, it is fragile. The turret protects you well. Invest in camouflage plants, 1 or 2 seconds lost by the aiming enemy is deadly for him.

'''An aggressive way to play:''' 
Your best clients are the German “Leopards” and all the Russian series “T-xx”. Shoot it on front frame, where the shells are, for an assured popcorn effect. Don’t hesitated 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. Dont 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 same tier rounds
*Excellent reload time for a 120 mm (7.5s - 9.5s)
*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 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>

===Development===
The [[Centurion Mk 10|Centurion]] tank series was very successful in British and its allies' service, but development of new Soviet armour such as the [[IS-3]] and [[T-54 (1951)|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 a weight of less 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 concept 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|Conqueror heavy tank]] was one such response to the firepower requirement, limited production cut that to only 200 units built.<ref name="DunstanChieftain">Dunstan Simon. ''Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003</ref>

The biggest bump to the firepower of the FV4201 was the recommendation of a 120 mm caliber 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 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.<ref name="DunstanChieftain">Dunstan Simon. ''Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003</ref>

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 trialed in Germany alongside their new [[Leopard I|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.<ref name="DunstanChieftain">Dunstan Simon. ''Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003</ref>

===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 a satisfactory mobility and speed 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 on 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 (AOS)|M60A1 Pattons]] fought against the Iraqi [[T-62]]s. 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 modern threat, which resulted in the Iran ''Mobarez'' Chieftain upgrade.

== Media ==
''An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.''

===Videos===
{{Youtube-gallery|W4R1fPzk-tU|Review: Chieftain Mk. III War Thunder Video Tutorials |XlNDQ2PVPpI|The Chieftain at Bovington|D3OF9IvtHLk|Bovington Tank Museum Tank Chats: Chieftain}}

==References==
<references />

== Read also ==

[https://warthunder.com/en/devblog/current/885/ [Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> The Chieftain tank: A very British warlord!] 

== Sources ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Britain medium tanks}}

Chieftain Mk 5

2019-05-11T05:36:02Z

U22921996: /* Pros and cons */ Reworded to make it more legible, updated outdated infomation

{{Specs-Card|code=uk_chieftain_mk_5}}
{{Notice|''This page is about the medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''. For other uses, see [[Chieftain (Disambiguation)]]''}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_Chieftain Mk 5.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a Rank {{Specs|rank}} British medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica"]]. The Chieftain Mk.5 carries over its strength from the [[Chieftain Mk 3|Mk.3]] variant, but with a more powerful engine for improved mobility.

Fundamental average for Chieftain: its rate of shooting and its penetration. With Chieftain, there is few vehicle being able to resist to the firepower, except perhaps [[T95|T95]] or [[Maus|Maus]]. Shoot anywhere at the enemy with L15A3 shells, it will more than likely penetrate the armour. Know where to shoot, any enemies can be taken down with the 120 mm gun. That requires good knowledge of the enemy tanks. A Chieftain player will have to know where are the shells, fuel tanks, crews.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===

'''Armour type:'''

* Cast homogeneous armour (Hull front, Turret)
* Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull sides, Hull rear, Hull roof, Turret roof)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! 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 steel boxes on the sides of the turret and hull add 13 mm of armour.

=== Mobility ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armour weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 55.0 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | N/A || colspan="1" | 53 (AB)
|-
|48 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|1,178
|____
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|672
|760
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|21.42
|__.__
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|12.22
|13.82
|-
|}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===

{{main|Ordnance BL Tk. L11 (120 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[Ordnance BL Tk. L11 (120 mm)|120 mm Ordnance BL Tk. L11]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 53 || -10°/+20° || ±180° || Two-plane
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 13.4 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 13.4 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 9.7 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''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
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''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°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="7" | 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|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Ammoracks_Chieftain_Mk 5.png|right|thumbnail|250px|Ammo racks of the Chieftain Mk 5.]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''53''' ||  ''(+)''||  ''(+)'' || style="text-align:center" | No
|-
|}

Turret empty: 30 ''(+23)''

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|L21A1 (12.7 mm)|L37A1 (7.62 mm)|L8A1 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[L21A1 (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm L21A1]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 588 (3) || 300 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[L37A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm L37A1]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Pintle mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 2,000 (100) || 650 || -10°/+50° || ±120°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[L8A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm L8A1]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 6,000 (200) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in the battles ==

'''In long range fight:''' 
The gun is very precise with all the shooting amelioration. Do not forget to protect the frame, it is fragile. The turret armour protects the tank well. Invest in camouflage plants, one or two seconds lost by the aiming enemy is time gained to eliminate the threat.

'''An aggressive way to play:''' 
The best clients are the German "Leopards" and all the Russian series "T-xx". Shoot it on front frame, where the shells are, for an assured popcorn effect. Don’t hesitated 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 the vehicle's best friend.

Be wary of the Chieftain's width, often the weak points are exposed when trying to turn the Chieftain.

===Modules===
The first upgrades to head for is ''Parts'' and ''FPE'' for increased survivability. Once these two are unlocked, everything is good, but get the rangefinder for enhanced RB or SB gameplay.

*Spare parts.
*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 same tier rounds
* Excellent reload time for a 120 mm (7.5s - 9.5s)
* 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 seperately 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 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>

===Development===
The [[Centurion Mk 10|Centurion]] tank series was very successful in British and its allies' service, but development of new Soviet armour such as the [[IS-3]] and [[T-54 (1951)|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 a weight of less 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 concept 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|Conqueror heavy tank]] was one such response to the firepower requirement, limited production cut that to only 200 units built.<ref name="DunstanChieftain">Dunstan Simon. ''Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003</ref>

The biggest bump to the firepower of the FV4201 was the recommendation of a 120 mm caliber 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 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.<ref name="DunstanChieftain">Dunstan Simon. ''Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003</ref>

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 trialed in Germany alongside their new [[Leopard I|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 [[Chieftain Mk 5|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.<ref name="DunstanChieftain">Dunstan Simon. ''Chieftain Main Battle Tank 1965-2003'' Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003</ref>

===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 a satisfactory mobility and speed 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 on 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 (AOS)|M60A1 Pattons]] fought against the Iraqi [[T-62]]s. 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 modern threat, which resulted in the Iran ''Mobarez'' Chieftain upgrade.

== Media ==
''An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.''
{{Youtube-gallery|XlNDQ2PVPpI|The Chieftain at Bovington|D3OF9IvtHLk|Bovington Tank Museum Tank Chats: Chieftain}}

== Read 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;''
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''ETC.''

== Sources ==
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{{Britain medium tanks}}
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