Challenger Mk.2

Challenger Mk.2

Chieftain Mk 10

Challenger Mk.3

Challenger Mk.2

Chieftain Mk 10

Challenger Mk.3

Britain

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
10.3	10.3	10.3

Class:

Medium tank

Research:260 000

Purchase:710 000

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

Description

The Tank, Combat, 120-mm Gun, Challenger Mk.2, or just Challenger Mk.2, is a Rank VII British medium tank with a battle rating of 10.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.77 "Advancing Storm".

General info

Survivability and armour

Like the Chieftain Mk 10, the Challenger has a very strong turret front, with composite armour protecting the entire front and part of the sides. The turret front can resist up to 470 mm of rolled homogenous armour equivalency (RHAe) against long-rod kinetic (~550 mm RHAe against rounds without the long-rod slope modifier) and up to 600 mm against chemical penetrators. This theoretically makes the strongest part of the turret frontally invulnerable to all top-rank kinetic ammunition in the game. In practice, however, there is a weak spot on the lower leading edge of the turret front, where the backing plate of the composite inside the turret flattens to a 90° angle. This reduces the effective thickness of the lower turret cheeks by approximately 100 mm, making it vulnerable to most long-rod APFSDS. The turret front's painfully average chemical protection means that it is vulnerable to most top-rank ATGMs and HEAT shells (e.g. the prominent Rheinmetall L44 (120 mm)'s DM12 with 650 mm of penetration). A small portion of the turret front, the area just around the gun, is unprotected by composite armour and is 200 mm of CHA with a 50 mm RHA spall liner. This area extends above the gun and transitions to 60mm CHA at 60°. While these areas are small and unlikely to lead to catastrophic damage when hit (the gun breech will tend to soak up shrapnel), they are important to be wary of.

The Challenger's turret sides are similar to many top-rank MBTs - they can only resist enemy fire at relatively high angles of attack. Protection is 140 mm RHAe against kinetic and 300 mm RHAe against chemical shells, meaning that the armour can only resist autocannon fire and low-caliber HEAT when struck dead-on.

Compared its turret, the Challenger hull is significantly weaker against kinetic projectiles with only 220 mm of RHAe (~300 mm for projectiles without the long-rod slope modifier) on the UFP. Chemical protection in this area is similar to the turret at 600 mm RHAe. An exception to these numbers is the area directly above the driver's hatch, which is not covered by composite armour and is vulnerable to essentially any anti-tank ammunition. The lower frontal plate is also lacking composite and is comprised of a single 70 mm RHA plate at a slight angle, providing ~80-90 mm of effective thickness. Shots to the LFP will at least incapacitate the driver, or more likely catastrophically detonate the hull ammunition. British tankers should be quite used to this weakspot by this point, as the weak LFP is present on the entire Chieftain line. However, the upper third of the LFP shares some of the UFP's composite protection due to its design. This means that the upper third of the LFP has slightly more protection than the lower sections.

Hull sides are generally very weak, as is typical of top-rank MBTs. The upper hull (above the tracks) is comprised of a 20 mm RHA + fuel tanks + 25 mm RHA array. The lower hull (around the tracks) is comprised of 19 mm aluminium side skirts and 34 mm RHA.

Armour type:

• Composite armour (hull UFP, turret front and sides)
• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull)
• Cast homogeneous armour (gun "mantlet")
• Aluminium (side skirts)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	38-50* mm (60-81°) Front glacis 70 mm (30°) Lower glacis	20 mm (0-3°), 25 mm (74°) Top 34 + 19 mm Bottom	20 mm (29°) Top 25 mm (30°)	20 mm 8 mm Engine grille
Turret	50* mm (51-54°) 60 mm (55-56°), 200 mm Gun mantlet	25* + 4 mm (1°) Front 45 + 4 mm Rear	44 + 4 mm (43-48°) 20 mm (85°) Turret underside	38 mm Front 20 mm Rear
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	60 mm	60 mm
Composite armour*	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	Front glacis: ~220 mm @ 60° against Kinetic ~600 mm @ 60° against Chemical	N/A	N/A	N/A
Turret	Turret front: ~500 mm @ 60° against Kinetic ~600 mm @ 60° against Chemical	25 mm sections: ~ 140 mm @ 0° against Kinetic ~ 300 mm @ 0° against Chemical	N/A	N/A

Notes:

• Suspension wheels, torsion bars, and tracks are 20 mm thick.
• Turret ring is 60 mm thick.
• 20-25 mm RHA plates surround the fuel tanks on the hull sides.
• Hull composite armour configuration is 50 mm RHA + 200 mm NERA elements + 80 mm RHA.
• Front turret compsoite armour configuration is 50 mm RHA + 600 mm NERA elements + 110 mm RHA.
• Turret side compsoite armour configuration is 25 mm RHA + 300 mm NERA elements + 80 mm RHA.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	62	41	62.5	1860	2,322	29.76	37.15
Realistic	56	37		1061	1,217	16.98	19.47

The Challenger Mk.2's speed sets it apart from the previous Chieftain tanks, as it is capable of reaching 56 km/h on roads and 46 km/h off-road. Reverse speed is also a noticeable improvement from the Chieftain line. Despite this, the 62 ton mass of this vehicle makes it the slowest of its high-rank contemporaries (e.g. Abrams, Leopard, and Type 90).

Armaments

Main armament

The Challenger bears the 120 mm L11A5, an updated but essentially identical version of the gun found on the Chieftains. It has access to the same rounds as the Chieftain Mk 10, with the notable addition of the L23A1 APFSDS ammunition. L23A1 penetrates angled armour much more efficiently than its predecessor L23, making it especially useful for dealing with Russian late T-series hulls.

120 mm L11A5
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
52			-10°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	29.50	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
Realistic	18.40	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
8.70	_.__	_.__	_.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
Shot L23	APFSDS	410	408	405	400	390	380
Shell L31A7	HESH	152	152	152	152	152	152
Shot L23A1	APFSDS	396	394	387	376	367	357

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
Shot L23	APFSDS	1,535	3.89	N/A	N/A	N/A	+1.5°	76°	77°	78°
Shell L31A7	HESH	670	17.1	0.4	0.1	5,250	+0°	73°	77°	80°
Shot L23A1	APFSDS	1,535	3.89	N/A	N/A	N/A	+1.5°	78°	80°	81°

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	17.1	20	5	25	50

Ammo racks

Full ammo	Ammo Part	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
52	XX (X+)	(+)	(+)	(+)	(+)	(+)	no

Machine guns

7.62 mm L37A2
Commander's cupola mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
2,300 (100)				650	-10°/+50°	±120°

7.62 mm L8A1
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
2,300 (200)				600	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

New drivers of the Challenger 1 will appreciate a similar play style to the earlier Chieftain tanks, particularly the Chieftain Mk 10. Most of the armour's weakpoints could be minimized by assuming a hull-down position on the incline of a hill, and using the Challenger's excellent -10° of gun depression to keep the gun on target. This will increase the angle of the turret and thus increase the effective thickness of the back-plate on the turret.

When encountering common enemies:

• T-64B: L23A1 APFSDS can theoretically penetrate the UFP, but it is difficult. The drivers port weakspot is the recommended target from the front. If not possible, aim for the breech/cannon barrel to eliminate the threat of return fire
• T-64A (1971): APFSDS will go right through the front of this tank, but the Challenger can still be penetrated by the top APFSDS (3BM12) in the weak spot on the turret's leading edge.
• Leopard 2K: Probably the most dangerous opponent, as its APFSDS can go right through the upper front plate and parts of the turret. Shoot anywhere but the front of the turret, unless trying to take out the Leo's cannon barrel.
• Leopard A1A1: Its APFSDS poses a risk to the weakspot on the turret, but only if it gets the first shot off. Shoot anywhere.

Modules

The FPE module should be a priority, since the fuel tanks are located all around the hull above the tracks, meaning that the tank will be set on fire often. This comes with added protection, however, as the fuel tanks will frequently absorb most shrapnel - protecting the crew and ammunition from the occasional side-shot - giving the player ample time to return fire and eliminate the threat.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good composite armour for both kinetic and chemical protection for both hull and turret
• Very accurate main gun with good gun stabilizers and decent stock APFSDS shell
• Very good mobility for it weight and size
• Good APFSDS shells
• Good forward and reverse speed
• Reload can get down to 5 seconds, fastest firing 120mm along with Type 90/Type 90(B)

Cons:

• Large target
• Driver's optics weakspot on the upper frontal plate
• No composite armour on lower glacis plate and rear of the turret
• HESH shell largely useless
• Very thin armour protection
• Ammunition takes a lot of space (easy to hit)

History

In 1977, the Iranian government ordered an improved version of the Chieftain tank, which was arguably the best main battle tank (MBT) in service at its time. The Chieftain offered unparalleled protection and firepower; however, its mobility was lackluster and something its successor needed to improve upon. In response, the engineers at the MVEE created the Chieftain Mk.5(P), from which three additional prototypes were created. It was one of these prototypes that would become the basis for the Challenger 1. Unfortunately, after the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the fall of the Shah, Iran canceled its order for an improved Chieftain. In addition, a parallel British tank project (the MBT90) was also abandoned, and the British Army quickly became a new potential customer for a new MBT.

The Challenger's design was based on the cancelled project called "Shir-2”" planned for export to Iran, and retained its deadly 120mm gun and superb armour. The Challenger was also equipped with Chobham armour, a composite armour made from multiple layers of different materials. The additional materials gave the Challenger its distinctive, heavily-sloped armour on the front of the turret and upper glacis. The Challenger’s mobility and off-road capabilities were significantly improved with the installation of a new 1,200 horsepower Rolls-Royce engine and hydropneumatic suspension. The Challenger 1 entered production and service in 1983. Production ended in 1990, having yielded a total of about 420 vehicles. It served primarily with British forces during the Gulf War. It was also used in peacekeeping missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the mid 1990s, and Jordan still operates a number of Challenger 1 tanks to this day. The Challenger 1 was withdrawn from active service by 2001 and later replaced by the Challenger 2.

- From Devblog

Media

The Shooting Range #87 - Metal Beasts section at 00:35 discusses the Challenger Mk.2.

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

• [Devblog] Challenger 1: A Worthy Heir