Book Review of Challenger 2
Photosniper Series no. 30
Author: Dick Taylor
Kagero Publishing
ISBN: 978-83-65437-85-3
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: $34.95
Copyright 2019
ISBN: 978-83-65437-85-3
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: $34.95
Copyright 2019
HISTORY:
The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MOD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. It was designed and built by the British company Vickers Defense Systems (now known as BAE Systems Land & Armaments).
Vickers Defense Systems began to develop a successor to Challenger 1 as a private venture in 1986. A £90 million deal for a demonstrator vehicle was finalized in January 1989.
In June 1991, the Ministry of Defense placed a £520 million order for 140 vehicles, with a further 268 ordered in 1994.
Production began in 1993 and the unit's tanks were delivered in July 1994, replacing the Challenger 1. The tank entered service with the British Army in 1998, with the last delivered in 2002.
It is expected to remain in service until 2035. The Royal Army of Oman ordered 18 Challenger 2s in 1993 and a further 20 tanks in November 1997.
The Challenger 2 is an extensive redesign of the Challenger 1. Although the hull and automotive components seem similar, they are of a newer design and build than those of the Challenger 1 and only around 3% of components are interchangeable.
A visual recognition feature is the armored housing for the TOGS thermal gunsight; the Challenger 2 has this above the gun barrel, the Challenger 1 has it at the right hand side of the turret. The tank's drive system provides a 550 km range, with a maximum road speed of 59 km/h.
The Challenger 2 is equipped with a 120-millimeter (4.7 in) 55-caliber long L30A1 tank gun, the successor to the L11 gun used on the Chieftain and Challenger 1.
Unique among NATO main battle tank armament, the L30A1 is rifled, because the British Army continues to place a premium on the use of High-explosive squash head (HESH) rounds in addition to armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot rounds.
The Challenger 2 is also armed with a L94A1 EX-34 7.62 mm chain gun and a 7.62 mm L37A2 (GPMG) machine gun. Fifty [10] main armament rounds and 4,200 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition are carried.
The Challenger 2 has a four-man crew. The turret and hull are protected with second generation Chobham armor (also known as Dorchester).
On one occasion, in August 2006, during the post-invasion stage of the Iraq War, an RPG-29 was fired at a Challenger 2 that was climbing over a ramp. The armor on its front underside hull, which was augmented with an explosive reactive armor package, was damaged, injuring several crew members.
The tank subsequently returned to base under its own power and was quickly repaired and back on duty the following day. As a response to the incident, the explosive reactive armor package was replaced with a Dorchester block and the steel underbelly lined with armor as part of the 'Streetfighter' upgrade.
To date, the only time the tank has been seriously damaged during operations was by another Challenger 2 in a 'blue on blue' (friendly fire) incident at Basra in 2003 when the damaged tank had its hatch open at the time of the incident.
It has seen operational service in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Iraq.
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft-cover of 88 pages in 8" x 11 3/4" page format.
The cover art shows a color photo of a Challenger 2 head-on. It is tan with a dark green wave pattern. Below it is the second variant of CR2. It is the RE operated Trojan, a multi-purpose support vehicle, which can be fitted with a variety of different engineering equipment, including ploughs, blades and fascines.
The introduction into British army service of the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank (MBT) was originally intended to take a mere eighteen months from design to production, but in the event, it took closer to 10 years.
Why this was so is an important part of the Challenger 2 story, and although on the face of it this might seem to be a clear failure, it actually produced the more thoroughly tested and reliable tank ever to enter service with the Royal Armoured Corps. (RAC).
The tank has now been in service for 20 years and can be expected to form part of the British Army's inventory - albeit in low numbers - until around 2035, which would make it the longest surviving front line battle tank ever used by the UK.
The book contains 201 color photos of the Challenger 2 and 6 side profiles.
The last page of the book has an advertisement showing the cover of their book "Before the Birth of the MBT" saying there is a 30% discount on it.
Highly recommended.
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers, the N.American distributor of Kagero books and the folks at Kagero for this review sample.
All Kagero titles can be viewed on Castemates site at:
The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MOD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. It was designed and built by the British company Vickers Defense Systems (now known as BAE Systems Land & Armaments).
Vickers Defense Systems began to develop a successor to Challenger 1 as a private venture in 1986. A £90 million deal for a demonstrator vehicle was finalized in January 1989.
In June 1991, the Ministry of Defense placed a £520 million order for 140 vehicles, with a further 268 ordered in 1994.
Production began in 1993 and the unit's tanks were delivered in July 1994, replacing the Challenger 1. The tank entered service with the British Army in 1998, with the last delivered in 2002.
It is expected to remain in service until 2035. The Royal Army of Oman ordered 18 Challenger 2s in 1993 and a further 20 tanks in November 1997.
The Challenger 2 is an extensive redesign of the Challenger 1. Although the hull and automotive components seem similar, they are of a newer design and build than those of the Challenger 1 and only around 3% of components are interchangeable.
A visual recognition feature is the armored housing for the TOGS thermal gunsight; the Challenger 2 has this above the gun barrel, the Challenger 1 has it at the right hand side of the turret. The tank's drive system provides a 550 km range, with a maximum road speed of 59 km/h.
The Challenger 2 is equipped with a 120-millimeter (4.7 in) 55-caliber long L30A1 tank gun, the successor to the L11 gun used on the Chieftain and Challenger 1.
Unique among NATO main battle tank armament, the L30A1 is rifled, because the British Army continues to place a premium on the use of High-explosive squash head (HESH) rounds in addition to armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot rounds.
The Challenger 2 is also armed with a L94A1 EX-34 7.62 mm chain gun and a 7.62 mm L37A2 (GPMG) machine gun. Fifty [10] main armament rounds and 4,200 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition are carried.
The Challenger 2 has a four-man crew. The turret and hull are protected with second generation Chobham armor (also known as Dorchester).
On one occasion, in August 2006, during the post-invasion stage of the Iraq War, an RPG-29 was fired at a Challenger 2 that was climbing over a ramp. The armor on its front underside hull, which was augmented with an explosive reactive armor package, was damaged, injuring several crew members.
The tank subsequently returned to base under its own power and was quickly repaired and back on duty the following day. As a response to the incident, the explosive reactive armor package was replaced with a Dorchester block and the steel underbelly lined with armor as part of the 'Streetfighter' upgrade.
To date, the only time the tank has been seriously damaged during operations was by another Challenger 2 in a 'blue on blue' (friendly fire) incident at Basra in 2003 when the damaged tank had its hatch open at the time of the incident.
It has seen operational service in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Iraq.
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft-cover of 88 pages in 8" x 11 3/4" page format.
The cover art shows a color photo of a Challenger 2 head-on. It is tan with a dark green wave pattern. Below it is the second variant of CR2. It is the RE operated Trojan, a multi-purpose support vehicle, which can be fitted with a variety of different engineering equipment, including ploughs, blades and fascines.
The introduction into British army service of the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank (MBT) was originally intended to take a mere eighteen months from design to production, but in the event, it took closer to 10 years.
Why this was so is an important part of the Challenger 2 story, and although on the face of it this might seem to be a clear failure, it actually produced the more thoroughly tested and reliable tank ever to enter service with the Royal Armoured Corps. (RAC).
The tank has now been in service for 20 years and can be expected to form part of the British Army's inventory - albeit in low numbers - until around 2035, which would make it the longest surviving front line battle tank ever used by the UK.
The book contains 201 color photos of the Challenger 2 and 6 side profiles.
The last page of the book has an advertisement showing the cover of their book "Before the Birth of the MBT" saying there is a 30% discount on it.
Highly recommended.
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers, the N.American distributor of Kagero books and the folks at Kagero for this review sample.
All Kagero titles can be viewed on Castemates site at: