| Challenger 1 | Challenger 1 Mk.2 | Challenger 1 Mk.3 | Challenger 2 |
The Challenger 1 Mk.3 is a new main battle tank for the United Kingdom that first appeared in Wargame: Red Dragon.
History[]
Challenger 1 Mk.3 is an upgraded variant of Challenger 1 Mk.2, with a reconfigured interior and fitted with appliqué ERA armour on the hull front glacis and (oddly absent in this game) appliqué Chobham armour on the hull side skirts, giving it enhanced protection against HEAT projectiles.
Challenger 1 Mk.3 made it's battlefield debut in 1991 in the first Gulf War with 114 examples of the new prototype tank, paired with 107 Challenger 1 Mk.2 tanks. The tanks fared outstandingly well in the arid desert climate, despite fears that it might suffer reliability problems observed in the Mainland Division and NATO competitions. The British Challenger 1 when compared to the American M1A1 Abrams and other NATO counterparts achieved far greater fuel efficiency, serviceability and combat effectiveness. 7th Armoured Brigade's commanding officer, Brigadier Patrick Cordingley, was quoted with saying “Challenger is a tank built for combat and not competitions.”
Challenger 1 also set the record for the longest range tank-on-tank kill in armored warfare history, destroying an Iraqi tank over 5,100 meters away, at night and in complete darkness. The equipment Challenger 1's employed to do this being the thermal observation and gunnery system (TOGS) and global positioning system (GPS) fitted to the tank. The record set by the tank still stands, even to this date. Challenger 1 has been credited with over 300 confirmed kills of Iraqi armor in 1991 and an even larger number of APCs and CRVs as well as other assorted AFVs.
Challenger 1 Mk.3 and Mk.2 tanks have also seen service in Kosovo in 1999 under KFOR (Kosovo Force) and Bosnia in 1996 under IFOR (Implementation Force) which was replaced by SFOR (Stabilization Force).
The only current operator of Challenger 1 is Jordan, having modified their tanks by replacing the three man turret with an unmanned turret, incorporating an automatic-loading system and remote control weapons systems. The Jordanian Challenger 1 is known as the Al-Hussein or Falcon.
Overview[]
Weapons[]
| Weapons | 
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Main Gun | MMG | No Weapon |
| Name | L11A5 | L37 | |
| Caliber | 120mm KE AoE | 7.62mm | |
| Ammo | x 41 | x 2000 | |
| Range | Ground = 2275 m Helicopters = N/A m  Airplanes = N/A m
|
Ground = 875 m Helicopters = 525 m Airplanes = N/A m
|
|
| Accuracy | 65% | 20% | |
| Stabilizer | 50% | 10% | |
| AP Power | 21 | N/A | |
| HE Power | 4 | .5 | |
| Suppression | 138 | 55 | |
| Rate of fire | 8 r/min | 652 r/min |
Gallery[]
See also[]
| |||||
