bovington tank museum Archives - Page 5 of 20

Challenger 1 Main Battle Tank

The FV4030/4 Challenger 1 is a British main battle tank used by the British Army from 1983 to 2001, when it was superseded by the Challenger 2.

The Challenger design by the former Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment near Chobham in Surrey originated in an Iranian order for an improved version of the Chieftain line of tanks in service around the world. These were the Chieftain Mk5, Shir 1 and Shir 2. With the fall of the Shah of Iran and the collapse of the UK MBT-80 project, the British Army became the customer and the tank was further developed by MVEE to meet Western European requirements.

Chobham armour is the informal name of a composite armour developed in the 1960s at the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment, a British tank research centre

The Challenger 1 tank saw service in the First Gulf War in 1991.

Heavy Gun Tank Conqueror Mark I

This Heavy Gun Tank Conqueror Mark I was on display at The Tank Museum.

The FV 214 Conqueror, also known as Tank, Heavy No. 1, 120 mm Gun, Conqueror was a British heavy tank of the post-World War II era. It was developed as a response to the Soviet IS-3 heavy tank.

The Conqueror’s main armament, an 120 mm gun, which was larger than the 20-pounder gun carried by its peer, the Centurion.

The Conqueror’s role was to provide long range anti-tank support for the Centurion. Nine Conquerors were issued for each regiment in Germany, usually grouped in three tank troops.

Overall 185 Heavy Gun Tank Conquerors were built. The first was produced in 1955.

They were in service until 1966, both the Conqueror and the Centurion were replaced by the Chieftain.

There was a Heavy Gun Tank Conqueror Mark I at the Land Warfare Exhibit at the Imperial War Museum Duxford. I managed to photograph it back when I visited in 2019.

It was in a wider shot of the Land Warfare Exhibit that included an FV433 Abbot SPG, which I have cropped for this post.

TOG II*

Weighing 80 tons the TOG II* is the heaviest tank at the Tank Museum. It was designed on the premise that World War II would evolve in the same way as the First World War.

The Heavy Tank, TOG II, was a prototype British super-heavy tank design produced in the early part of the Second World War in case the battlefields of northern France turned into a morass of mud, trenches and craters as had happened during the First World War.

The tank was fitted with four different gun turrets between 1941 and 1944, ending up with the type of turret designed by Stoddart and Pitt for the A30 Challenger Heavy Cruiser Tank. This mounted a 17pdr gun, making the tank a TOG II*.

In the end it never went into production, but as part of the Flames of War Mid-War Monsters range you could buy it and use it in alternate history games. I bought a boxed set of three.

See the workbench feature on these huge tanks.

Chieftain Main Battle Tank Mark 12

The FV4201 Chieftain was the main battle tank of the United Kingdom during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

This Chieftain was on display at Bovington.

A development of the Centurion, the Chieftain introduced the supine (reclining) driver position to British design allowing a heavily sloped hull with reduced height. A new powerpack and improved transmission gave it higher speed than the Centurion despite being heavier due to major upgrades to armour protection and the armament.

Chieftain Main Battle Tank at Imperial War Museum Duxford.

Jordanian Khalid Chieftain

This Jordanian Khalid Chieftain was at Bovington.

The FV4201 Chieftain was the main battle tank of the United Kingdom during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

A version was developed in the 1970s for export to Iran, known as the Shir 1.The Shir 1 incorporated the Chieftain hull front and turret casting. The rear of the hull was reconfigured to accept a new power pack. However after the 1979 Iranian Revolution the order was cancelled.

The Khalid Chieftain is based on the Shir 1 design with the addition of the Integrated Fire Control System (IFCS).

These were sold to Jordan.

Tortoise Heavy Assault Tank

The Tortoise Heavy Assault Tank was a British heavy assault gun design developed during the Second World War, but never put into mass production. It was developed for the task of clearing heavily fortified areas such as the Siegfried Line and as a result favoured armour protection over mobility.

Six prototypes were constructed, but it never went into production. Five prototypes were scrapped and one was preserved, and can now be found at The Tank Museum.

Although heavy, at 78 tons, and not readily transported, it was considered reliable and a good gun platform.

Battlefront are going to produce a 15mm version for their Late War Leviathans game.

Battlegroup Afghanistan at Bovington

The men of the Royal Armoured Corps have been involved in some of the fiercest fighting since World War Two. Now they tell their story. Explore a recreated Forward Operating Base, experience the living conditions of the modern soldier. See a range of new vehicles used in Afghanistan.

Battlegroup Afghanistan was a exhibition at the Tank Museum at Bovington.

The Jackal or MWMIK (from “Mobility Weapon-Mounted Installation Kit”) is a family of vehicles designed and developed by Supacat for use by the British Army and Royal Air Force Regiment.

The primary role of the vehicle in the British Army is deep battlespace reconnaissance, rapid assault and fire support – roles where mobility, endurance and manoeuvrability are important – and it has also been used for convoy protection.

Scimitar Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle.

The FV107 Scimitar is a similar armoured reconnaissance vehicle (sometimes classed as a light tank) also used by the British Army. It was manufactured by Alvis in Coventry.

It was issued to Royal Armoured Corps armoured regiments in the reconnaissance role.

It is very similar to the FV101 Scorpion, but mounts a high velocity 30 mm L21 RARDEN cannon instead of a 76 mm gun.

This is a BvS 10 (known as the Viking All-Terrain Vehicle) was developed by Hagglunds Vehicle (now BAE Systems Hagglunds) for the UK Royal Marines.

Currenly on loan from the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group (ASG), the Tank Museum’s Viking exhibit is the second of the two original pre-production BvS 10 which were extensively trialled by the Royal Marines for 12 months from mid-2001. As well as fitting the bar armour, wire cutter and a Mark II Platt Mount protected weapons station (kindly supplied by the Royal Marines ASG), Tank Museum Workshop staff have modified aerials, added IR lights, stowage etc. and repainted and extensively upgraded the original pre-production BvS 10 to look like a Royal Marine ASG Viking Mk I in contemporary service in Afghanistan.

This Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle (CLV) is shown with the damage it incurred from an IED.

A total of 401 Panthers were delivered to the British armed forces by summer 2009. Panther CLVs were built during 2006-09 and replaced a range of vehicles that were reaching the end of their operational lives.

Centurion Mark I

This is the Centurion Mark I T352416 at Bovington.

The Centurion tank was one of the most successful post-war tank designs. It was introduced in 1945, just too late to see combat in the Second World War. However, it went on to serve in a number of conflicts, including the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Arab-Israeli wars.

Development of the Centurion began in 1943 with manufacture beginning in January 1945. Six prototypes arrived in Belgium less than a month after the war in Europe ended in May 1945, so too late to see action.

More photographs of the Bovington Centurion Mark I.

Of course in any alternative history scenario where the war continued after May 1945 in Europe, the Centurion Mk I would have seen action. Likewise in a another alternative history scenario where either Stalin decided to press West after defeating Nazi Germany to take over Western Europe, or the Western Allies decided to “liberate” Eastern Europe from the yoke of Stalin’s communist oppression, again the Centurion Mk I would have seen action.

You can now get a Mark I from Battlefront.

Jagdpanzer 38(t) “Hetzer”

The Tank Museum’s Jagdpanzer 38(t) was built by BMM in late 1944. It came to The Tank Museum in 1951 along with a large number of captured German vehicles.

The Jagdpanzer 38 (Sd.Kfz. 138/2), originally the Leichter Panzerjäger 38(t), known mostly post-war as Hetzer, was a German light tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified Czechoslovakian Panzer 38(t) chassis. Today they are popularly known as Hetzers, but this name was far less common at the time.

The Jagdpanzer 38(t)’s 75mm PaK 39 gun was powerful and effective against all Allied tanks, although its thin armour meant it was very vulnerable to their return fire.

Most Jagdpanzer 38(t)s were used by anti-tank companies in infantry divisions. These units had very few other vehicles and limited mobility. Crews would hide and camouflage their Jagdpanzers then use them to ambush advancing Allied tanks.

Jagdpanzer 38s first entered service in July 1944 and would eventually be assigned to a number of units, including infantry, Panzerjäger and Volksgrenadier divisions. BMM and Škoda continually modified and improved the Jagdpanzer 38 during production of the more than 2,800 vehicles built. Owing to the ease of production and high operating rates, the Jagdpanzer 38 came to serve as Germany’s main tank destroyer in the latter period of the war, making an important contribution on both the Eastern and Western Fronts.

Jagdpanther

This Jagdpanther was on display at Bovington Tank Museum.

The Jagdpanther was a tank destroyer built by Nazi Germany during World War II based on the chassis of the Panther tank.

It entered service late in the war and saw service on the Eastern and Western fronts. Many military historians consider the Jagdpanther to be one of the best tank destroyers of the war due to the combination of the very powerful 8.8 cm KwK 43 cannon and the characteristically excellent armor and suspension of the Panther chassis.

I have a 15mm Flames of War version on the workbench.