Challenger 2: The British Main Battle Tank

For much of the Cold War, the British Army's main battle tanks (MBT) were first the Centurion and then the Chieftain. The question of the latter's replacement became urgent when in 1980 MBT80 was canceled. While the Royal Ordnance Challenger (originally the Shir 2) was acquired as a stop gap its design and capability limitations quickly became apparent.Vickers then took over the Royal Ordnance tank building facility and against stiff foreign competition developed the Challenger 2.This super...