The FV4201 Chieftain was the main battle tank of the British Empire during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It was one of the most advanced tanks of its era, and at the time of its introduction in 1966 had the most powerful main gun and most effective armour of any tank in the world. The Chieftain also introduced a supine (reclining backwards) driver position, enabling a heavily sloped hull with reduced height. It remained in service until replaced with the FV4030 Challenger 1.
Early versions of the Chieftain were powered by a 1,000 hp Rolls-Royce CV8 diesel engine and later versions had the 1,200 hp CV12 engine.
Users[]
- Australia
- Bahrain
- British Empire
- Canada
- Republic of China
- Iran
- Israel
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Oman
- Palestine
- Poland
See Also[]
- CM-12 Brave Lion (ROC upgraded version of the Chieftain)
- Mobarez MBT (Iranian upgraded version of the Chieftain)
- PT-91 Twardy (Polish development of the Chieftain)