Chieftain tank
The front cover of the album depicted a British Chieftain tank, which connects to the title, as Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, is a military training area. The original LP release was a gatefold sleeve, with a black-and-white image of the underside of a Chieftain tank on the inside with the turret facing the rear, over which were printed Hensley's comments on each track. Later reissues would be in a single sleeve. The American release on Mercury Records featured a different cover image (a man tearing out of his own skin), as did the original Canadian pressings. Subsequent Canadian pressings used the UK artwork.