page_title: Chieftain (tank)
section_title: Service
hierarchical_section_title: Chieftain (tank) / Service
caption_attribution_description: British Cold War era Main Battle Tank Official designation:- FV4201 Main Armament:- 120mm L11A5 Rifled gun As well as being in British Army service between 1966 and 1995, the Chieftain was also exported to several Middle East countries. This is believed to be one of 707 Chieftains delivered to Iran and was probably captured intact during fighting and sent to Kubinka for trials. It is now on display in what is best known as Hall 6 of the Kubinka Tank Museum, although its official title is now Pavilion 6 in Area 2 of the Park Patriot museum. Kubinka, Moscow Oblast, Russia. 24th August 2017
context_page_description: The FV4201 Chieftain was the main battle tank of the United Kingdom during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
  A development of the Centurion, the Chieftain introduced the supine 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: this allowed it to replace both the Conqueror and Centurion while performing their roles effectively. It remained in service until replaced by the Challenger 1 which shared many of the Chieftain's features.
context_section_description: Chieftain equipped British units of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) during the Cold War, defending West Germany against possible Warsaw Pact attack.
  Like its European competitors, Chieftain found a large export market in the Middle East, but unlike Centurion, it was not adopted by any other NATO or Commonwealth country.
  Chieftain proved itself capable in combat and able to be upgraded, both for overall improvement and to meet local requirements. It was continuously upgraded until the early 1990s, when it was replaced by Challenger 1. The final Chieftain version, which was used by the British Army until 1995, incorporated "Stillbrew" armour named after Colonel Still and John Brewer from the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment (MVEE), the Improved Fire Control System (IFCS) and the Thermal Observation Gunnery Sight (TOGS). The last British Regiment equipped with Chieftain was the 1st Royal Tank Regiment, which was based at Aliwal Barracks, Tidworth.
  The first model was introduced in 1967. Chieftain was supplied to at least six countries, including Iran, Kuwait, Oman and Jordan. An agreement for sales to Israel and local production was cancelled by the British Government in 1969, despite considerable Israeli technical and tactical input into the development of the tank, especially the capacity to operate successfully in desert environments, and the provision for the tank to make good use of hull-down positioning. Two examples were delivered to and extensively trialled by the Israeli Armoured Corps. This experience spurred the creation of the indigenous Israeli Merkava, the development programme of which was led by General Israel Tal, who had worked closely with the British in the Anglo-Israeli Chieftain project. The largest foreign sale was to Iran, which, at the recommendation of General Tal, took delivery of 707 Mk-3P and Mk-5P (the letter P standing for Persia), as well as 187 FV4030-1, 41 ARV and 14 AVLB before the 1979 revolution. Further planned deliveries of the more capable FV4030-2 (Shir 1) and FV4030-3 (Shir 2) series were cancelled at that point.
  It was in the Middle East that the Chieftain was to see all of its operational experience. First, it was used extensively by Iran during the Iran–Iraq War of 1980–88, including the largest tank battle of the war, with mixed results as the Chieftain Mk 3/5 suffered from chronic engine problems and low power-to-weight ratio, making it unreliable and slow when manoeuvring over harsh terrain, which in turn made it prone to breakdowns in the midst of battle or a sluggish target and thus vulnerable to enemy tank fire. Out of the 875 Chieftain tanks that had started the war only 200 were left.
  The Chieftain remains in service in Iran, the Mobarez tank being a locally upgraded version.
caption: A former Iranian Army Chieftain Mk.5 main battle tank on display at the Kubinka Tank Museum
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