Conqueror

## **Overview**

The FV 214 Conqueror was a British heavy tank of the post-war and Cold War periods. It first entered service with British forces in Germany in 1955, and served up until 1966, when it was replaced by Chieftain. The Conqueror's official designation was 'Tank, Heavy No. 1 120mm Gun. Conqueror'. It was created as a response to the perceived threat posed by the soviet JS-3 heavy tank, and is widely considered to have been superior to that vehicle.

## **Design**

The Conqueror's running gear and chassis were from the A45 Infantry Support tank. This hull, which was developed in 1944, was to be common to all vehicles of the FV 200 series, which included Self-Propelled Guns and Armored Personnel Carriers. In 1951, a Centurion Mk2's turret with a 17 pounder gun was added the the A45 hull to create the FV 221 Caernavon, a stop gap while the Conqueror was still in development. 21 More Caernavons were built with the Centurion MK3's turret, equipped with a 20 pounder gun before production ended. These vehicles were known as Caernavon MkIIs. The Conqueror first entered production in 1955, at which point Caernavons were simply used as Conqueror training vehicles.

The Conqueror's armament was the 120 mm L1 cannon, the same gun that was used on the American M103 heavy tank. This gun required separate-loading ammunition, with a warhead and propellant in a brass casing. Normally tanks that had this ammunition configuration, such as the M103, used two loaders to reduce the workload, however the Conqueror's turret was not large enough for this. Thus only a single loader was provided, which reduced the rate of fire. In fact a special PT course was run for those seeking to be Conqueror loaders, as the job was very physically demanding.

The Conqueror was very heavily armored, with about 178 mm on the hull and 250 mm on the mantlet. This cast steel armor made the vehicle very heavy, about 70 tons when fully loaded, which caused reduced speeds, especially because the engine only provided around 810 horse-power. The Conqueror was slow, no doubt, but it was also very mobile, able to cross rugged terrain and climb steep slopes. In fact it had better off-road handling than Centurion, even though it was slower and more noisy, due to the steel-rimmed road wheels, similar to those used on the King Tiger or Elefant.

One of the more impressive features of the Conqueror was the commander's range-finding cupola. This device was the core of the Conqueror's cutting-edge fire control system. The targeting cupola could be traversed independently of the main turret, and allowed the commander to align on a target and range it with a coincidence rangefinder. Then he could mechanically lay the gunner onto that target, and if the system operated correctly, the gunner would find the target directly in his cross hairs. The gunner could then service that target, and the commander would be free to find a new one. The Conqueror lacked stabilization, however, and the gunner lost control of the gun while the vehicle was in motion, due to the carry mode feature. Once the vehicle came to a stop, it took a couple of seconds for the gun to balance itself, at which point carry mode was switched off allowing the gunner to operate the weapon again. Several variants of Conqueror were produced, including Conqueror MK1, MK2, and a Heavy Recovery Vehicle.

## **Distribution**

Nine Conquerors were given to each British tank regiment.

## **Action**

All 185 Conquerors were sent to West Germany, where they reinforced the Centurions. In case of a Soviet invasion, the Conqueror was meant to act as the heavily-armored backbone of British forces. The vehicles would provide fire support over long distances, using its heavy armor to hold key positions.

Many Conquerors still survive in Museums such as Bovington or Kubinka. Some Conquerors also belong to private collectors. One example (See Above) serves as a Gate Guardian. Sadly, many Conquerors were used as hard targets once Britain transitioned to the Chieftain MBT.