Friday, September 16, 2011

FV214 Conqueror Heavy Tank

FV214 Conqueror Heavy Tank
The FV 214 Conqueror was a British heavy tank of the post-war era. It was developed as a response to the Soviet Joseph Stalin IS-3 heavy tanks and carried a larger 120 mm gun compared to the 20-pounder (83.4 mm) gun carried by its peer the Centurion. Its role was to provide long range anti-tank support for Centurion tanks. They were issued nine to a regiment in Germany; usually grouped in three tank troops.

The gun design was American, the same as used on the US M103 heavy tank; with separate charge and projectile, as would also be the case in the Chieftain that followed. The charge was not bagged but in a brass cartridge, which offered some safety advantages, but reduced shell capacity to 35.

The armour was very heavy for the time, especially in the front, where it was seven inches (178 mm) in the horizontal plane. Unfortunately, this, along with the weight of the huge turret required to house the large gun and the very large hull volume, made the vehicle very heavy, giving it a relatively low top speed and making it mechanically unreliable. Also, few bridges could support its weight. However, rather like the Second World War Churchill tank, the Conqueror had exceptional terrain handling characteristics and proved to be as capable cross country as the lighter (and on paper slightly faster) Centurion tank.

One feature of particular note was the rotating commander's cupola, which was at the heart of the Conqueror's fire control system, advanced for its time. The commander could align the cupola on a target independently of the turret, measure the range with a coincidence range finder, and then direct the gunner on to the new lay mechanically indicated to him by the cupola. In theory, when the gunner traversed to the new lay he would find the target already under his sights, ready to be engaged. Meanwhile, the commander was free to search for the next target.

The system may have been inspired by a similar device, without range finder, installed in WWII German Panzers which was apparently highly successful, but was not repeated in subsequent tanks until an updated electronic version of the same idea appeared in the American M60A2.

FV 214 Conqueror
Type Heavy tank
Place of origin United Kingdom
Production history
Manufacturer Royal Ordnance Factory, Dalmuir
Number built 185
Specifications
Weight 65 long tons (66 tonnes)
Length 38 feet (12 m) gun forward, 25 feet 4 inches (7.72 m) hull
Width 13 feet 1 inch (3.99 m)
Height 10 feet 5 inches (3.18 m)
Crew 4

Armour 7 inches (180 mm)
Main
armament
L1 120 mm rifled gun
Secondary
armament
2×7.62 mm machine guns
Engine Rolls-Royce Meteor M120
810 hp (604 kW)
Power/weight 12 hp/tonne
Suspension Horstmann suspension
Operational
range
65 km
Speed 34 km/h

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