In the 1980s, the outdated Chieftain MBT was superseded in the British Army by the more modern Challenger. Despite the fact that the new tank was based on its slower predecessor, they don't really share a lot of traits. The Challenger was considerably more mobile thanks to its powerful engine and an improved transmission, not to mention that its composite armor arrangement was more suited to the challenges of the modern era.
The new MBT became the main tank. that the British armed forces used at the end of the century. In War Thunder, the vehicle proudly sits at the very top of the 6th rank in the ground vehicles part of the British tech tree. As we've said, the Challenger is very different from the Chieftain, but the new generation still inherited a lot of key traits traditionally associated with its elders.
Starting with the Centurion, British tanks were known to have decent armor, powerful sub-caliber rounds, and limited mobility. The Challenger Mark II that we start this journey with is no exception to that rule. Tanks of the series received a sturdy turret, with cheeks that can withstand hits by rounds like the 125mm 3BM22 Zakolka or the 105mm DM33 APF SDS.
Due to the angles, the armor is sloped at and the gun depression of minus 10 degrees The tank performs really well on uneven terrain and in hull-down position. That doesn't mean that its turret is impervious to damage, though. Rounds like the 3BM-42 Mango or the M426 APF SDS can pierce turret cheeks. And modern rounds like the 3BM-60 Svinets II cut through turret armor like butter.
If you're up-tiered, be very careful with your positioning, and remember that your gun mantlet is very vulnerable. But if we're going to speak about weak points, there's no denying that the main problem is the tank's hull. While the upper glacis plate can withstand hits by at least some APFSDS rounds, the LFP can be pierced even by outdated World War II-era APHE rounds. What makes matters worse is that it's the hits through the lower glacis plate as well as the turret ring and side armor that are most likely to KO the vehicle outright.
The Challenger accelerates much faster than the Chieftain and has a higher max speed, but other contemporary MBTs are simply more nimble, and that's a fact. When moving in a straight line, the British tank is noticeably slower than the Soviet T-80 or the American Abrams. And as they have a higher max speed than the Challenger, the gap only grows from there.
On the other hand, the Challenger is surprisingly fast in reverse. You can take advantage of that by getting to a position, making a few shots, and then quickly reversing out of it in a straight line. It works! The Challenger inherited the L11 tank gun from the Chieftain, and it's as effective as ever.
It can also fire the L23A1 APFSDS, which does a lot of damage and can penetrate older vehicles basically everywhere. Naturally, when engaging tanks like the T-72B or the M1A1, You'll have to be more careful and aim for their weak points. Sometimes it pays to destroy their gun barrel first. Even if there's another enemy tank nearby, the Challenger can easily keep up thanks to its great fire rate.
If you're using first-stage ammunition, it takes the gun only 5 seconds to reload. Frankly, there are only a handful of vehicles that can do it faster than the Challenger, like the German PT-16, T-14. In the Gulf War, the British mostly fielded the Mark III variant of the MBT.
In War Thunder, this version of the tank features Romor A ERA tiles that provide good protection against heat projectiles and autocannon fire. But the main selling point of the in-game Mark III is that it has access to the new L26 APFSDS that performs really well against modern MBTs. During its very first years of service, it became clear that the Challenger was a bit lacking in terms of reliability and modernization potential. Even though its performance during the Gulf War was satisfactory, the British Ministry of Defense quickly employed Vickers'defense systems to create an improved version of the MBT, the Challenger II.
While it, broadly speaking, still had the same strengths and weaknesses as the first model, engineers completely reworked the inner systems of the vehicles. Among other upgrades, the tank received more armor in the front and an improved L30 rifled tank gun. At the same time, in terms of mobility and optics, it's pretty much on the level of the early models. Despite that, the second Challenger can be trickier to use than its predecessors.
Yes, it's almost as mobile as the previous generation, but the problem is that it faces opponents that are considerably more mobile. The Challenger 1 could be used as a slow, universal tank. But the Challenger 2 plays more like a self-propelled fortress with a gun, that doesn't have a uniform armor layout in all directions.
ERA blocks and layers of composite armor provide decent enough protection against autocannon Fire and enemy ATGMs, but APFSDS rounds are still a big threat. Some versions of the tank also come with a T-table on top, which has an unfortunate effect of giving away your position. In reality, this device is used to jam remote detonated IEDs. There's also the Theater Entry Standard variant of the tank, which has more additional armor than any other version and weighs almost 75 tons, just like the legendary Jagdtiger. Because of all that, the Challenger 2 is best used as a second-line heavy sniper, that can survive a few hits if needed.
There's no point in trying to keep up with other MBTs. What you should do is find the closest firing position that gives you a good view over the battlefield, and then rely on your superior fire rate and powerful rounds. At the same time, there are a few Challengers that are very different from the rest. Take the experimental Black Knight, for instance. It's fitted with a unique active protection system that can even react to darts.
This fact alone allows the Black Knight to be more active and aggressive. When your target is far away, you don't need any cover. Just stop, fire your shot, and keep moving. Finally, there's the Challenger 2E, a proposed export version of the tank that ultimately failed to receive any orders.
Apart from several general improvements, this variant received a 1,500-horsepower MTU engine and a new transmission. Thanks to that, the vehicle's mobility is on par with the heavy variants of the Leopard 2 or the Abrams. Granted, the tank's lower glacis plate is still a massive weak spot, making it harder to engage in CQC.
But overall... The 2e plays a lot more like other Western MBTs. At the end of the day, Challengers are pretty unique.
They're unmistakably Western, but have a distinct British spin. Sometimes they aren't as good as the Leopards or the Leclercs of the world, but sometimes they're better than anyone else! Do you enjoy using these top-ranked British MBTs? Share your experiences in the comments below!