Not to be confused with the much later Challenger 1, Challenger 2, and Challenger 3 main battle tanks.
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations.(July 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Tank, Cruiser, Challenger (A30)[1]
Cruiser tank Challenger (A30)
Type
Cruiser tank
Place of origin
United Kingdom
Service history
Used by
United Kingdom Czechoslovak government-in-exile Polish Armed Forces in the West
Czechoslovakia[2]
Production history
Designer
Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company
Produced
1944–1945
No. built
200
Specifications
Mass
31.5 long tons (32.0 t)[3]
Length
26 ft 4 in (8.03 m)[3]
Width
9 ft 6.5 in (2.91 m)[3]
Height
9 ft 1.25 in (2.77 m)[3]
Crew
5 (Commander, gunner, loader, co-loader, driver)
Armour
20–102 mm (0.79–4.02 in)
Main armament
Ordnance QF 17 pounder (76.2 mm) 42 rounds
Secondary armament
0.30 Browning machine gun[4]
Engine
Rolls-Royce Meteor V-12 petrol engine 600 hp (450 kW)
Power/weight
18.8 hp (14 kW) / tonne
Suspension
Christie suspension 6 road wheels
Operational range
105 mi (169 km)[3]
Maximum speed
32 mph (51 km/h)[3]
The Tank, Cruiser, Challenger (A30) was a British tank of World War II. It mounted the QF 17-pounder anti-tank gun on a chassis derived from the Cromwell tank to add anti-tank firepower to the cruiser tank units. The design compromises made in fitting the large gun onto the Cromwell chassis resulted in a tank with a powerful weapon and reduced armour. However, the extemporised 17-pounder Sherman Firefly conversion of the US-supplied Sherman proved easier to produce and, with delays in production, only 200 Challengers were built. The Challenger was able to keep up with the fast Cromwell tank and was used with them.
^Bishop, Chris (1998). The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. New York: Barnes & Noble. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-7607-1022-7.
^Fletcher (2006), p. 42.
^ abcdefWhite (1963), p. 54.
^Fletcher (2006), p. 38.
and 26 Related for: Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger information
the British a powerful, reliable engine, which was used in the A27M CruiserMkVIII Cromwell tank. Robotham's contributions gained him a place in the Ministry...
vehicles. The CruiserMkVIIIChallenger was developed, mounting a 17-pounder gun on a lengthened Cromwell hull in a new turret. The Challenger was an unhappy...
been four tanks named Challenger in British military service. CruiserMkVIIIChallenger in service during World War II Challenger 1 in service from the...
been four tanks named Challenger in British military service. CruiserMkVIIIChallenger in service during World War II Challenger 1 in service from the...
June 1944. The A30 CruiserMkVIIIChallenger was created as a derivative of Cromwell to meet the needs for a 17-pounder armed cruiser tank, but production...
The Cromwell tank, officially Tank, Cruiser, MkVIII, Cromwell (A27M), was one of the series of cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in the Second World War...
for Challenger 3 and Leopard 2. The Challenger 3 will be the fourth tank of this name, the first being the World War II CruiserMkVIIIChallenger, which...
Cruiser, MkVIII, Cromwell (A27M) (1943), also known as the Cromwell tank; the most numerous British cruiser tank in World War II CruiserMkVIII Challenger;...
went into production. This proved fortunate, as the CruiserMkVIIIChallenger and CruiserMkVIII Cromwell tank designs experienced difficulties and delays...
used to only equip the armoured reconnaissance regiment. Tank, Cruiser, Mk.VIII, Challenger (A30) - Derived from Cromwell, enlarged chassis to carry a turret...
for the CruiserMkVIIIChallenger tank design with the QF 17-pounder (76.2 mm) gun. The turret "in modified form" was used on the Challenger. The planned...
armed CruiserMkVIIIChallenger were going to be produced in time for the invasion of Europe, and work was only starting on the Centurion cruiser design...
service Includes the C names Caernarvon Centurion ChallengerChallenger 1 Challenger 2 Challenger 3 Charioteer Chieftain Churchill Comet Conqueror Contentious...
2012–2019 Chinese subcompact sedan Aeolus A30, a Chinese saloon CruiserMkVIIIChallenger (A30), a British tank of World War II List of A30 roads Samsung...
several U.S. Navy ships Avenger (tank), a development of the CruiserMkVIIIChallenger GAU-8 Avenger, an aircraft cannon AN/TWQ-1 Avenger, an American...
VIII Cromwell (A27M) (3,066; United Kingdom) CruiserMkVIIIChallenger (A30) (200; United Kingdom) Cruiser, Comet I (A34) (1,186; United Kingdom) Centurion...
losses. A second British tank equipped with the 17-pdr gun, the CruiserMkVIIIChallenger, could not participate in the initial landings having to wait...
Efforts were hastened to get cruiser tanks armed with 17-pounder guns into operation. The CruiserMkVIIIChallenger (A30) was already at the prototype...
smaller proportion of 17-pounder tanks in use, of which work on the CruiserMkVIIIChallenger was making progress. None are known to have been used in combat...
enemy's heavy tanks. The CruiserMkVIIIChallenger was a project to bring a 17 pdr tank into use to support the Cromwell cruiser tank. Delays led to it...
tank and a number of 17-pounder Sherman tanks (Sherman Firefly), CruiserMkVIIIChallenger tanks and M5 Stuart light tanks. Crusader AA tanks were dispatched...
also the case of the development of a heavy cruiser tank, which focused on armour and firepower to challenge Germany's Tiger and Panther tanks. Tanks have...
still lacked a formal tank division. The CruiserMk IV (A13 Mk II) was a more heavily armoured version of the Mk III and was used in some of the early campaigns...
Global Information
