Chieftain was the British Armys first true Main Battle Tank. Designed in the mid-1950s to replace the ageing fleet of Conqueror and Centurion tanks, it became the mainstay of the Tank Corps until its own replacement by Challenger in the 1980s. The vehicle was the subject of some poor publicity in its lifetime but Rob Griffin shows that this was undeserved and Chieftain was, in fact, one of the greatest tanks of its time. Topics covered include: full design and development history; detailed specifications; all Chieftains variants and its second-line use and finally, full details of the fate of every vehicle. AUTHOR: Rob Griffin has a life-long interest in armoured vehicles. He served with the Royal Dragoon Guards for 25 years. He now serves with his TA unit The Royal Wessex Yeomanry part of the Royal Armour Corps. He is a regular contributor to modelling magazines including Military Modelling and Military in Scale. 135 b/w photographs
