Description
Book SynopsisA comprehensive overview of the work of the Military Vehicles Research and Development Establishment on Chobham Common, which provided armoured vehicles for the British Army from 1945 to its close in 2004.
Through much of World War II British tanks and armoured vehicles were outmatched by the German tanks they encountered and this led to the British Army placing much emphasis on ensuring that the same situation would not arise again if the Cold War turned hot. The task of developing the Main Battle Tanks and supporting armoured vehicles to out-range and quickly destroy the Soviet threat fell to the scientists and engineers at the Fighting Vehicle Research and Development Establishment on Chobham Common near to Chertsey. It was the design authority for all British Military vehicles for most of the period.
Military vehicle and equipment expert William Suttie draws extensively on official MOD reports to tell the story of the development of the British Cold War armo
Trade Review
By its nature, the book is fairly technical, but explained clearly and with fine supporting photos and diagrams. Of particular interest to wargamers will be the tables giving ‘hit’ and ‘kill’ probabilities for NATO and Soviet anti-tank weaponry against main battle tanks, based on official systems that reflected target size, armour, ranges, etc, with some comparisons that may surprise you. A quality publication. -- Chris Jarvis * Miniature Wargames *
The author has spent around 45 years working in the field of military vehicle/equipment research and development and that experience shines through in this book. -- Robin Buckland * Military Model Scene *
An excellant resource for those interested in Cold War British Armour -- Duncan Evans * The Armourer Magazine *
As one would expect the book is lavishly illustrated, with photographs of those vehicles that were actually constructed and plans for most of those that weren’t. Well written and lavishly illustrated, this is an excellent guide to the mainly successful military vehicles designed at Chobham. -- John Rickard * Historyofwar.org *
Table of Contents
(Subject to confirmation) Part 1. Main Battle Tank Development Centurion FV215 Conqueror Countering the Soviet Tank Threat FV4201 Chieftain Chieftain Variants Novel Concept Studies UK/German Future Main Battle Tank MBT80 and the 4030 Programme Challenger 1 Challenger 1 Variants Challenger 2 Future Concept Studies Part 2. Medium and Light Tracked AFV Development Light Tanks and Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance Tracked 93 Carriers and Armoured Personal Carriers Warrior AFV of the 80s Stage 1 Other Light and Medium Tracks Concept Studies Part 3. Wheeled AFV Concepts and Development Saladin and Saracen Ferret and Fox Part 4. Other Vehicles Associated with Chertsey 1 Ton Armoured 4x4 Humber FV180 Combat Engineer Tractor SP70: 155mm Self Propelled Howitzer Annex A: List of FV Numbers Annex B: Centurion Data Annex C. Chieftain Data Annex D: Challenger 1 Data Annex E: CVR(T) Data Annex F: FV430 Series Data Annex G: Warrior Data Annex H: Saladin Data Annex J: Saracen Data Annex J: Ferret Data Annex K: FV721 Fox Data Index
