Conqueror (tank)

British heavy tank

FV 214 Conqueror

Conqueror Mk I at The Tank Museum, Bovington (2008)

Type| Heavy gun tank
Place of origin| United Kingdom
Service history
In service| 1955–1966 (only in West Germany)
Production history
Designed| 1944
Manufacturer| Royal Ordnance Factory, Dalmuir
Produced| 1955–1959
No. built| 185
Specifications
Mass| 64 tonnes (71 short tons; 63 long tons)
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| 5 inches (130 mm) hull front, 13 inches (330 mm) turret front

Main
armament

| L1 120 mm rifled gun

Secondary
armament

| 2×L3A1 7.62 mm machine guns
Engine| Rolls-Royce Meteor M120
810 hp (604 kW)
Power/weight| 12 hp/tonne
Suspension| Horstmann suspension

Operational
range

| 161 km (100 mi)
Maximum speed | 35 km/h (22 mph)

The FV 214 Conqueror, also known as tank, heavy No. 1, 120 mm gun, Conqueror was a British heavy tank of the post-World War II era. It was developed as a response to the Soviet IS-3 heavy tank. The Conqueror's main armament, an L1 120 mm gun,[1] was larger than the 20-pounder (83.4 mm) gun carried by its peer, the Centurion. The Conqueror's role was to provide long range anti-tank support for the Centurion. Nine Conquerors were issued for each regiment in Germany, usually grouped in three tank troops. In the British Army both the Conqueror and the Centurion were replaced by the Chieftain.

## Background

[edit]

The Conqueror's origins trace back to the initiation of the A 45 program in 1944, for a heavy infantry tank to complement the A 41\. This new design was to be based on that of the A 41, sharing as many components as possible but on a larger and more heavily armoured vehicle. As WWII came to a close, the project was redesignated FV 200; it was reworked to fulfill the role of a 'Universal Tank', capable of serving as the platform for a variety of specialist vehicle types (self-propelled artillery, armoured personnel carrier, various armoured recovery vehicles, gun tractor etc.). The main gun tank of the series, the FV 201, was to be armed with the 20 pounder. By 1949, however, with several of the specialist variants being cancelled due to escalating costs, the Centurion now also receiving the 20 pounder, and the vehicle was no longer being considered a match for newer Soviet types, the decision was made to shelve the program.

## Caernarvon

[edit]

Despite the cancellation of the FV201 there was still a pressing need for a new heavy gun tank, now requiring a 120 mm armament. Due to the urgency of the situation with the Soviets the existing hull design was repurposed for the new specification, however it was estimated that the new turret would not be ready until at least 1954. In order to familiarise crews with the new tanks a production order was placed for the hulls, which in 1952 were combined with 20 pounder-armed Centurion Mk 3 turrets to produce the FV 221 Caernarvon Mark I.[2][3] The Caernarvon was only used for chassis development work serving in troop trials. In 1955, the first Conqueror was produced.

## Design

[edit]

The new, larger-calibre gun design chosen for Conqueror was the Royal Ordnance OQF 120mm Tank L1, a British adaptation of the American M58 gun used on the US M103 heavy tank;[4] using two-piece ammunition. The charge was not bagged but supplied in a brass cartridge, which offered some safety advantages, but reduced shell capacity to 35.[5] Secondary armament was provided in a pair of L3A1 machine guns, the British designation for the Browning M1919A4. One was mounted coaxially with the main gun while the other was fitted to the commander's cupola.

The rotating cupola of the Tank Museum's Conqueror

The armour was very heavy for the time, especially in the front, where it could be up to either 18.8 or 26.7 inches (480 – 680 mm) thick in the horizontal plane, depending on the source.[6] 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 unreliable. Also, few bridges could support its weight. However, rather like the Second World War Churchill tank, the Conqueror had exceptional terrain handling characteristics.

One feature of particular note was the rotating commander's cupola, which was at the heart of the Conqueror's fire control system and was advanced for its time. The commander could align the cupola on a target independently of the turret, measure the range with a coincidence rangefinder, 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 Soviet bloc also used similar devices, such as the TPKU-2 and TKN-3, on all of their post–World War II tanks, though theirs did not include a rangefinder.

It was the largest and heaviest tank used by the British Army at the time the first Conqueror was completed in 1955. In all, before production ceased in 1959,[1] 20 Mark 1 and 165 Mark 2 Conquerors were built, including those converted from Caernarvons. Once the Centurion was upgraded to use the L7 105 mm gun the tactical relevance of the Conqueror, and dedicated heavy gun tanks in general, faded as the Main Battle Tank rose to prominence.

## Variants

[edit]

Conqueror Mk 2 of the British Army of the Rhine in 1962. Caernarvon Mk 2 FV 222 Conqueror ARV Mk II

The variants of the Conqueror tank and developments directly related to its development are:

* FV 214 Conqueror
* Mk I (had three periscopes for the driver).
* Mk II (included better join of frontal armour plates, a single periscope for the driver, and an improved exhaust system).
* Mk II/I/H – rebuilt Caernarvons.[7]
* Tank, heavy No. 2, 183 mm gun, FV 215

Design study of Conqueror chassis with limited traverse turret mounting 183 mm gun. Wooden mockup produced.[8]

* FV 221 Caernarvon
* Mk I – prototype.
* Mk II – experimental series, 21 built.
* FV 222 Conqueror armoured recovery vehicle (ARV)
* Mk I – 8 produced.
* Mk II[9] – 20 produced. Weight: 57 tons. Winch capacity: 45 tons (direct pull).

## Operators

[edit]

* United Kingdom: 1955–1966. Deployed with BAOR in West Germany only.

## Surviving vehicles

[edit]

Scammell Contractor hauling the REME's Conqueror ARV2 FV222 Tank Recovery Vehicle (2008)

In the United Kingdom, Conqueror tanks are displayed at The Tank Museum, Bovington,[10] (with another in use as a gate guardian across the road outside Stanley Barracks), at the Land Warfare Hall of the Imperial War Museum Duxford and at the Defence Capability Centre in Shrivenham. Other tanks are in the collections of the Musée des Blindés in France, the Gunfire Museum in Brasschaat, Belgium (a Mark 2), the Kubinka Tank Museum, Russia, and the Royal Tank Museum, Amman, Jordan. One is privately owned in the United States as part of the Littlefield Collection and another is in use as a gate guardian outside the Royal Tank Regiment Officers' Mess, which was restored by 2nd Royal Tank Regiment Light Aid Detachment (REME) in 2009, having previously been in a deteriorating state at Castlemartin Ranges (where it had previously been the guardian "Romulus" before being replaced by a German Leopard MBT).

There are also two MkII ARVs at the Military History Museum on the Isle of Wight in an unrestored condition. A MkII ARV is held by the REME Museum of Technology, although it is not on display.[11] There was formerly a Conqueror gate guardian at Base Vehicle Depot Ludgershall – informally known as "William". It is now part of the Isle of Wight Military Museum.

A Conqueror ARV remained in service at the Amphibious Experimental Establishment AXE, at Instow in North Devon, UK. It was used for beach tank recovery practice. At least one Conqueror exists in poor condition on the grounds of Kirkcudbright Training Area in Scotland, where it was used as a gunnery target. A number of Conquerors remain on the Haltern Training area in Germany.

## Tanks of comparable role, performance and era

[edit]

* M103 heavy tank – American heavy tank sharing the Conqueror's main armament.
* AMX-50 – French heavy tank also armed with a 120 mm gun.
* IS-3 – Soviet heavy tank which the Conqueror was designed to counter.
* T-10 tank – Soviet heavy tank in service at the same time as the Conqueror.

## References

[edit]

Notes

1. ^ a b Ford, World's Great Tanks, p. 119
2. ^ "Huge Tank Developed by British May Be Most Powerful Ever." Popular Mechanics, April 1954, p. 132.
3. ^ Evans; McWilliams; Whitworth; Birch (2004). The Rolls-Royce Meteor. Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust. p. 112\. ISBN 1-872922-24-4.
4. ^ Dunstan, Centurion, p. 10
5. ^ Norman, pages 14 and 16
6. ^ Nash, Mark (18 April 2020). "Tank, Heavy No. 1, 120 mm Gun, FV214 Conqueror". Tank Encyclopedia. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
7. ^ "FV-214 Conqueror". Retrieved 13 March 2018.
8. ^ AFV Profile No. 38
9. ^ Baxter, Breakdown, p. 77
10. ^ "Museum accession record". Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
11. ^ "Conqueror Armoured Recovery Vehicle Mark 2". REME Museum of Technology. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2011.

Bibliography

* Baxter, Brian S. (1989). Breakdown: A History of Recovery Vehicles in the British Army. HMSO, for REME Museum. ISBN 0-11-290456-4.
* Dunstan, Simon (2003). Centurion Universal Tank 1943-2003. Osprey Publishing (UK). ISBN 978-1-84176-387-3.
* Ford, Roger (1997). The World's Great Tanks from 1916 to the present day. Brown Packaging Books. ISBN 1-897884-29-X.
* Griffin, Rob (1999). Conqueror. Crowood Press. ISBN 1-86126-251-5.
* Shulze, Carl (2015). Conqueror Heavy Gun Tank: Britain's Cold War Heavy Tank. Tankograd Publishing.

Norman, Michael, AFV Profile No. 38 Conqueror Heavy Gun Tank, Profile Publications

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Conqueror tanks.

* Photo gallery at svsm.org Archived 19 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine
* REME Museum of Technology: Conqueror Armoured Recovery Vehicle Mark 2

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British armoured fighting vehicles of the post-war era

Tanks|

* Comet
* Centurion
* Charioteer
* Conqueror
* Chieftain
* Challenger 1
* Challenger 2
* Challenger 3

Infantry fighting vehicle|

* Warrior

Reconnaissance vehicles|

| Tracked|

* FV101 Scorpion
* FV107 Scimitar
* Sabre
* Ajax

|

Wheeled|

* Ferret scout car
* Saladin armoured car
* Fox reconnaissance vehicle
* Jackal

Armoured personnel carriers|

| Tracked|

* FV432
* FV103 Spartan
* FV105 Sultan
* Stormer
* Viking
* Warthog

|

Wheeled|

* Saracen APC
* Humber Pig
* Saxon
* Fuchs
* Boxer

Infantry mobility vehicles|

* Panther CLV
* Cougar variants:
* Ridgeback PPV
* Mastiff PPV
* Wolfhound TSV
* Husky TSV
* Foxhound

Internal security vehicle|

* Shorland armoured car

Tank destroyers|

* FV1620 Humber Hornet
* FV438 Swingfire
* FV102 Striker

Self-propelled artillery|

* FV433 Abbot
* AS-90

Self-propelled anti-air|

* Alvis Stormer HVM
* tracked Rapier

Combat engineering vehicles|

* Terrier armoured digger
* Trojan AVRE

Armoured recovery vehicles|

* Centurion ARV Mk II
* FV106 Samson
* FV434 armoured maintenance vehicle
* Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle (CRARRV)

Experimental, prototype,
export|

* FV301 tank
* FV4401 Contentious
* Vickers MBT
* Vickers MBT Mk. 3
* Vickers MBT Mk. 4 Valiant
* MBT-80

UK unarmoured or non-fighting vehicles

* v
* t
* e

Tanks of the Cold War

Main battle|

* AMX-30
* AMX-30E
* Centurion
* Sho't
* Challenger 1
* Chieftain
* Chonma-ho
* CM-11 Brave Tiger
* K1 88
* Leopard 1
* Leopard 2
* M1 Abrams
* M48 Patton
* CM-12
* M60 tank
* Magach
* Merkava
* OF-40
* Panzer 68
* Stridsvagn 103
* T-55
* T-62
* T-64
* T-72
* M-84
* Lion of Babylon
* T-80
* TR-85
* Type 59
* Type 61
* Type 69/79
* Type 74
* Type 80/85/88
* Type 90
* Vickers MBT Mk 1
* Vijayanta
* Vickers MBT Mk 3

Light|

* AMX-13
* HSTV(L)
* M41 Walker Bulldog
* M551 Sheridan
* PT-76
* PT-85
* SK-105 Kürassier
* Stingray
* Type 62
* Type 63
* Type 64
* X1A

Medium|

* Charioteer
* M46 Patton
* M47 Patton
* Panzer 58
* Panzer 61
* Stridsvagn 74
* Super Sherman
* TAM
* T-54

Heavy|

* ARL 44
* Conqueror
* IS-4
* M103
* T-10

Prototypes,
experimentals|

* AMX-32
* AMX-40
* AMX-50
* Char 25T
* EE-T1 Osório
* Emil
* Expeditionary Tank
* HSTV(L)
* IS-7
* Lorraine 40t
* M8 armored gun system
* MB-3 Tamoyo
* MBT-70
* MBT-80
* Object 187
* Object 279
* Object 292
* Object 490A
* Object 770
* Object 785
* Spähpanzer Ru 251
* Spähpanzer SP I.C.
* T92 light tank
* T95 medium tank
* TR-125
* Vickers MBT Mk 4 Valiant
* Vickers MBT Mk 7
* WZ-111 heavy tank
* WZ-132 light tank
* WZ-122

* Cold War tanks
* List of modern armoured fighting vehicles

Background: History of the tank, Tank classification, Tanks in the Cold War
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