Main Battle Tank – Challenger 2
Description
The Challenger 2 is a main battle tank built by the British company Alvis Vickers. The Challenger 2 is the third vehicle to carry the title. The first was the A30 Challenger, a WW2 Cromwell tank mounting a 17 pdr gun. The second is the Gulf war era Challenger 1. This was the British army's MBT from the early 1980s to the mid 1990s. Although Challenger 2 was developed from Challenger 1 the new vehicle has been given a complete redesign as fewer than 5% of components are interchangeable. The Challenger 2 has now replaced the Challenger 1 in service with the British Army and is also used by the Royal Army of Oman.
The tank also featured in Top Gear racing against Jeremy Clarkson in his 4×4. You can see the Top Gear version, and the BF2 remake of this great episode on the bf2s forums, located here: http://forums.bf2s.com/viewtopic.php?id=46157
The Challenger 2 is likely one of the most heavily armoured tanks in the world, and has been rated the most durable tank in active deployment by NATO powers. The turret and hull are protected with second generation Chobham armour (also known as Dorchester) the details of which are still classified. Explosive Reactive Armour kits are also fitted as necessary. The nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protection system is located in the turret bustle. On each side of the turret are five L8 smoke grenade dischargers. Challenger 2 can also create smoke by injecting diesel fuel into the exhaust manifolds. The Challenger 2E also has gauss coils fitted beneath its armour to protect against EMP blasts generated by a nuclear detonation.
BF2 Information
The Challenger 2 features in 2 of the 3 Euroforce maps, those being Taraba Quarry and Operation Smoke Screen. Unlike the L2A6, the C2 only features in the one skin as seen above. With lower graphics settings, the tank appears a lot darker as well. The BF2 version uses the US HUD in the drivers view and the tank itself is quite large compared to its M1A2, T90 and Type 88 counterparts. This makes it a big of an easier targer for both the MEC and PLA which is a slight disadvantage.
Weaponry
Driver
Primary Gun: L30A1 120mm rifled gun
Secondary Gun: 7.62mm L94A1 EX-34 Machinegun
Evasive action: Smoke
Gunner
Primary gun: .50 caliber Browning M2 Heavy Barrel machine gun
Evasive action: Duck in Tank
Links
Vehicle Information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_2
Vehicle Picture: http://www.fprado.com/
Vehicle BF2 Screencaps: http://www.ea.com/official/battlefield/battlefield2/us/editorial.jsp?src=vehicles
Top Gear - The BF2 Parody: http://xdesigns.sircommunity.com/