Military Model Scene

Title: Challenger I
Author: Richard Kent
Publisher: MMP
ISBN: 978-83-66549-93-7

'Britain's Orphan Tank', a new Green Series book from MMP via UK distributor Casemate. A 200-page soft-cover book.
This tells the story of Challenger 1, spread across 8 chapters plus 2 annexes. It starts off with a piece on Chobham armour, a key feature of Challenger tanks, and the 'interesting' development story of Challenger. It includes the story of the development of the Shir 1 and 2 tanks for the Shah of Iran, but he was overthrown before they could be delivered, even though they had already been paid for! With the aluminium Chieftain FV4211, the dead end of the MBT 80 project (and a woeful tale of MoD procurement), the ATR2 and how certain parts were used in the development of Challenger 1. Then it moves on to cover the various problems that emerged during trials, of which the TN-37 gearbox was perhaps the most significant. Then we get to what it was like to be a crewman on Challenger in service, living with it on a daily basis. It does also include the popular appearance of Wolfgang Meier and his blue Mercedes 'bratty wagon', along with the popularity of the 'Yellow Handbag'. It covers the roles of driver, gunner, loader and commander, along with detail of the gun and ammunition, transport by rail and by road transporter, life in Germany and at BATUS, in Canada. The next chapter moves on to specialised variants and the 'What Ifs', of Challenger Marksman and the GBT 155mm howitzer.
Chapter 6 tackles Challenger in Action, with the deployment to the Gulf in 1991, with an account of an interesting meeting between defence chiefs and Mrs Thatcher, the Prime Minister. It goes on to look at further deployments to Bosnia in 1995 and Kosovo in 1999. Then chapter 7 deals with the retirement of Challenger 1, and their sale to Jordan, as well as how 3 were selected for the Tank Museum at Bovington. The final chapter gives a very detailed selection of walkround photos of preserved examples. This adds to the large number of excellent photos which illustrate the story throughout the book. That leaves 2 additional annexes, the first looking at camouflage and markings, especially for the modellers among us, and the second, with specific comparisons between the Challenger 1 and Leopard 2A4, T-80 B/BV and the M1A1 Abrams.
The author is a ex-tank crew veteran, serving on Chieftain Mk 11, and an experienced modeller who really knows his subject well. This one makes a fine follow-up to his earlier book on Chieftain. I suspect this may also generate some more interest in some examples preserved at the Tank Museum, such as the Aluminium Chieftain, ATR2 and the Shir 2, which are perhaps ignored by some visitors to the Bovington museum. An excellent book all round I think.
Thanks to Casemate UK for the review copy.

Robin