Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger 2016-10-05

The Tank, Cruiser, Challenger (A30) was a British tank of World War II. It mounted the 17 Pounder gun on a chassis derived from the Cromwell tank to add heavier anti-tank firepower to the cruiser tank units.

The design compromises made in fitting the large gun onto the Cromwell chassis resulted in a tank with a powerful weapon, but with less armour. The extemporised Sherman Firefly conversion of the US-supplied Sherman to take the 17 pounder was easier to produce and, combined with delays in production, meant that only 200 Challengers were built. However, it was able to keep up with the fast Cromwell tank and was used alongside them.

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