P72026 A30 CHALLENGER

The Challenger A30 (also known as Mark VIII Challenger) is a British WWII tank. The first prototypes of the vehicle appeared in 1942, and series production started shortly after. During it, 200 tanks of this type were created. The length of the vehicle was 8.03 meters, with a width of 2.91 meters and a height of 2.77 meters. The drive was provided by a single Rolls-Royce Meteor carburetor engine with a power of up to 600 HP. The main armament of the car consisted of a single 77 mm 17-pounder gun. The secondary armament is a single 7.62 mm machine gun. The Challenger A30 was developed for the needs of the British Army based on combat experience gained primarily from combat in North Africa. In the course of development work, efforts were made to provide the new tank with the highest possible mobility, while arming it with the most effective anti-tank weapons. In order to shorten the research and development work, it was decided to base the new tank largely on the chassis of the Cromwell tank. However, despite this, the development work dragged on, and the legitimacy of the entire project was put into question when the Sherman Firefly vehicles were introduced to the British Army. However, the project was completed and the car entered relatively limited series production. It is worth adding that the Challenger A30 vehicles were used by the Polish Armed Forces in the West as part of one of the regiments of the 1st Armored Division.