Vickers Valiant

Vickers Valiant by Richard M. Ogorkiewicz Battle tank development programs are generally the prerogative of governments. But there is one notable exception to this in the tanks developed by Vickers, the British engineering company which has produced more than one design on its own initiative. The latest example of this is the Valiant, which represents an interesting and important addition to the new generation of battle tanks. The ability of Vickers to develop a new tank as advanced and effective as the Valiant stems from many years of experience in the design and production of tanks. In fact, Vickers’ involvement with tanks goes back to WW I. Moreover, Vickers was the world‘s leader in tank development during the 1920s and early 1930s when they produced several outstanding designs for the British Army and for export. The success of Vickers’ designs is best attested by the fact that they were copied in several countries, including the USSR. In particular, the most numerous Soviet tankup to 1941, the T-26, was a copy of the Vickers-Armstrong Six-Ton Tank. Much more recently, Vickers played a major role in the development and production of the Centurion, which has been one of the most successful and most widely used tanks since WW II. Among others, Centurions were employed very successfully in the Middle East wars of 1967 and 1973 and with the advantage of various retrofits they are still very effective today40 years since they were first designed. Vickers MBTs. From the basis of their experience with the Centurion, Vickers began during the late 1950s to design a modern tank of their own. This tank was intended to be as well armed as the Centurion and other contemporary tanks. But it was to be lighter, to make it more compatible with the infrastructure of many countries and in particular with their bridging and other transportation facilities. Vickers’ work on this tank attracted the attention of the Indian Army, which backed its development and adopted it 40 march-april 1983 under the name Vijayanta. At first, this tank was built at Vickers’ plant in England, but from 1965 on it was produced in India, at a plant built at Adavi, near Madras. Since then, well over one thousand of the Vickers-designed Vijayantas have been built at Avadi and they are the Indian Army’s main battle tank.

As the production of the Vijayanta got underway in India, the production of them in England ceased. However, in 1968, Vickers received an order from Kuwait for 70 tanks which were basically similar to the Vijayanta but which were called Vickers Main Battle Tank Mark 1. The production of the Vickers MBT Mk 1 was followed by the development of the Mark 3. This was first ordered in 1977 by Kenya and in 1981 by Nigeria, for which the Mark 3 is currently being produced at a brand-new plant that has replaced Vickers’ earlier production facilities in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the north of England.

Tie Mark 3 has the same 105-mm gun as theMark 1 but it is a considerable advance on the latter in several other respects. In particular, it has a Marconi Radar SFCS 600 fire control system with a laser rangefinder and an electronic computer, a more powerful 720-hp engine produced by Detroit Diesel Allison and a new, cast turret which offers greater protection. In spite of all the improvements, the weight of theMark3 isvirtuallythesameasthatoftheMark1. It is,in fact, 38.7 metric tons (85,300 lbs), combat-loaded, which puts it among the lightest of the modern battle tanks. Chobham armor. The successful development of the Mark 3 led to the latest Vickers’ tank, the Valiant. The design of this tank was started in 1977 and its prototype was completed in June, 1979. Since then, it has been tested extensively, not only by Vickers, but also at the Royal Armoured Corps Centre at Bovington Camp, the British equivalent of Fort Knox.

The design of the Valiant has been very sensibly based on that of the Mark 3, but the two tanks differ very considerably The Chobham-armored Vickers Valiant weighs in at 43.6 metric tons, some 10 tons, or more, lighter than theM7. The four views show the main gun, armor array. and suspension system. in all major respects. One of the most important differences IS in their armor. The Mark 3, like the M60A1 and other tanks of their generation, has conventional steel armor. The Valiant, on the other hand, has special armor. In fact, it has the same kind of Chobham armor as that which served as the basis of the high degree of protection incorporated in the US M1 tank.

Its special armor makes Valiant comparable in terms of protection with the latest tanks developed anywhere in the world. At the same time, it enjoys a very considerable operational advantage over other new tanks with special armor on account of its much lighter weight. Thus, its combat-loaded weight is only 43.6 metric tons (96,000 lbs), which makes it 10 tons, or more, lighter than the M1 or the Leopard 2. One of the reasons for the relatively light weight of the Valiant is that its hull structure is of aluminum armor instead of steel. The weight saving advantages of aluminum armor have been recognized elsewhere, but the Valiant is the first battle tank to exploit it, apart from experimental vehicles.

120-mm maingun. Another major feature of the Valiant is the design of its “universal” turret, which not only incorpe rates the special armor, but can mount different 105-mm or 120-mm guns, to suit the user’s requirements. At first, its prototype was armed with a 105-mm gun, but in 1982 it was rearmed with the same 120-mm L-11 rifled gun as that mounted in the Chieftan and the new Challenger tanks of the British Army. Alternatively, the Valiant can be armed with the Rheinmetall-designed 120-mm smoothbore gun which has been adopted for the MlEl as well as Leopard 2. The secondary armament of the Valiant includes a coaxial 7.62-mm Hughes Chain Gun. This externally-powered weapon has been adopted because of the advantages it offers to the crew, including its ability to eject faulty rounds without a stoppage of the gun and the elimination of gun fumes in the turret.

Like the Mark 3, the Valiant is fitted with the Marconi Radar SFCS 600 fire control system. But in addition it has a muzzle reference system which enables the gunner to compensate rapidly for any tube bend that may occur in spite of the gun being fitted with a thermal jacket. One of the most interesting features of the Valiant‘s armament system is the provision of a panoramic, independently-stabilized sight for the commander and of a telescopic sight for the gunner. This effective and economic arrangement gives the commander the highly important capability to observe from under armor on the move as well march-april 1983 41 \ A - Overall heiaht \ (to top of C%mmanders Condor sight hood) 3.24 m 2.64 m 9.53 m 7.51 m B - Height to turret roof C - Overall length with gun D - Overall length without gun E - Overall width F - Track Centres G - Centres front to rear spring wheel H - Ground Clearance (without Applique Armor) 3.3 m 2.7 m 4.47 m 4.57 m as when the tank is stationary. The commander’s stabilized sight is also linked electronically to the gun, which makes it possible for him to engage targets, when appropriate. On the other hand, the gunner’s telescopic sight has the advantage of being mounted coaxially with the gun, which eliminates linkage errors between the sight and the gun. In addition, there is also a panoramic, independently-stabilized thermal imaging sight. This novel sight comes with separate monitors for the commander and the gunner and is available not only for observation, but also for the engagement of targets at night and under various conditions of poor visibility.

Another advance incorporated in the Valiant is a new, all-electric, two-axis stabilization system developed by Marconi Radar. In principle, the stabilized gun control system of the Valiant is similar to those fitted in the Vickers Mark 1 and Mark 3. However, it is of a much more advanced, solid-state type which is much more efficient and more compact than earlier electric systems. It also has the advantage over hydraulic, or electro-hydraulic, gun control systems of being free not only of the nuisance of hydraulic leaks but also of the potential danger of fires, and it requires no fine filtration of hydraulic fluids or warming-up time under low temperature conditions.

Automotive components. The automotive characteristics of the Valiant represent another major advance achieved in its design and make it comparable with the most mobile of the recently developed tanks. For instance, its power-to-weight ratio is 23-hp per metric ton, which is close to the power-b weight ratio of the M1, and its acceleration is similar. The Valiant is powered by a Rolls-Royce V-12 diesel, the CVlBTCA Condor, virtually the same engine as that fitted in the new British Army Challenger tank, but is rated at 1,000 instead of 1,200 hp. The lower power rating should increase its durability and, because it is less highly turbocharged, its response is more rapid, which increases the tank’s acceleration. The Rolls-Royce engine is also noted for its low specific fuel consumption, which at its minimum is only 0.34 lb/bhp/hr and which should help to extend the operating range of the Valiant.

In contrast to others, the transmission of the Valiant does not follow the trend to use torque converters and hydrostatic steering. Instead, it is a modified version of the six-speed transmission produced for the Chieftan, but made fully automatic by means of an electric control system. The all-mechanical transmission has the inherent advantage of being more efficient, which means that more of the engine power is available to drive the tank, instead of being dissipated by oil coolers. At the same time, the skill and effort 42 ARMOR march-april 1983 generally required of drivers by mechanical transmissions are eliminated by the electrical controls. In addition to reducing driver fatigue, the design of the Valiant also provides exceptionally good access into the driver’s station. In fact, it is almost the only tank of the new generation with special armor which does not require one to be a contortionist to get into the driver’s seat. The suspension of the Valiant is almost the only feature carried over with little change from the Mark 1 and Mark 3 tanks. In principle, it is of a conventional, torsion bar type, but it is unique in having secondary torsion bar springs in the trailing arms of the first two and the last road wheels on each side. The secondary torsion bars provide more effective springing at the most critical wheel stations and significantly improve the ride over rough ground. The secondary torsion bar springs and its other unique features make the Valiant an interesting addition to the new generation of tanks. What is more, it is clearly a very potent tank. Yet it should not be costly to produce, because its designers managed to adapt several major components already in production, thereby saving a great deal of development and tooling costs. All this, together with its relatively light weight, makes the Valiant a very strong candidate for adoption and it will be interesting to see which army is the first to use it as its battle tank.

RICHARD M. OGOR- Advanced Research Pro-KlEWlCZ is a consulting en- jects Agency. He is also the gineer and lectures at the author of two books and Imperial College of Science numerous articles on armor, and Technology in London this being his 72nd article in He has lectured and advised ARMOR on armored vehicles in many countries, including Brazil, Israel, Japan, Peoples‘ Republic of China, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, as well as England and the U S In the U S he has lectured at TACOM and other U S .

Army installations and participated in the Armored Combat Vehicle Technology Program and combat vehicle studies for the Defense