Chieftain

“A well-thought out, well-produced, authoritative introduction to the Tank . . . Excellent for both the modeler and military or vehicle historian.” —Army Rumour Service   The British Chieftain—designed in the late 1950s as the replacement for the Centurion—was perhaps the best main battle tank in service with Nato during the 1960s and 1970s. Its 120mm rifled main gun and advanced armor made it one of the most formidable tanks of its time, and Robert Jackson’s book is an authoritative introduction to it.   Although it was intended to fight Soviet armor on the plains of northern Germany, it was in the heat and sand of the Middle East that the Chieftain fought its major battles during the Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s, and it proved to be very effective during the Gulf War of 1991. Variants of the Chieftain were exported to Iran, Oman, India, Kenya and Nigeria, and its chassis was adapted to fulfill a variety of tasks, including armored recovery and bridge-laying.   As well as tracing the history of the Chieftain, Robert Jackson’s work provides an excellent source of reference for the modeler, providing details of available kits and photographs of award-winning models, together with artworks showing the color schemes applied to these tanks. Each section of the book is supported by a wealth of archive photographs.   “As usual these books are a great reference for both modelers and war gamers, it contains a plethora of photographs, along with detailed information on the tanks and the regiments that served with the Chieftain.” —Musket, Sword and Paint