00FD66

Notes

Chieftain Mk5/3(C) — export variant hull, contract FVP/37/70, entered service 1 March 1972. The (C) suffix denotes a Khalid/Shir-derived export configuration hull. Merlin records service at SEME (School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering) from March 1989, Vehicle Depot Ludgershall February 1992, ABRO Warminster planned repair March 1993, then final Merlin movement ABRO Warminster August 1994 with RCP 999 H29 — an unusual range/programme disposal code consistent with a trials hull being stood down rather than scrapped. No cast flag set. Used as a development hull for the Shir 2 / FV4030 Development Programme at Chertsey in the late 1980s, with Shir 2 turret T7 fitted during trials (turret marked T7, part of FV4030 Development Programme). The hull participated in the 1983 Canadian Army Trophy competition while serving with SCOTS DG (Royal Scots Dragoon Guards). A photograph of the vehicle with a Shir 2 turret fitted was incorrectly captioned as a Challenger turret on a Chieftain hull in David Fletcher's article 'Chieftain and Beyond' in CMV magazine issue 221 (October 2019); the error was corrected in a subsequent letter identifying the hull by its VRM 00FD66. The same vehicle is referenced in Dick Taylor's Haynes Workshop Manual on the Chieftain MBT (page 143, Tank Museum photo TM 7805B). One Shir 2 hull was converted to hydrogas suspension during the programme, and at least two other hulls (including 00FD66) were reworked to fit the TN54 transmission later adopted for the CRAARV and Challenger 2. Almost certainly retained at Bovington following the FV4030 programme, but physical confirmation is pending.