Thanks, but no tanks

It's reported from Britain that the country's last manufacturing plant for main battle tanks is to close down.

In the week British troops formally ended their military operations in Iraq, BAe Systems, which makes the Army's Challenger 2 tanks, revealed it was closing its tank-making operation at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

It is also shutting its armour business at Telford in Shropshire and at other locations because it sees no prospect of new Government orders.

The closures could result in 500 job losses and means the Army is likely to go into battle in future with tanks using German guns and Swedish chassis.

. . .

Defence Secretary John Hutton has declared 'a rebalancing of investment in technology, equipment and people to meet the challenge of irregular warfare'.

He said he planned to strengthen and enlarge Special Forces but gave no hint of even a medium-weight tank in the Army's future.

But General Patrick Cordingley, Commander of the Desert Rats in the first Gulf War, warned: 'I think we have got ourselves into a real tangle here. If you look at the economic troubles of the 1930s, it ended in a terrible war.

'Are we saying it could never happen again, that we will not be drawn into a war where we will need a full range of forces and equipment?'

There's more at the link.

This is very bad news. Britain, after all, invented the tank! Its 'Little Willie' and 'Big Willie' (the latter shown below) first saw combat in 1916.




During World War II, British tanks gained a relatively poor reputation as slow-moving, under-gunned and inadequately protected. However, by the last years of the war, the new Comet tank was proving to be almost as good as the German Panther (probably the best all-round tank design of the war), and the Centurion tank, production of which began in late 1945, would serve with astonishing success in many armies until the present day. In Israeli service it was modernized as the Sho't (Whip), and in South African service as the Olifant (Elephant). The latter is shown below in its Mark 1a standard, which saw combat in Angola (very successfully) during the late 1980's. (Click all pictures for a larger view.)




Indeed, the South African Army has ordered some of its Olifants upgraded to Mark 2 standard (shown below), with latest-generation electronics and optronics.




Still based on old Centurion chassis, they're expected to serve until 2015-2020. This will mean that the basic Centurion platform will have seen front-line service for over three-quarters of a century! Surely no other tank in the world can make that claim.

During the Cold War, Britain's Chieftain and Challenger I tanks were as good as those of any other nation, and better than many. Her current Challenger II's are considered a match for the latest version of the US M1 Abrams tank.

Regrettably, I fear that Britain's socialist government couldn't really care less about its armed forces. It's spending all its money on the Welfare State, leaving precious little to equip those who defend it. It's a crying shame, and this latest decision may well have unforeseen consequences in an uncertain future.

Peter