biffj Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Just helped a friend with a Chieftain delivery here in the states. We're wondering if there is any rhyme or reason behind the registration numbers and if they stay with the tank from delivery to destruction or if they change from time to time. Vehicle is a Chieftain Mk10 reg number 06 FA 47. Does it tell anything about the vehicle or is it just a number? Thanks all Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Does it tell anything about the vehicle or is it just a number? Contact Bovington Tank Museum & give them the ERM & for a small fee they will send you the vehicles history cards. http://www.tankmuseum.org/Documents_and_Handbooks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Dear Frank, yes the numbers stay with the vehicle for the duration of its service life. Connecting the number to the vehicle can be an issue. I do not know about th Chieftain but other armoured vehicles have a cast aluminum (north american spelling) plate inside the vehicle which gives the mark and model of the vehicle and its proper army registration number. Some vehicles get those plates thieved from them over time and proving that the number painted on the vehicle is its actual one can be iffy. As Lee states above if you send the details in they will send you some potted history. Nice tank;) R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wally dugan Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 FRANK 06 FA 47 tells me it was brought in to military service in the financial year 1967/1968 the number 06 FA 47 would normally stay on the vehicle all through its service life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biffj Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 It does also have the cast in serial number on the glacis plate. We had heard that we could contact Bovington with that number and get some history....maybe link the serial to the registration number? I haven't had a chance to really look over the inside but I'll see if there is a data plate inside. The gun isn't moveable yet due to idiotic US regs for import. The breech ring was cut and isn't on the barrel so we have to leave things sit til we can get it back together and balanced. That makes it tough to get into the rear compartment. It seems to run well though. Thanks all for the help. that was very quick. Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiffy_massive Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 I'm sure the vehicle ID plate is mounted on the hull inside the turret ring. Can't remember which side, but it should be in view with the gun in the crutch. The Veh ID plate is approx 6 inch wide and 4 high normally silver in colour and may have some black sections on it. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biffj Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 I'll have a look for the ID plate. I should be going over to the tank barn this week. I also contacted Bovington for info on how to obtain the records. Thanks for all the info from the group. Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienFTM Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 (edited) Bear in mind that Chieftains only came off the production line and into the orbat as Mark 2, Mark 3 and Mark 5. Mark 1 was the prototype, two times Mark 4 were built and evaluated. ISTR in a book for which I still have a review to write for Army Rumour Service that one ended up as a gate guardian somewhere (over 30 years ago) and the other ended up as a hard target at Kirkudbricht but I am working from memory. Once the Mark 5 run was complete, existing Chieftains were cycled out of service, rebuilt, modified and updated in a programme known as Op Totem Pole (in a previous post on HMVF I mistakenly referred to this as Op Barge Pole). So at some point the Mark 10 would have been a 2, a 3 or a 5 with possibly another mark in between. But as has been said, it will have always retained the same VRN. The VRNs (I use the term loosely) were generally issued in sequence and in tranches. If you identify when the VRN in question was issued (as I believe has already been done in this thread) you can determine what mark was being built at that time and assume that this vehicle was built as this mark. Edited March 21, 2014 by AlienFTM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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