jenkinov Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 I was aware that we had chieftains as a cold war reserve .and remember them being serviced annually . But when the government decided their retention was not necessary i believe they were sold off at about 10k a machine. I had expected to see them entering the hobby as an affordable tank ..but haven't seen them in any numbers . So a few questions How many chieftains s did we have in the reserve And after the government sold them ..where have they all gone ? Jenkinov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Mostly smelted. There’s a list of registration numbers and their fate in this book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chieftain-Rob-Griffin/dp/1861264380 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1950 Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 I think Withams had 7 under wraps at one time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mk3iain Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 I counted at least 60 in a shed at Witham's with part of the private collection, it was a few years ago, 2004 ish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 You have to bear in mind that when Chieftain went out of service in the 1980s you were not allowed to buy ex-MOD armour if the end user was the MOD. The first 6 Ferrets in private ownership here were imported from the Hong Kong Police by Mike Hoffman. At the time I couldn't buy even a Shorland, but was lucky enough to find one that had ended up with an end user other than the MOD. It is easy to forget how lucky we are these days with such restrictions lifted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 1 hour ago, john1950 said: I think Withams had 7 under wraps at one time. There are 17 visible on the Google satellite image 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1950 Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 (edited) There was one at Yorkshire Air Museum, but I think it had had an engine type change. I cannot remember what It had as a replacement for the L60. Maybach is ringing a dull bell. Edited December 21, 2022 by john1950 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wally dugan Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 The chieftain that was at ELVINGTON was a prototype the end user was to be in the middle east Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroman Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 In the 80s a friend (militairy police) could visit a depot in France they still had brand new Sherman tanks in stock.... 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenkinov Posted December 22, 2022 Author Share Posted December 22, 2022 Thanks for the information .The Google photo of withers appears to show the chieftains in the remains of their storage bags ...? . I am hopefully of seeing more on the show circuit Jenkinov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pzkpfw-e Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 On 12/22/2022 at 12:28 AM, jenkinov said: . I am hopefully of seeing more on the show circuit I doubt we'll see many, if any at all. The costs must be horrendous. On 12/22/2022 at 12:28 AM, jenkinov said: Jenkinov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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