Cambodian King Tiger Update:
My thanks to La Rouge Beret for providing the excellent backstory...
“
A mountain never has two tigers” Cambodian Proverb
The Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica), or ‘Shir’ (Persian: شیر), ranged from eastern Turkey, across Mesopotamia and into eastern India. It was here that the mighty Persian Lion met the Bengal Tiger, and historical records indicated that on occasion the two fought, but often comfortably coexisted. Reflecting the success of the Persian traders throughout South East Asia, stylised stone Persian lions adorned temple and palace gates as guardians. Indeed, stone lions still guard the buildings of Angkor Wat, a role that another Persian Lion also performed for the contemporary Kingdom of Cambodia.
The unveiling of the T – 72 Main Battle Tank, by the People’s Army of Vietnam, during the annual May Day parade in Hanoi in 1987, rendered the venerable Tiger tank obsolete overnight. Although, the Defence Ministry originally considered a further upgrade to the Tiger, it was ruled out due to cost, and the age of the fleet.
A search for a replacement to the tank stipulated two requirements, firstly the prospective MBT could defeat a T – 72, and effectively operate at the tail end of an arduous logistical network. The contenders to replace the Tiger included; the Leopard 2, the M – 60 Patton, the AMX 30 and a Chieftain derivative. However, despite the other vehicles’ advantages, cost and politics played a decisive role in this search.
The competition’s winner was the Shir 1, a variant of the Chieftain used by the Javidan Guard, heir to the battle honours and traditions of King Darius’ elite bodyguard, better known in the West as the Immortals. Supplanted by the equally impressive Shir 2, the interim Shir 1 was decommissioned from Iranian service without having fired a shot in anger. As opportunistic as ever, the Cambodian government offered to purchase the mothballed Shir 1 fleet at cost prices, which the Iranians accepted in exchange for concessionary trade deals. As the Shir 1 replaced the beloved Centurion, it’s moniker changed to fit its new hunting grounds in the jungle, so the desert Lion morphed into the King Tiger.
The Shir 1 was developed as an interim design that would precede the all-new "Shir 2" MBT combat system, which became in time the Challenger 1 MBT. Development began in 1974 and was based on the Chieftain MBT, the standard main battle tank of the British Army at the time. The Iranians were already the largest foreign operator of the Chieftain with over 700 of the type in service. Three prototypes of the Shir 1 were made ready in 1977 and, production began at Royal Ordnance Factory, Leeds thereafter. 125 Shir 1 models were ordered by the government of Iran, with a further 1,225 Shir 2 tanks delivered during the 1980s.
The Shir 1 MBT was finished with a Perkins Condor V12 12-cylinder; water-cooled diesel-fueled engine developing 1,200 horsepower and was mated to an automatic transmission. Beyond these changes, the Shir 1 remained faithful to the original Chieftain design, excluding a raised engine compartment to house the new power plant. Essentially, the Shir 1 was a hybrid of the Chieftain and Challenger 1.
Outwardly, there was very little to distinguish the Cambodian King Tiger breed formed the Iranian model. Except that the forward hull and turret were upgraded to the Chieftain Mk 11 standard, including the addition of the Thermal Observation and Gun Sight (TOGS) system mounted on the turret.
As in the Chieftain, primary armament of the King Tiger was the powerful and accurate 120mm L11A5 rifled main gun and this was augmented by the fitting of a 7.62mm L8A2 coaxial machine gun for anti-infantry defence. A second 7.62mm L37A2 machine gun was fitted at the commander's cupola for point defence against low-flying aircraft as well as oncoming infantry. A third L7A2 GPMG was commonly fitted on a flexible mount by the loader’s hatch for added point defence. There were 12 total electrically-actuated smoke grenade dischargers set in two banks of six each along the front turret sides and these could be used to cover the tank's movements from enemy gunners. The King Tiger can also create smoke by injecting diesel fuel into the exhaust manifolds. A laser range finder and gun stabilization assisted in providing for accurate fire at range as well as firing on-the-move. The main gun was stabilized along both axes.
The King Tiger’s inauguration on the battlefield, occurred during the Cambodian relief of the Third Royal Thai Army just outside of Luang Prabang, during the 1988 Laotian emergency. The Cambodian Strategic Reserve along with the Royal Thai Army’s 2nd Cavalry Division smashed into the Vietnamese ‘Steel and Iron’ Corps flanks, creating an opening for the encircled Royal Thai Third Army to retreat. The battle was also noteworthy for its use of chemical weapons by both sides, prompting the Cambodians to retaliate with thermobaric weapons deployed via their 203mm T-55 MBRL. During the battle, the King Tiger encountered the Vietnamese T – 72, comprehensively mauling their Vietnamese peers from the 202nd tank regiment. This was due to two reasons, the superiority of the Cambodian King Tiger relative to the export variant of the T – 72. However, the decisive edge was provided by the superior training provided to the tankers of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment. To this day, the venerable Persian Lion still stands watch on Cambodia’s borders, ready to rend any of her foes apart.
It is an interesting historic footnote to know that the Cambodian's AFV tactical marking system was purposely confusing in order to disguise the relatively few vehicles in their fleet. Thus the model appears to depict a King Tiger Call-sign 215, of the 43rd Squadron, of the 5th Heavy Battalion, of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment. In reality, the vehicle depicted is Call-sign 215 of B Squadron, 1st Royal Tank Regiment. The King Tiger is made from parts of a Takom Chieftain Mk 11, A Tamiya Challenger 1 and, of course, the ubiquitous plastic card. (
Note: The paint scheme is loosely based on the US MERDC camouflage system. It was hand painted and took for ever to get into all the nooks and crannies! Having made the Cambodian Tiger look fairly beaten up and battle worn, I wanted to keep the King Tiger relatively pristine.)
