The gun design was American, the same as used on the US M103 Heavy Tank; with separate charge and projectile, as would also be the case in the Chieftain that followed. The charge was not bagged but in a brass cartridge, which offered some safety advantages, but reduced shell capacity to 35.
The armour was very heavy for the time, especially in the front, where it was seven inches (178 mm) in the horizontal plane. Unfortunately, this, along with the weight of the huge turret required to house the large gun and the very large hull volume, made the vehicle very heavy, giving it a relatively low top speed and making it mechanically unreliable. Also, few bridges could support its weight. However, rather like the Second World War Churchill tank, the Conqueror had exceptional terrain handling characteristics and proved to be as capable cross country as the lighter (and on paper slightly faster) Centurion tank.
One feature of particular note was the rotating commander's cupola, which was at the heart of the Conqueror's fire control system, advanced for its time. The commander could align the cupola on a target independently of the turret, measure the range with a coincidence range finder, and then direct the gunner on to the new lay mechanically indicated to him by the cupola. In theory, when the gunner traversed to the new lay he would find the target already under his sights, ready to be engaged. Meanwhile, the commander was free to search for the next target.
The system may have been inspired by a similar device, without range finder, installed in WWII German Panzers which was apparently highly successful, but was not repeated in subsequent tanks until an updated electronic version of the same idea appeared in the American M60A2.
| FV 214 Conqueror | |
|---|---|
| Type | Heavy tank |
| Place of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Royal Ordnance Factory, Dalmuir |
| Number built | 185 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 65 long tons (66 tonnes) |
| Length | 38 feet (12 m) gun forward, 25 feet 4 inches (7.72 m) hull |
| Width | 13 feet 1 inch (3.99 m) |
| Height | 10 feet 5 inches (3.18 m) |
| Crew | 4 |
| | |
| Armour | 7 inches (180 mm) |
| Main armament | L1 120 mm rifled gun |
| Secondary armament | 2×7.62 mm machine guns |
| Engine | Rolls-Royce Meteor M120 810 hp (604 kW) |
| Power/weight | 12 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | Horstmann suspension |
| Operational range | 65 km |
| Speed | 34 km/h |
