Challenger 2's secret weapon: A cup of tea

The Challenger 2 is the UK's main battle tank and has been deployed in conflicts around the globe – including in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.

As well as boasting an impeccable service record, with the Challenger 2 never being destroyed at the hands of an enemy, the tank comes with a secret weapon.

Each tank comes equipped with a boiling vessel which can be used to not only cook ration packs but make a tank crew a well-earned cup of tea. Lance Corporal George Polley, Tank Loader King's Royal Hussars, explains.

#forcesnews #britisharmy #challenger2 #tea

[andrewcombe]

Only the British design a tank to be a life support vessel for a tea making device.

[choncord]

The Brits designed a lethal tank around a kettle.

[PowermadNavigator]

Jokes aside, if you are sitting in that tank for hours on end during winter and you are turning into a snowman, that tea capability might mean the world to you..

[tonys]

An army doesn't march on its stomach it swims in tea.

[nathanstake]

Tea is quite literally our secret weapon. Every war we have triumphed there was always a squadron planning their device strategy over a brew.

[xwrn]

Fun fact: the Challenger 2 is the most heavily protected tea kettle in the world.

[exsappermadman]

"Listen in lads, the tea making facilities in the C2 are only the second most important bit of kit you will be issued....Pay attention to the bottle opener on your Bayonet!"...

[BaeNana]

My dad was in the KRH a few years back, and i asked him his fav feature of the challenger 2, and he said the tea maker

[robharrisU]

Napoleon said an army "marches on its stomach", - British say "a nice cup of tea helps a lot!" A boil vessel can be " a life saver"

[stevenbreach]

same bit of kit I had in my Cheiftain 40 years ago.Youve no idea of the morale value of having a hot drink, hot food, and hot water to wash in.I don't know how chally is equipped, but we didn't have heating on Cheiftain, so were glad of the good old BV

[harveyhams]

As an American, I see it as a truly brilliant idea. Most people don't relate to the British and tea. Most people don't really relate to us and coffee. The great idea is your personal are under armor rather than out in the open.

[alwaysbereadym]

If ya can't have a brew in the middle of a tank battle, then what's the point 😶😉🤣🤣🤣

[sigi]

Apparently there's even two of these units in every British tank.

Because the boiling unit breaking down would be detrimental to the battle readiness of the unit. Hence it needs redundancy.

[whyandaccount]

BVs are critical.
We had them on Centurion.
Then took them off and used on Leopard AS1.
Then took them off and put them in our M1s

[WilkoLV]

Oh was that a second Nuclear blast?? The crew: "Let's carry on drinking tea on the way out of this area.."

[michaeleastes]

I would have given a lot for one of those when I was an M-48 tanker. As it was, I had a butane burner and a metal teapot in my kit.

[NoSuffix]

Proves again how the British love their tea. Even in the middle of the battle can't stop them.

[ftboomer]

Now we know why the Challenger 2 burned on the front!!

[luxr]

If I never see a ration pack coffee creamer for the next 100 lifetimes I'll be happy

[almazblanco]

There is a common idea that British tanks are equipped with facilities for the sole purpose of making a hot cup of tea. However, while British vehicles are fitted with a water-heating device, it is not a dedicated tea-making facility.

Troops need hot water for many things, such as heating food, washing themselves, their clothes, and their equipment and for hot drinks.

During the Second World War, studies showed that tankers had a much higher chance of dying while outside their vehicles, with an alarming portion of casualties occurring during this time.

These issues were true for crews of soft-skinned vehicles too, as simply stopping to eat was dangerous as they stayed in one area for longer than desired.

As rest and warm food and drink are good for soldiers’ health and morale, Britain didn’t want to eliminate this entirely. Instead, they added provisions vehicles. This was accomplished with the boiling vessel, a unit designed to heat water for rations and other wartime tasks.

This allowed crews to eat, drink and wash from inside their tanks, greatly reducing the chances of being injured or killed by snipers, ambushes or artillery strikes while outside their vehicles.

The first tank to receive this from the factory was the Centurion, which entered service just after the Second World War.

The threat of fighting in nuclear fallout during the Cold War further cemented the boiling vessel’s importance. Tankers would have been required to remain in their tanks for days at a time.

Boiling vessels meant they could cook, clean and stay warm all without ever opening a hatch. Of course, they were certainly used to make tea too, but they were not employed specifically for that task.

The ability to have warm water on tap, cook piping hot food, make hot tea and coffee, and be able to clean things is a massive morale booster for troops. It can help you keep warm and lift spirits during rather gloomy times. For these reasons boiling vessels are considered a critical piece of equipment for the British Army.

Sadly though the boiling vessel has become known as a tool added for the sole purpose of making tea, in part due to gags repeating that British tanks have built-in tea-makers.

Today,  boiling vessels are fitted to Britain’s main battle tank, the Challenger 2. But they are also fitted to many more vehicles, including MAN trucks, Warthogs, Jackals and Mastiffs. In British service, they are commonly referred to as the “BV”, or “Bivvie”.

The type used today is the RAK-15, produced by Electrothermal Engineering Ltd. It is an 8 kg (17 lbs) cube-shaped object 27 cm (10.6 in) high and 29 cm (11.4 in) long with a hinged lid on top. It runs on 24V and connects to the vehicle’s power supply via a cable. Five different cables are available so they can be used with various vehicles.

Inside is a square-shaped cavity which contains a tin and water. As the water heats up, it warms up the food inside the tin. However, in practice, the tin is often removed to create more room inside the vessel.

The lid clamps down via a latch, and is important because it keeps the water inside the RAK-15 even when the vehicle is in motion – you certainly don’t want boiling water splashing around the crew compartment of a tank!
According to Electrothermal’s brochure for the RAK-15, it can keep its contents hot for up to six hours and remains cool to the touch throughout.

It is capable of heating up to five rations and 2 pints of water at the same time. The water used to heat the food remains clean and can then be used to make tea, coffee and other hot drinks.

Alternatively, the RAK-15 can simply boil water alone. It has a tap on the front to pour water.

The device is not only used by Britain either, and can now be found in other machines such as the US M1 Abrams, Bradley and M109. In fact, Electrothermal stated that they were originally awarded a contract to produce 10, 000 for the US Army. In total Electrothermal has more than 20, 000 boiling vessels in use around the world.