O !

Next time you find yourself being subjected to a misty eyed ' theres nothing to match british engineering at its best ' rant whilst foaming over an old Triumph or AJS,refer them to this short extract from the history of the Cheiftain tank,which apparentley was 'radical and 'revolutionary' and one of the most technicaly advanced machines of its generation......

' The Leyland L60 engine that powered the Cheiftain,is a two stroke opposed piston design intended for multi-fuel use so that it could run on petrol or diesel or anything in between.In practise the engine did not deliver the expected power and was unreliable,estimated to have a 90% breakdown rate.Problems included,cylinder liner failure,fan drive problems and perpetual leaks due to vibration and badley routed pipe work and as the engine was improved the tank became heavier. The tank was steered by conventional tillers hydraulically actuating onto external brake discs which worked via the epicyclic gearbox providing regenerative steering.In reality the discs and pads became soaked in diesel and the steering became...difficult '

Leyland were the most ' radical ' , ' revolutionary ' and technically advanced engineers of there time,thats why the ' ITAL ' was so good .......DOH !