Written question asked by Mike Hancock (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 10 December 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 21 December 2004. It was answered by Adam Ingram (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 December 2004 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many incidents have been reported of the jamming of the chain gun as fitted to the Challenger Tank, in (a) Iraq and (b) elsewhere, with particular reference to instances of the gun being fired without command; and what procedure is followed when an incident occurs.

Answer: Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many incidents have been reported of the jamming of the chain gun as fitted to the Challenger Tank, in (a) Iraq and (b) elsewhere, with particular reference to instances of the gun being fired without command; and what procedure is followed when an incident occurs. [204975] Mr. Ingram: There have been four reported cases of jamming of the chain gun on Challenger 2 in Iraq and 51 in total since its introduction into service. Jamming/ stoppages may occur during normal operation of the chain gun, as they do on all machine guns, and are not linked to undemanded firing, of which there has only been one reported incident. In the event of a jam or stoppage in the chain gun, Challenger 2 crews follow an established drill to clear the problem.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 204975; 428 c1569-70W;428 c1567-8W
Session: 2004-05
Subjects: Defence Iraq Equipment Standards Safety measures Weapons Tanks Challenger tanks
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk