§ Earl Attleeasked Her Majesty's Government:
What were the causes and circumstances of a Challenger main battle tank falling off the Oshkosh heavy equipment transporter the day before it was to be demonstrated to the public; and [HL1078]
Who will pay for the cost of inspecting and repairing any damage to the main battle tank which fell off the Oshkosh heavy equipment transporter; and what is the replacement value; and [HL1079]
What assurances they can give that heavy armoured vehicles will not fall off Oshkosh heavy equipment transporters or cause them to roll over when on public roads when in general service. [HL1080]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)The heavy equipment transporter service is provided by a consortium led by Halliburton KBR. The design, build and supply of the vehicle are undertaken by the Oshkosh Truck Corporation under sub-contract to Fasttrax Ltd. The supply and management of the trailers is undertaken by King Trailers of Market Harborough under sub-contract to Oshkosh.
The incident occurred on 2 December 2002 at Tidworth Garrison during preparations for a demonstration of the heavy equipment transporter. Investigations into the incident are in progress. Liability for the cost of inspection and repair to the Challenger 2 main battle tank will be determined following completion of the investigations, which are focusing on the operating procedures followed at the time, the interface between load and trailer and the characteristics of the trailer. This investigation will also identify what action is needed to reduce the risk of any further incidents of this nature. I will write to the noble Earl once the investigations have reached a conclusion.
The Challenger 2 main battle tank is no longer in production. The unit production cost of the tanks purchased against the most recent contract from the Ministry of Defence was £5.7 million.
Table 1 Deaths of UK Gulf veterans (Note: 1) 1 April 1991–31 December 2002 Causes (coded to ICD-9) (Note: 2) ICD Chapter Cause of death Gulf Era3 Mortality Rate Ratio4 All deaths 571 574 0.99 All cause coded deaths 563 566 0.99 I-XVI Disease-related causes 225 276 0.81 I Infectious and parasitic diseases 4 2 1.99 II Cancers 97 109 0.89