



From Right to Left: Major General Riyahi, Major General Amini Afshar, Major General Neshat, Lieutenant General Rahimi, Lieutenant General Badraie

During the late 1970s the Imperial Iranian Ground Forces, was undergoing a rapid increase in strength. In 1979 it was a largely mechanized and armored force of about 285,000 troops, organized in 3 corps, with headquarters in Tehran area, in Shiraz in the south, and in Kermanshah near the Iraq border. There was even Plans for a fourth corps, to be established at the new Chah Bahar complex at the eastern end of the Persian Gulf. Major ground formations included 3 armored divisions (One more in organization in Sistan) each with six tank battalions and five mechanized infantry battalions, 3 infantry divisions, 2 Imperial Guard Divisions and 4 independent brigades (1 armored, 1 infantry, 1 airborne and 1 Special Forces) and the Army Aviation Command. These combat units, backed up by the usual complement of support units, were said to be 85 percent operational. During the mid-1970s fully 80 percent of Iran's ground forces were deployed along the Iraqi border, though official sources maintained that a large portion of these could be sent anywhere in the country within twenty-four hours by means of air force transports. Troop deployment was expected to shift south during the late 1970s with the opening of the Chah Bahar facility. Total (in 1979): 285,000 Reserves: 300,000 Main Unites: 16th Armored Division - Ghazvin

81th Armored Division - Kermanshah

92th Armored Division - Khuzestan

88th Armored Division - Sistan

1th Infantry Imperial Guard Division (After the revolution changed to 21th Infantry Div.)

2th Imperial Guard Division (After the revolution changed to 21th Infantry Div.)

28th Infantry Division - Kurdistan

64th Infantry Division - Rezaieh

77th Infantry Division - Khorasan

84th Infantry Brigade - Khoramabad (Division during the war with Iraq)

55th Airborne Brigade - Shiraz (Division during the war with Iraq)

23th Special forces Brigade - Nohed -Tehran (Division during the war with Iraq)

37th Armored Brigade - Shiraz

11th Artillery Unit

22th Artillery Unit

23th Artillery Unit

44th Artillery Unit

55th Artillery Unit

Hawk missiles Battalions (4 units) Armor In Imperial Iranian Army Imperial Iranian Armored units were supplied with medium and light tanks of American and British origin, and about 1200 Brithish-maded Chieftain tanks were being delivered to augment the 780 in the inventory. Armored personnel carriers were from the United States and the Soviet Union and antitank missiles from the United States and France. In 1971, Iran placed an order with Royal Ordnance (RO) of the UK for 707 modified Chieftain Mk 3 and Mk 5 MBTs, plus a quantity of armoured recovery vehicles (ARVs) and armoured vehicle-launched bridges (AVLBs) based on the Chieftain MBT chassis, all of which were delivered by early 1978. Most of these were built by RO Leeds, subsequently taken over by Vickers Defence Systems, which built all the ARVs. Iran also took delivery of 187 improved Chieftains called the FV4030/1 (a development of the Chieftain Mk 5 used by the British Army) for it's operational needs. In all, 187 of the FV4030/1, were supplied.

In 1974, Iran ordered 125 Shir Iran 1 (FV4030/2s) and 1,225 Shir Iran 2 (FV4030/3s) MBTs for delivery from 1980 - but the order was cancelled in 1979 after the fall of the Shah and before deliveries could begin from Royal Ordnance Leeds.

If the Shir 2 MBTs had been delivered, the Iranian Army would have had the best-protected MBT in the region because the hull and turret incorporated the advanced Chobham armour system for a high level of battlefield protection over the frontal arc. In 1979, Jordan bought 274 Shir 1 MBTs, designated the Khalid. After the Iranian Revolution the "Shir Iran 2" project was taken over by the British Army and the end result was Challenger later redesignated as Challenger 1 in service with the British Army since 1983. Tanks 1971 1974 1976 1977 1979 Scorpion LT 250 250 M-24 LT 100 M-47, M-47M MBT 400 400 400 400 160 M-48, M-48A5 MBT 240 M-60A1 MBT 460 460 460 460 460 Shir1(Chieftain) MBT order 60 500 760 780 APC - Armor Vehicels 1971 1974 1976 1977 1979 M-8 Armoured Car 100 32 M-20 Armoured Car 140 48 Ferret Armoured Car / / 100 / Fox Armoured Car order M-113, M-113A1 APC 300 325 564 575 575 BTR-40 APC 1425 1425 1425 1425 BTR-50 APC 270 BTR-60 APC 300 BTR-152 APC BMP-1 AIFV order order * Some M-113 APC are with TOW Missiles Major Equipment On Order: Shir1 (Chieftain) Tanks - 1971 (800), 1974 (740), 1976 (1480), 1977 (1220)

Shir2 (Chieftain) Tanks - 1979 (1297)

Scorpion Tanks - 1976 (250), 1977 (110), 1979 (110)

M-113A1 APC - 1979 (108)

BMP-1 AIFV - 1979 (x) Shir2 (Challenger 1) MBT - Great Britain Continued development in the Centurion/Chieftain line to produce the Shir/Iran 2 originally planned for Iranian forces. After the Iranian revolution, taken over by the British Army. It has much more powerful engine than the Chieftain and equipped with excellent Chobham Armor. Challenger 1 took part in Operation Desert Storm (1991) where the Iraqi forces failed to take a single vehicle out of combat while Challenger destroyed roughly 300 Iraqi tanks. Standard equipment includes thermal sights, gun stabilization NBC system as well as mounting points for external fuel tanks at the rear and Combat Dozer Blade at the front. Armament: 1 - 120mm long L11A5 gun, 2 - 7.62mm MG, 2 x 5 barrel smoke dischargers

Power Train: Perkins Engines (Shrewsbury) Condor V-12, 12 cyl diesel, coupled to David Brown Vehicle Transmission TN37.

Speed: 34.8 mph

Range: 279 miles

Crew: 3

Weight: 68 tons EX- Euipment: Iranian Wolrd War II Tanks 66 M-4 Sherman MBT (in 1950s) 100 M-24 LT (1960-70s) 100 M-41 MBT (1960-70s) [photogallery/photo00002938/real_p.htm] Armor in Iranian Army today: Chieftain (Shir1) MBT

M48/M48A5 MBT

M60A1 MBT

M47/M47M tank

Zulfaqhar MBT

T-72 MBT

Type 72-Z MBT

T-62 MBT

T-54/T-55 MBT

Type 59 MBT

Type 69-2 MBT

Safir-74 MBT

Scorpion light tank

Tosan light tank





اين تار نما را به ياد پدرم، تيمسار سرلشکر علی نشاط، و ساير قهرمانان نيروهای مسلح شاهنشاهی ايران و جانباختگان راه آزادی پيش کش نمودم

This site is dedicated to my father General Ali Neshat commander of Imperial Iranian Guards, and to all of the other unsung heroes of the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces who fell in the name of Iran.





ا اين تارنما هديه ای است به جانباختگان نيرو های سه گانه

صدای شما وقتی شنيده می شود که بلند و رسا باشد







