File:Centurion_cfb_borden_1.JPG · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Type
- Main battle tank
- Place of origin
- United Kingdom
- In service
- 1945–present (derivatives still in service)
- Used by
- see Operators
- Unit cost
- £35,000 (1950), £38,000 (1952)
- Number span no built
- 4,423
- Mass
- 50 long tons (51 t )
- Length
- Hull only 24 ft 9.5 in (7.557 m) With gun forward 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
- Width
- 11 ft 1 in (3.38 m) with side plates 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) without side plates
- Height
- 9 ft 7.75 in (2.94 m)
- Crew
- 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
- Armour
- 51–152 mm (2.0–6.0 in)
- Main armament
- 105 mm L7 rifled gun 20 pdr (84 mm) rifled gun 17 pdr (76.2mm) rifled gun
- Secondary armament
- Co-axial Besa machine gun (Mark 3) .30 cal Browning machine gun (Mark 5 onwards)
- Engine
- Rolls-Royce Meteor 4B , 650 hp (480 kW) at 2550rpm
- Power weight
- 13 hp/t (9.2 kW/t)
- Transmission
- 5-speed Merrit-Brown Z51R Mk. F gearbox
- Suspension
- Modified Horstmann
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Centurion cfb borden 1.JPG
- Height
- 2.94
- Width
- 3.38
Show 6 more facts
- native label
- Centurion
- Commons category
- Centurion tanks
- service entry
- 1946-01-01
- service retirement
- 2012-01-01
- total produced
- 4423
- Commons gallery
- Centurion tank
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Article
The FV4007 (A41) Centurion was the primary main battle tank of the British Army during the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing combat into the 1980s. The chassis was adapted for several other roles, and these variants have remained in service. It was a very popular tank with good armour, mobility, and a powerful main armament.
Development of the Centurion began in 1943 with manufacture beginning in January 1945. Six prototypes arrived in Belgium less than a month after the war in Europe ended in May 1945. It entered combat with the British Army in the Korean War in 1950 in support of the UN forces. The Centurion later served on the Indian side in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, where it fought against US-supplied M47 and M48 Patton tanks, and it served with the Royal Australian Armoured Corps in the Vietnam War.