Centurion (tank)

Centurion
Centurion Mk 3 tank at Worthington Tank Museum in CFB Borden (Ontario, Canada)
TypeMain battle tank
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1946–present (derivatives still in service)
Used bysee Operators
Wars
Production history
Unit cost£35,000 (1950), £38,000 (1952)[1]
No. built4,423[2]
Specifications
Mass50 long tons (51 t)[3]
Length
  • Hull only 24 ft 9.5 in (7.557 m)[3]
  • With gun forward 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)[3]
Width
  • 11 ft 1 in (3.38 m) with side plates
  • 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) without side plates[3]
Height9 ft 7.75 in (2.94 m)[3]
Crew4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Armour51–152 mm (2.0–6.0 in)
Main
armament
Secondary
armament
Co-axial Besa machine gun (Mark 3) .30 cal Browning machine gun (Mark 5 onwards)[3]
EngineRolls-Royce Meteor 4B[3]
650 hp (480 kW) at 2550rpm[3]
Power/weight13 hp/t (9.2 kW/t)[3]
Transmission5-speed Merrit-Brown Z51R Mk. F gearbox
SuspensionModified Horstmann
Ground clearance1 ft 8 in (0.51 m)[3]
Fuel capacity120 imperial gallons (546 L; 144 US gal)[3]
Operational
range
32.5 mi (52.3 km) cross country, 62.5 mi (100.6 km) on road (Marks 3, 5, and 6)[3]
Maximum speed 21.5 mph (34.6 km/h)[3]

The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing combat into the 1980s.[4][5][6][7][8][9] 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.[10] 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.

Israel's army used Centurions in the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the 1978 South Lebanon conflict, and the 1982 Lebanon War. Centurions modified as armoured personnel carriers were used in Gaza, the West Bank and on the Lebanese border. The Royal Jordanian Land Force used Centurions, first in 1970 to fend off a Syrian incursion within its borders during the Black September events and later in the Golan Heights in 1973. South Africa deployed its Centurions in Angola during the South African Border War.[11]

The Centurion became one of the most widely used tank designs, equipping dozens of armies around the world, with some in service until the 1990s.[12] In the 2006 Israel–Lebanon conflict the Israel Defense Forces employed modified Centurions as armoured personnel carriers and combat engineering vehicles. The South African National Defence Force still employs over 170 Centurions, which were modernised in the 1980s and 2000s as the Olifant (elephant).[13]

Between 1946 and 1962, 4,423 Centurions were produced,[14] consisting of 13 basic marks and numerous variants. In the British Army it was replaced by the Chieftain.

  1. ^ Mr. Emrys Hughes, MP for South Ayrshire (10 March 1952). "Centurion Tank (Cost)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. col. 1000. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  2. ^ Alex, Dan. "Centurion (A41) – Main Battle Tank". Military Factory. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m User Handbook for Tk.,Med.Gun,Centurion,Mk3,5 and 6 (1965)
  4. ^ Jackson, Robert (2010). "Centurion". 101 Great Tanks. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-4358-3595-5. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015.
  5. ^ Tucker-Jones, Anthony (2012). Armoured Warfare in the Korean War. Casemate Publishers. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-84884-580-0. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015.
  6. ^ Dunstan 2003, p. 3.
  7. ^ Joiner, J. H. (1990). One More River To Cross. Pen and Sword. p. 439. ISBN 978-1-4738-1691-6. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015.
  8. ^ Bishop, Chris (1999). The Encyclopedia of Modern Military Weapons. Barnes & Noble Books. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-7607-1631-1. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015.
  9. ^ Malkasian, Carter (2001). The Korean War 1950–1953. Taylor & Francis. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-57958-364-4. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015.
  10. ^ Dunstan 2003, p. 8.
  11. ^ Scholtz, Leopold (2013). The SADF in the Border War 1966–1989. Cape Town: Tafelberg. ISBN 978-0-624-05410-8.
  12. ^ Antill, P. (23 February 2001). "Centurion tank". History of War. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  13. ^ "Olifant Mk1B Main Battle Tank". Army Technology. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  14. ^ Dunstan 2003, p. 22.