Charioteer | |
---|---|
Type | Medium Tank built from Cruiser Tank (based on weight, speed, calibre of gun, armor, and the text.). |
Place of origin | United Kingdom |
Service history | |
In service | 1952 - 1980 |
Used by | British Army Finnish Army Royal Jordanian Army Lebanese Army |
Wars | 1978 South Lebanon conflict Lebanese Civil War |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | Robinson and Kershaw Ltd, Dukinfield, Cheshire |
No. built | 442[1] |
Specifications | |
Mass | 28.5 tons |
Length | 8.8 metres |
Width | 3.1 metres |
Height | 2.5 metres |
Crew | 3 crew (4 with external observer) |
Main armament | 84 mm (3.3 in) Ordnance QF 20 pounder |
Secondary armament | 7.62 mm (0.3 in) Browning M1919A4 coaxial machine gun |
Engine | Rolls-Royce Meteor 600 hp |
Suspension | Improved Christie |
Maximum speed | 32 mph (51 km/h) |
The Charioteer Tank, or FV4101 Tank, Medium Gun, Charioteer was a post-world-war II British armoured fighting vehicle. It was produced in the 1950s to up-gun units of the Royal Armoured Corps continuing to use the Cromwell tank during the early phases of the Cold War. The vehicle itself was a modified Cromwell with a more powerful gun installed in a relatively lightly armoured two-man turret.
Charioteer saw limited use with the British Army, but was used more extensively by overseas nations in Europe and the Middle East. Charioteers saw action in conflicts in the Middle-East.