Charioteer (tank)

Charioteer
Charioteer at Yad La-Shiryon, Latrun
TypeMedium Tank built from Cruiser Tank (based on weight, speed, calibre of gun, armor, and the text.).
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1952 - 1980
Used byBritish Army
Finnish Army
Royal Jordanian Army
Lebanese Army
Wars1978 South Lebanon conflict
Lebanese Civil War
Production history
ManufacturerRobinson and Kershaw Ltd, Dukinfield, Cheshire
No. built442[1]
Specifications
Mass28.5 tons
Length8.8 metres
Width3.1 metres
Height2.5 metres
Crew3 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
EngineRolls-Royce Meteor
600 hp
SuspensionImproved 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.

  1. ^ "Finnish Defence Forces sale of used equipment". Archived from the original on 14 July 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2007.