Centurion Tank

Centurion
Centurion Mk3
Type	Main battle tank
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1946–present (derivatives still in service)
Wars	Korean War Suez Crisis Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Six Day War Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 War of Attrition Yom Kippur War Vietnam War South African Border War Operation Motorman (AVRE) Falklands War (BARV) Gulf War (AVRE)
Production history
Unit cost	£35,000 (1950), £38,000 (1952)
Number built	4,423
Specifications
Weight	51 long tons (52 t)
Length	Hull: 25 ft (7.6 m) Overall: 32 ft (9.8 m) with 20pdr
Width	11 feet 1 inch (3.38 m) with side plates
Height	9 feet 10.5 inches (3.01 m)
Crew	4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Armour	51-152 mm
Main armament	105 mm L7 rifled gun 17 pdr 20 pdr
Secondary armament	.30 cal Browning machine gun
Engine	Rolls-Royce Meteor; 5-speed Merrit-Brown Z51R Mk. F gearbox 650 hp (480 kW)
Power/weight	13 hp (9.2 kW) / tonne
Suspension	Horstmann suspension
Ground clearance	1 ft 8 in (50.8 cm)
Operational range	50 miles (80 km) Mk 2/Mk 3
Speed	22 mph (35 km/h)

The Centurion, introduced in 1945, was the primary British main battle tank of the post-Second World War period. It is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing combat in the front lines into the 1980s. The chassis was also adapted for several other roles, and these have remained in service to this day.

Development of the tank began in 1943 and manufacture of the Centurion began in January 1945, six prototypes arriving in Belgium less than a month after the war in Europe ended in May 1945. It first entered combat with the British Army in the Korean War in 1950, in support of the UN forces. The Centurion later served 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 Vietnam.

Israel used Centurions in the 1967 Six Day War, 1973 Yom Kippur War, and during the 1978 and 1982 invasions of Lebanon. 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.