![]() ![]() In total, Britain produced 4,423 Centurion tanks for itself, Canada, and 17 other nations. It later expanded its fleet to 322 of British tanks. machine gun for ranging, and more.Ĭanada, meanwhile, decided to order 274 Centurion tanks in 1952-1953 after it saw the American M48 Patton struggle in Korea. It got better engines, a stabilizer for the gun, infrared sights, night vision, a. Britain ordered a new version of the tank with more armor and a larger gun.Īs the Cold War continued, Britain kept upgrading the Centurion. The first Centurion tanks sent to combat rolled east in May-June 1945 but didn't reach the front until after the war ended.Īs Britain prepared for potential conflict with the Soviet Union, the Centurion proved itself better in tankers' hands than anything else available. It weighed just over 40 tons.īritain ordered 20 pilot versions and these were sent to weapons trials in 1945. And the whole rig was propelled by a modified version of the well-loved Merlin engine that powered the Spitfire and Mustang. The armor included a cast turret and sloped sides. It started with a 17-pounder gun but could be upgraded. Enter the Centurionīritish designers eventually came up with the Centurion, technically a cruiser tank. In 1943, it asked industry for a new tank that would survive a hit from a German 88 gun while killing most anything the Germans had. Britain wanted something reliable, lethal, and survivable. ![]() Those same failures in North Africa led to the development of a new, "universal" tank. Infantry tanks like the Matilda emerged for trench warfare, but trench warfare was a tiny part of World War II.Īfter failures in North Africa against German tanks, Britain finally asked for American tanks like the Grant and Sherman. Light tanks like the Vickers Mark VI couldn't kill enemy armor. Cruisers served a role closest to the main battle tanks of today, designed to fight enemy tanks, create openings in enemy lines, and rapidly exploit breakthroughs.īut then Britain struggled with designing any of these three tank types. The closest it came was in 1936 when it decided to pursue three types of tanks: heavy, infantry, and cruisers. Even on the eve of war, British leaders futzed around with different ideas and didn't commit. ![]()
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