Frae Wikipedia, the free beuk o knawledge
The
Centurion
wis the primar British main battle tank o the post-
Warld War II
period. Introduced in 1945, it is aft thocht tae be ane o the maist successfu post-war tank designs, remainin in production intae the 1960s, an seein combat in the front lines intae the 1980s. The chassis wis adaptit for seeveral ither roles, an thay hae been keppit in service tae this day.
Development o the Centurion began in 1943 wi manufacture beginnin in Januar 1945. Six prototypes arrived in Belgium less nor a month efter the war in Europe ended in Mey 1945. It wis first uised in combat wi the
Breetish Airmy
in the
Korean War
in 1950, in support o the UN forces. The Centurion later serrt in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, whaur it focht agin US-supplied M47 an M48 Patton tanks an it serrt wi the Royal Australian Armoured Corps in
Vietnam
.
Israel uised Centurions in the 1967
Sax-Day War
, 1973 Yom Kippur War, an durin the 1978 an 1982 invasions o Lebanon. Centurions modified as armoured personnel carriers war uised in
Gaza City
, the Wast Baunk an on the Lebanese mairch. The Tyal Jordanian Land Force uised Centurions, first in 1970 tae fend aff a Syrian incursion athin its mairches durin the Black September events an later in the Golan Heichts in 1973.
Sooth Africae
] deployed its Centurions in
Angola
durin the Sooth African Mairch War.
[4]
It became ane o the maist widely uised tank designs, equippin armies athort the warld, wi some still in service til the 1990s.
[5]
As recent as the Israel?Lebanon conflict, the Israel Defence Forces uised hivily modified Centurions as armoured personnel carriers an combat ingineerin vehicles. The Sooth African National Defence Force still employs ower 200 Centurions, that war modernised in the 1980s an 2000s as the
Olifant
.
Atween 1946 an 1962, 4,423 Centurions war produced, consisting of 13 basic marks an numerous variants. In the British Airmy it wis replaced bi the Chieftain Tank.
- ↑
Emrys, Hughes.
"Mr"
.
millbanksystems
. millbanksystems. Archived frae
the original
on 17 Juin 2016
. Retrieved
21 Mey
2016
.
- ↑
"Centurion (A41) - Main Battle Tank - History, Specs and Pictures - Military Tanks, Vehicles and Artillery"
. Archived frae
the original
on 28 November 2014
. Retrieved
15 November
2014
.
- ↑
Simon Dunstan,
"Centurion Universal Tank 1943?2003"
Archived
27 Februar 2015 at the
Wayback Machine
, Osprey Publishing, 2003, p. 5, 14.
- ↑
Scholtz, Leopold (2013).
The SADF in the Border War 1966?1989
. Cape Town: Tafelberg.
ISBN
978-0-624-05410-8
.
- ↑
Antill, P. (23 Februar 2001).
"Centurion tank"
. historyofwar.org. Archived frae
the original
on 6 Februar 2012
. Retrieved
23 October
2011
.