Charioteer tank destroyer

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Charioteer

Charioteer tank destroyer.
Type Tank destroyer
Place of origin Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service history
In service -
Used by British Army
Wars Operation Litani
Production history
Manufacturer Robinson and Kershaw Ltd, Cheshire
Number built 442[1]
Specifications

Primary
armament
Ordnance QF 20 pounder
Suspension Improved Christie

The Charioteer tank was a British tank destroyer, designed in the 1950s from the Cromwell tank.

Contents

[edit] Development

In the early 1950s, in an attempt to give extra firepower to the units of the Royal Armoured Corps, some Cromwell tanks received an 20 pounder gun (the same as the Centurion) in a new turret. The resulting vehicle was designated as the FV 4101 Charioteer tank destroyer. About 200 units were converted by Robinson and Kershaw Ltd in Cheshire. In practice the Charioteer was used by British Territorial Army units only and during mid and late 1950s most of the vehicles were sold to Austria, Finland and Jordan.

[edit] Operators

  • Flag of Austria Austria - Austria purchased 56 vehicles in 1956.
  • Flag of Finland Finland - Finland bought 38 "Charioteer Mk VII Model B" by 1960 and they remained in use until 1979. The tanks were stored until 2007 when they were auctioned out.
  • Flag of Jordan Jordan - Jordan equipped two squadrons (24 vehicles) of their 3rd Tank Regiment in 1954. Some of the Jordanian Charioteers were sold to Lebanon.
  • Flag of Lebanon Lebanon - Several of the Lebanese vehicles were used by the PLO against Israeli forces in Southern Lebanon during the 1978 South Lebanon conflict.
  • Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom

[edit] References

[edit] See also

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