Centurion Tank

The Centurion is a British main battle tank that entered service in 1945, arriving too late to see combat in the Second World War but widely regarded as one of the most successful and influential tank designs of the early Cold War, combining a well-sloped hull, the effective 20-pounder (and later, in upgraded versions, 105mm) main gun, and a good balance of armor, mobility and reliability that had eluded many earlier British tank designs. It saw extensive combat service with British and Commonwealth forces, notably in the Korean War, where its firepower and armor outmatched contemporary Soviet-supplied tanks fielded by North Korean and Chinese forces, and with other operators including Australia, India, Israel and South Africa in conflicts across the Middle East, South Asia and southern Africa through the 1960s and 1970s. The Centurion's combination of a powerful, reliable gun and solid all-around performance strongly influenced the general design philosophy of the postwar main battle tank concept, in which a single vehicle type replaced the earlier separation between lighter cruiser tanks and heavier infantry-support tanks.