A41 Centurion Main Battle Tank
The Centurion Tank, built in England from 1945 as the British main battle tank, was the first British-designed tank with a stabiliser for the main armament. It is regarded as one of the best post-war tanks ever produced by Britain. It remained in production until 1962 and saw combat on the front line until well into the 1980s (with UK forces in Korea, and with the Australians in Vietnam). A total of 4,423 were produced.
The Centurion Mk III and Mk V served in the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps (RNZAC) from 1953 to 1968. The first three were purchased in 1952-53 and the other nine in 1963-64. The RNZAC had a total of 11 tanks, plus one armoured recovery vehicle. They were only ever used for training purposes, however New Zealanders saw action with the Centurion during the Korean War (as part of British crews) and in Vietnam (as part of Australian crews).
New Zealand’s fleet was sold to Australia in August 1969. The Museum proudly has the Mk III Centurion named ‘Scarab’ (later Goliath) as a gate guardian outside on the northern entrance. We even met a gentleman named Eric who once fired this Centurion in Waiouru.
Address:
Corner State Highway One
and Hassett Drive
Waiouru, New Zealand
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