Development of the Centurion main battle tank started in 1943 during the war with manufacture beginning in January 1945 and continuing into the 1960s, with approximately 4,423 made in total, although it was not officially introduced into British military service until right after World War II. A number of improvements and upgrades were made to the Centurion tanks over their service life, and derivatives are still in active service today. This fine example offered is a Swiss military issued Centurion. Originally acquired from the United Kingdom, South Africa reportedly sold 100 Centurion Mk 3 tanks, 100 additional Centurion Mk 5 tanks, and another 100 Centurion Mk 7 tanks to the Swiss military between the late 1950s to early 1960s, around the time of South Africa's withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Nations. The Swiss designation of the Centurion tanks is the Panzer 55 and Panzer 57. Centurions have seen use with a number of countries and were active in a number of conflicts including the Korean War, Suez Crisis, Indo-Pakistani Wars, Six-Day War, Vietnam War, Yom Kippur War, 1982 Lebanon War, South African Border War, and Operation Desert Storm. This impressive tank weighs in at approximately 110,000 pounds and is equipped with a Royal Ordnance L7 105mm main gun (deactivated). During its Swiss military service, it would have been equipped with a Swiss MG 51/71 machine gun (not included) as secondary armament. Power is supplied by a 27 liter (1,649 cubic inch) Rolls-Royce Meteor 4B V-12 gasoline engine putting out 650 hp and 1,450 lb ft of torque, which allows the Centurion up to around 21 mph maximum speed. Swiss military gray square located on the front and rear. Provenance: The Allan Cors Collection

Fine, retains 98% green painted finish with a few areas of minor flaking. The interior is very fine, with most of its components. The serviceable tracks are very good. Mechanically runs fine. Main gun deactivated. Opportunities to acquire a Centurion main battle tank are very rare, and this is a fine example! This military vehicle will be off-site for preview. Please contact RIAC to schedule your slot for our special open house day in Virginia, May 8th, 2024.