| Charioteer | |
|---|---|
 Charioteer at Latrun museum. | |
| Type | Tank destroyer |
| Place of origin |
 United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | - |
| Used by | British Army |
| Wars |
Operation Litani Lebanese civil war |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Robinson and Kershaw Ltd, Cheshire |
| No. built | 442[1] |
| Specifications | |
|
| |
Main armament | Ordnance QF 20 pounder |
| Suspension | Improved Christie |
The Charioteer officially known as FV4101 Cromwell Heavy AT Gun[2] and FV4101 Tank Medium, Charioteer was a British armoured fighting vehicle. It was produced in the 1950s as a self-propelled anti-tank gun to add firepower to units serving in West Germany by mounting a 20 pdr (84mm) gun on a Cromwell tank chassis.
Development[]
In the early 1950s, in an attempt to give extra firepower to the Territorial Army units of the Royal Armoured Corps, some Cromwell tanks received a 20 pounder gun (the same as used by the Centurion) in a new but lightly armoured two-man turret.[3] The resulting vehicle was designated as the FV 4101 Charioteer tank destroyer. About 200 units were converted by Robinson and Kershaw Ltd in Cheshire.
Service[]
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, Jordan and Lebanon.
Survivors[]
- A Charioteer is on display at the Bovington Tank Museum in Dorset, UK.[4]
- A Finnish Charioteer is on outdoor display in the Parola tank museum.
- Another Finnish Charioteer is on outdoor display in Lappeenranta near the main entrance of Army Academy.
- A Charioteer tank destroyer is on outdoor display in Yad la-Shiryon Museum, Israel.
- An Austrian Charioteer in the Austrian Military Museum (HGM - Heeresgeschichtliches Museum) in Vienna
Operators[]
Austria – Austria purchased 56 vehicles in 1956.
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 off.- Jordan – Jordan equipped two squadrons (24 vehicles) of their 3rd Tank Regiment in 1954. Some of the Jordanian Charioteers were sold to Lebanon.
- Lebanon – Lebanese Army (43 vehicles), passed on in 1976 to several Lebanese or Palestinian warring factions.
- United Kingdom
- Lebanese Arab Army – unknown number in service (1976–77).
- Lebanese Forces – unknown number in service (1980–1993).
- Palestine – several ex-Lebanese vehicles employed by the Palestine Liberation Organization against Israeli forces in Southern Lebanon during the 1978 South Lebanon conflict.
- Tigers Militia, Lebanon – unknown number in service (1976–1980).
See also[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Finnish Defence Forces sale of used equipment
- ↑ "Fighting Vehicle 4101 Cromwell Heavy Anti-tank gun
- ↑ Bingham p27
- ↑ FV4101 Tank Medium, Charioteer (E1965.3)
- Bibliography
- Bingham, James (1971). "AFV Profile No. 25 Cromwell and Comet". Profile Publishing.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to FV 4101 Charioteer. |
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The original article can be found at Charioteer tank destroyer and the edit history here.