South Africa used its Centurions in Angola. The Royal Jordanian Land Force used Centurions, first in 1970 to fend off a Syrian incursion within its borders during the Black September events and later in the Golan Heights in 1973. Centurions modified as armoured personnel carriers were used in Gaza, the West Bank and on the Lebanese border. Israel used Centurions in the 1967 Six Day War, 1973 Yom Kippur War, and during the 1978 and 1982 invasions of Lebanon. The Centurion later served in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, where it fought against US-supplied M47 and M48 Patton tanks and they served with the Royal Australian Armoured Corps in Vietnam. The chassis was also adapted for several other roles.ĭevelopment of the tank began in 1943 and manufacture of the Centurion began in January 1945, six prototypes arriving in Belgium less than a month after the war in Europe ended in May 1945. It first entered combat with the British Army in the Korean War in 1950, in support of the UN forces. It was a successful tank design, with upgrades, for many decades. The Centurion, introduced in 1945, was the primary British main battle tank of the post-World War II period.

Modernized centurion tank