Centurion Mk.5/1 (Australian)

Arriving in February 1968, the 1st Armoured Regiment landed at South Vietnam’s Phuc Tuy Province where they joined Australia's "Vietnam Task Force" based at Nui Dat. The arrival of the Centurions brought the task force up to brigade strength. As a well armoured, mobile and easy to maintain vehicle, the Centurions would demonstrate their value in numerous unit actions over the three years of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War. Australia acquired its first Centurions, Mk 3's, in 1955 armed with the 20-pounder and with a 100-gallon external fuel tank to extend the range. Most of these would be upgraded to the Mark 5/1 before deploying them to Vietnam, which consisted of installing infrared sighting systems and replacing the 7.62mm Besa secondary machine guns with .30-caliber Brownings, the absence of enemy tanks in Vietnam meant that the Centurion was used primarily in the infantry-support role. There was four types of ammunition used: HE, AP, smoke and canister. The latter proved particularly useful against close-in infantry but most often it was used to clear away brush and foliage to expose enemy bunkers and defensive positions. The Centurion’s presence and firepower proved critical to the battles over firebases "Coral" and "Balmoral" during the fighting of 1968. A total of 58 Centurions saw service in Vietnam with 42 suffering battle damage but only 6 were beyond repair and more importantly only two crewmen were killed. The last Centurion was withdrawn from Vietnam in August 1971.