Tankopedia
WW2MediumMedium TankUnited Kingdom

Centaur (Cruiser Mk VIII)

In service 1942 - 1945

The Liberty-engined Cromwell, best remembered for the Royal Marines' 95 mm close-support tanks on the Normandy beaches.

Built byLeyland Motors and others

Centaur (Cruiser Mk VIII)
Cruiser Mk VIII Centaur — Imperial War Museums, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Development history

Mechanically the Centaur was a Cromwell built with the older Liberty engine, intended to keep production going until enough Meteors existed; many were later re-engined into Cromwells. Its combat fame comes from the Centaur IV, armed with a 95 mm howitzer and issued to the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group, which fired from landing craft on the run in to Sword and Juno beaches and then supported the advance inland. Other Centaurs served as anti-aircraft tanks, dozers and recovery vehicles.

Variants

One canonical record, 4 recorded variants.

  1. Centaur I

    1942

    6-pdr armed, training and conversion use

  2. Centaur IV

    1944

    95 mm howitzer, Royal Marines Armoured Support Group

  3. Centaur AA Mk I/II

    1944

    Twin 20 mm Polsten anti-aircraft turret

  4. Centaur Dozer

    1944

    Turretless engineer vehicle with dozer blade

Notable actions

  • Normandy landings (1944)
  • Battle of Normandy