1953 Centurion FV4005 (1/6)

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1953 Centurion FV4005 (1/6)
1953 Centurion FV4005 (1/6)

The FV4005 was a British tank destroyer prototype developed in the late 1940s in response to the threat posed by heavily armoured Soviet tanks.

Designed to counter the Soviet IS-3, the FV4005 was equipped with a massive 183mm gun, the largest tank gun ever built. However, due to the development of main battle tanks and the logistical challenges of handling such a large weapon, the project was eventually abandoned.


Here's what the two information boards say.

Centurion FV 4005

The FV4005 was designed by the British in the early 1950s to combat the next generation of Soviet heavy tanks, with an 183 mm gun which fired a 72 kg High-Explosive Squash-Head (HESH) projectile mounted on this modified Centurion hull. It is the largest gun ever mounted on a tank.

Built as one of three trials vehicles by Vickers-Armstrong as a test bed for the gun and mounting, the first of the two Stage 2 trials vehicles was completed in late 1953. These were used for tests to help in the design of the Heavy Gun Tank No 2, FV215.

Once the FV215 project was cancelled, FV4005 was also abandoned, and the Stage 1 and Stage 2 vehicles were withdrawn. The gun and mounting from the Stage 1 vehicle was dismounted and sent to Shoeburyness Proof & Experimental Establishment. Of the Stage 2 vehicles, one was sent to the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham for use in design exercises, while the other was held by the Fighting Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (FVRDE).

Centurion FV 4005 Restoration

The FV4005 turret came to the Tank Museum in 1971 from Shrivenham, without the Centurion Mk 3 hull it had been fitted to in service. In 2007 it was mounted on a Centurion Mk 12 hull and has since been on display at the Tank Museum exit.

The restoration project for the FV4005 is a collaboration between The Tank Museum, internet personality and engineer, Joe Hewes and Wargaming.net, along with public fundraising. Joe brought the vehicle to his workshop in Leicestershire where a substitute Centurion Mk 3 was adapted to reflect the historically accurate hull of the FV4005. The vehicle was stripped, cleaned and restored, with a replacement engine also fitted.

The turret remained at The Tank Museum where the workshops team restored many of the original components to working order. Several missing components, including the rear gun spade, were fabricated by engineer Adrian Barrell using drawings from The Tank Museum Archive.

Operation Market Harborough, 3/8/24.

IMG_3687.

Neil F.

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Taken on: August 3, 2024
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