This Centurion was purchased new by the Australian Army from the British in 1952 as a Mk3 and was gradually upgraded to a Mk5/1. The Australians had placed the order in 1950 but these tanks were diverted to the fighting in Korea where the Cents outperformed both US and Russian tanks.
Bought as the Australian Main Battle Tank the Centurions served until the late 70's when they were replaced by Leopard 1 Tanks from Germany.
Australia operated a total of 131 Cents of which all three Squadrons of the 1st. Armoured Regiment went to Vietnam and proved very successful in the conditions there. Centurion 169039 served as a troop leader tank in Vietnam during 1970-71. Whilst in Vietnam the tank wasn't involved in any major engagements but did help in the rescue of a downed helicopter crew and was also renowned for having the most powerful engine in the whole troop - a fact vindicated by its winning a tug-of-war with a D9 bulldozer on New Year's Day 1971.
Just before it was retired from service 169039 benefited from a base overhaul and rebuild so that when it was bought by the current owners in had only 125 miles on the clock. Keeping the Cent in good running condition is a major but very rewarding challenge. An engine oil change takes about 65 litre of oil and a full greasing can use 25-30 grease cartridges - that's in addition to the +5 gallons per mile petrol consumption. The worst job undertaken so far has been a clutch replacement which necessitated the removal of the 1.5 ton gearbox and was about 30 hours work in total.