Swiss Centurion at the Tank Museum

A running Panzer 57/60, a Swiss Centurion variant, has been donated to The Tank Museum by the Swiss Army’s Centre for Historic Equipment of the Armed Forces.

When the Swiss Army was looking for a new tank in the 1950s, the Centurion’s success during the Korean War, 1950-53, made it a desirable choice. The Swiss bought a total of 312 tanks and 30 Armoured Recovery Vehicles between 1955 and 1961, the first of which were named Panzer 55.

As the vehicles were upgraded and modified, they moved through a series of variants including the Panzer 55/60 and the Panzer 57/60. The Panzer 57/60, now on display in the Museum’s Cold War Hall, replaced the Centurion’s 20pdr gun with the L7 105mm weapon.

Head of Collections, Chris van Schaardenburgh, said, “The Centurion is an iconic post-war British tank and we’re pleased to have this Swiss variant in the collection. We are grateful to the Swiss Army for donating this vehicle to us in such good running condition. It’s currently on display for visitors to see in the Cold War Hall and we look forward to seeing it operating in The Tank Museum arena at our events in the future.”

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