A vehicle that could move as fast as a tank, and could be used to bulldoze rubble out of the way and make a path for other tanks through the rubble-strewn streets of bombed-out cities.
The Centaur Dozer did not enter service until the final weeks of the Second World War. It was first used during the capture of Bremen on the 26th – 28th April 1945.
The Centaur Assault Dozer was built on the hull of the unsuccessful Centaur tank. It was intended to replace the earlier armoured bulldozers that were not fast enough to keep up with the Allied advance. Very few saw service, 87th Assault Dozer Squadron had a strength of 36 vehicles.
The Tank Museum’s Centaur Dozer
The Tank Museum’s example was built as a Centaur tank than converted into a Dozer by MG Cars in Abingdon. Its service history is unknown.
It was retired in 1963 and sold for scrap five years later. It was then recovered and restored, coming to The Tank Museum in 1985.
