Battle damaged QF 20 Pounder Gun Barrel from Centurion Tank ARN 169017 : 1 Armoured Regiment

Battle damaged QF 20 Pounder gun barrel from a Centurion Tank. The barrel, which is not fitted with a breech block, has a prominent fume extractor at its midpoint and traces of khaki paint. The rifling sleeve within the barrel protrudes approximately 20 mm further than the barrel casing at the damaged muzzle. 'LOCKED' is impressed in small letters on top of the barrel at the breech end.

This damaged gun barrel is from a Centurion Tank of 'C' Squadron, 1 Armoured Regiment, Australian Army. The tank (5 Charlie) was participating in Operation 'Hermit Park' in the north eastern sector of Phuoc Tuy Province on 25 June 1971 when the muzzle of the barrel was struck by a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG). The barrel was bent to the left by the strike, obstructing the bore, but it was successfully cleared when the tank crew, under the command of 37709 Corporal Stanislaw Hanuszewicz, fired a solid anti-armour round (APCBC) which blasted off the muzzle. The tank continued to engage the enemy after the incident. The RPG jet penetrated the Infra red bracket on top of the mantlet. The mantlet cover was torn off and the gunner's sight window and wiper smashed. The right hand track guard was also holded by shrapnel from a second RPG. Corporal Hanuszewicz recieved shrapnel wounds to the neck but remained on duty.