Shortly after development began on the A41 Heavy Cruiser (Centurion), the British drew up a specification for what was known as the ‘Universal’ Tank. The FV201 was to be the basis for this ‘universal’ tank with one basic hull design being adapted to suit a variety of roles. The complete series of vehicles was to be as follows:

The first FV201 prototype was running in 1948 but development costs were rising and by 1949 it had been found that the Centurion had developed into an extremely versatile vehicle capable of providing most of the above variants. As a consequence the Centurion became the universal tank and development on the FV200 series was cancelled with the exception of the FV214 which was required to counter the threat posed by the Soviet IS-3. The IS-3 had 160mm contoured armour and a powerful 122mm gun. Initially to gain experience with the FV201 hull a Centurion MkIII turret was fitted in an adapter ring and named Caernarvon (FV221) To match the firepower of the IS-3 the Conqueror was fitted with an American 120mm gun the ammunition of which came as a separate charge and projectile. This was the first time such ammunition had been used in a British Tank, unfortunately the charge came in a large brass case rather than a combustible bag and took up much valuable space. The turret has a better ballistic shape than the Centurion and featured a fully rotating commanders cupola. The commander had a cross-cupola rangefinder allowing him to select new targets whilst the gunner is laying the gun elsewhere. The commander could then traverse the turret to his new lay.

In all 185 Conquerors were delivered to the British Army being in service from 1955 to 1966. They served in Germany with a maximum of nine allocated per regiment being used as long range support for Centurions. Vickers produced eight FV219 ARV Mk Is and 20 FV222 ARV MKIIs.